One Question Leadership Podcast

Larry Lyons, Director of Athletics at Illinois State, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss maintaining a strong and stable financial status throughout a tumultuous budgetary period within the state of Illinois. He touches on relationships with faculty and staff on campus and how combining success in athletics and academics has helped to strengthen the financial model used by...

Matt Bassett, Assistant Vice President & Director of Athletics at Le Moyne College, visits with @TaiMBrown and the 1.Question Podcast to discuss developing a successful campus-wide program geared toward enhancing the Student-Athlete (SA) experience. The L.E.G.U.P program is a mission and culture driven initiative which includes aspects of self-assessment by every SA in the athletics department. Ba...

Kelley Kish, Director of Athletics at Lake Erie College, joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast on her 101st day on the job. With that milestone as the backdrop, the conversation centered around her process of learning the new environment, making decisions, fulfilling the strategic plan of the institution, and developing relationships with staff and everyone around her. With a notable exciteme...

Jean Boyd, Executive Sr. Associate AD at Arizona State, rounds out his conversation with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast with specifics on how the NFL setup will work for the Sun Devils. Boyd mentions messaging to Student-Athletes, recruiting, and continuity amid changes as major benefits of the new structure. Seamless communication also seems to be a major factor.

Jean Boyd, Executive Sr. Associate AD at Arizona State, joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the NFL-type setup that the Sun Devils have implemented for the football program. In the first of a two part interview, Boyd touches on the new concept which allows the head coach to be free to do the coaching, recruiting, etc., while a leadership structure is put in place to manage many o...

Andy Carter, Director of Athletics at Minot State University, visits with @TaiMBrown and the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the interesting moment in time which exists after a coach leaves a program and before a new coach is hired. Carter expounds on setting expectations for the Student-Athletes of the respective sport where a new leader is being considered. He emphasizes that this group has a voic...

Hope College sets the standard for attendance in NCAA Division III Men's & Women's Basketball. Co-Athletic Director, Tim Schoonveld joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the process of engaging fans and consistently leading in fan attendance. 

Coach Robin Fralick has been a head coach for a total of three basketball seasons - all at Ashland University. During that span, she has amassed nearly 100 wins and a NCAA DII National Championship. Coach Fralick took a few minutes during this year's undefeated regular season to visit with @TaiMBrown and the 1.Question Podcast to talk about fan engagement. With Student-Athlete involvement and supp...

Coach Mel Tjeerdsma, Director of Athletics at NW Missouri State University, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast. Coach Tjeerdsma, three time national champion football coach, discusses his transition to Director of Athletics and how he has approached the chair with a fair perspective while maintaining his passion for football.

Sam Atkinson, Associate Athletic Director of Communications at Gallaudet University joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast. Atkinson explains the intricacies of telling the athletics story of the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students.

Jacqie McWilliams, Commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast. McWilliams, in her fifth year leading the CIAA, discusses the intricacies of hosting the conference's basketball tournament in a city (Charlotte) which boasts a significant number other sports attractions. She also touches on how her background directing NCAA Bask...

Paul Plinske, Director of Athletics at University of Nebraska at Kearney, joins the 1.Question podcast to discuss UNK's recent announcement that it will drop three sports as part of a campus-wide plan to close a $3.4M budget deficit.  Plinske addresses stabilizing the department, facilitating student-athlete transfers, and outreach to donors and alumni.  Key takeaways include necessity of an open...

Warde Manuel, Director of Athletics at Michigan, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss his role in ensuring that all sports feel valued within the athletics department. Acknowledging that the majority of media coverage goes to football and basketball, Manuel dives in to developing an internal culture of celebrating all sports and their respective Student-Athletes.

Keith Hackett, Director of Athletics at Cornell College, visits with @TaiMBrown and the 1.Question Podcast. Hackett talks about leading while facing budget cuts and budgetary restrictions. He specifically discusses the difficulty of cutting sports. A key takeaway that Hackett identifies is that no matter the size of the budget, making responsible, tough financial decisions is one of the key respon...

Craig McPhail, VP of Athletics at Lees-McRae College visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast. McPhail discusses how the "Vice President" title has enhanced his leadership on campus. He also touches on preparations for the arrival of a new president in an environment where Student-Athletes represent 40% of the total student enrollment.

In part 2 of the conversation with Dr. China Jude, Sr. Association AD for Admin & SWA at Wyoming, discusses her approach to learning as much as possible in her new position and how her previous experience as a Director of Athletics will help lead to success in this new role.

Dan Schumacher, Director of Athletics at UW-Eau Claire, visits 1.Question Podcast co-host @TaiMBrown at the 2018 NCAA Convention. Schumacher, currently in his third AD job, discusses doing your best due diligence to understand the issues you may face when taking on a new leadership role. He points out that problems are usually deeper than the eye can see.

Dr. China Jude, Senior Associate AD for Administration & SWA at Wyoming, visits the 1.Question Podcast to discuss her career up to this point. In the first of two parts, Dr. Jude discusses her thought process during her very successful tenure as the Director of Athletics at Queens College. Conference championships, core values, and revenue generation highlight the discussion points in this intervi...

Tim McMurray, Director of Athletics at Texas A&M Commerce, visits with 1.Question to talk about the Lions NCAA Division II football championship and the athletic department's "Best in Class" initiative which puts heavy emphasis on providing an excellent Student-Athlete experience. McMurray talks about culture, resources, opportunities, and people being the driver for success at TAMU-Commerce.

In the second part of his 1.Question interview, Coach Tim Teykl, Director of High School Relations at University of Houston, discusses the role he plays within the football program, and ultimately, the athletics department as a whole. Coach Teykl also discusses the emphasis on compliance, promoting other sports at Houston, and helping other programs in the state set up similar positions.

In the second part of his 1.Question interview, Coach Shaw addresses what he sees as a major deficiency in the development of young people today. He mentions the responsibility that coaches (and leaders in general) have in teaching humility, and emphasizing the importance of self-evaluation. 

 @TaiMBrown visits with Julie Soriero, Director of Athletics at MIT, during the 2018 NCAA Convention. Soriero, a former coach and longtime administrator, discusses the aspects of positioning oneself for career advancement. The 2018 NCAA President's Pat Summitt Award winner also touches on the topic of women in leadership positions within athletics. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@TaiMBrown visits with David Shaw, Head Football Coach at Stanford University, at the 2018 AFCA Convention. Coach Shaw talks about his philosophy on communicating with recruits, "Start as you mean to go on." Essentially, he saying that coaches should be the adult in recruiting conversations. Shaw also discusses the differences in communicating the same message to today's youth.

1.Q Co-host Tai Brown visits with Tim Teykl, Director of High School Relations at University of Houston, during the 2018 AFCA Convention. The discussion centers around the concern people have about the growing number of staff members within college football programs. In the first of a two-part conversation, the long time coaching veteran contrasts the reasons why the High School Relations position...

Tai Brown visits with Valerie Cleary, Director of Athletics at Portland State University, during the 2018 NCAA convention. Cleary discusses the thought process needed, as a leader, to be able to make tough decisions. She mentions the difficulty ADs face when deciding to eliminate a sport. As we hear from many seasoned executives, core values play a major role in the process.