One Question Leadership Podcast

Tai Brown talks with Dr. Brian Hainline at the 2018 NCAA Convention. Dr. Hainline, Chief Medical Officer for the NCAA, addresses the medical concerns that are currently on the forefront of the minds of all who are involved with Student-Athletes. The biggest issue he identifies is mental health. Hainline discusses best practices provided by the NCAA, including a simple teaching module which touches...

Tai Brown visits with David Cutcliffe, Head Football Coach at Duke University, during the 2018 AFCA Convention. Coach Cutcliffe, known for hiring and developing young coaches, discusses his philosophy on creating a culture for success; specifically with young professionals. He also talks about how the environment created by Kevin White, Duke Athletic Director, has allowed for success in leadership...

Tai Brown sets up shop at the 2018 NCAA Convention and visits with Rob Carolla, Director of Communications at College Football's 150th Anniversary. Carolla discusses the organization designed to spearhead college football's sesquicentennial celebration. The NCAA and the College Football Playoff are among the parties involved.

Tai Brown caught up with Footballscoop.com owner, Scott Roussel, at the American Football Coaches Association's 2018 national coaches convention. The man behind the scoop discusses his role in gathering "intel" while keeping sources confidential for over 10 years. Roussel specifically addresses how he has been able to create and maintain an environment for trust and credibility. He also touches on...

Tai Brown talks with Mike London at the 2018 American Football Coaches Association's national convention. London, Head Football Coach at Howard University, discusses the investment the school has made in athletics, and specifically football as it works to establish itself as a player at the D1-FCS level.

Tai Brown visits with Tim Cassidy, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Football Operations at Arizona State University. With 35 years of experience, Tim has been involved with numerous football coaching transitions. In this conversation, Cassidy talks about the ups and downs of being a constant in a very precarious profession.

Tai Brown catches up with Kyle Vasey, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Planning at University of Alabama. With data analytics playing an ever-increasing role in strategic decisions, Vasey's position enhances the department by offering input in the business side, as well as the competition side of Alabama athletics. This could be a possibly be a position replicated across the industry.

In the second of two parts, Tai Brown continues his conversation with Keri Becker, Athletic Director at Grand Valley State University, about her background as a long time head softball coach and how that helps in her current leadership role. Becker also touches on continuous learning as she strives to keep up the successful momentum.

Tai Brown visits with Keri Becker, Director of Athletics at Grand Valley State University. In the first of a two part conversation, Becker talks about sustaining success as she is a year and a half into leading a program that has won 12 of the last 14 Learfield NACDA Director's Cups. She also speaks on avoiding complacency and staying motivated no matter the outcome of a competition.

Football Bowl Association Executive Director and former Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters checks back in with 1.Q to discuss this year's bowl landscape, developments around student-athletes skipping post-season play, the impact of ESPN Events and more. Waters also offers an interesting perspective on how the saga around the Fiesta Bowl back in the late 2000s impacted bowl leadership.

Tai Brown visits with Mike Sinquefield, Sr. Associate Athletic Director for Internal Affairs at TCU. Sinquefield has made the trek from Equipment Manager, to Director of Football Operations, and now a senior leadership post in athletics administration. He discusses servant leadership and valuing people as traits providing tremendous benefit to the leaders he has served.

Tai Brown visits with Dr. Brandon Martin, Athletic Director at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Martin talks in great depth about how his focus on professional development has helped him in his current leadership role. He also discusses how focusing on career enhancement amongst his staff has helped create a healthy buy-in within his department.

Tai Brown visits with Van Malone, Defensive Coordinator at Southern Methodist University, to discuss the aspects of preparing for the opportunity to interview for a head coaching position. Coach Malone, completing his third year as a DC, talks about his process of educating himself in the nuances of leadership from an assistant coach's perspective, as a coordinator, and possibly in the future, as...

Tai Brown visits with Dr. Linda Livingstone, President at Baylor University. In the first year of her presidency, Dr. Livingstone emphasizes how intercollegiate athletics can be transformative to an institution's culture. A former Student-Athlete herself, Livingstone addresses the aspects of being on a team that have provided guidance throughout her career.

Tai Brown visits with Dr. Robert B. Sloan, President at Houston Baptist University, to discuss the process of moving the athletics program from NAIA to NCAA Division I, and subsequently, starting a football program. Sloan touches on the variety of benefits of having visibility through athletics.

From Now On President & CEO Sue Thaden checks back in with 1.Q to discuss how her entrepreneurial background allows her to connect with leaders in college athletics. Sue also covers Patrick Lencioni's 'The Ideal Team Player' and how despite all the digital communication platforms available, she still relies upon a healthy dose of face-to-face conversations to effectively communicate with her team.

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Executive Director Johnny Williams discusses the prime-time slot his game has this year on the first day of bowl play, the community-wide effort in Montgomery & the uniqueness of Cramton Bowl. Williams, who has plenty of department-side experience on his resume as the former AD at Troy and as a senior-leader at Alabama, notes the history of the city and the value it brin...

The Pac-12 Hotline's Jon Wilner visited with 1.Q again to discuss his recent football oversight framework recommendations for the Pac-12 as the league continues to battle brand challenges. The timing of the conversation worked out quite well with the Pac-12 releasing its 2018 FB slate yesterday morning, allowing Wilner to provide context on his suggestions, as well as analyze improvements he sees...

Contributing host Tai Brown stepped into the compliance world to speak with David Batson, Senior Associate Athletics Director, Athletic Compliance at Texas A&M. Batson talks about the way to say no to head coaches and athletic directors without suppressing creativity. When developing a culture of compliance, Batson speaks to education and continuously wanting to help coaches to be successful.

Dr. Ingrid Wicker McCree, Athletic Director at North Carolina Central University, visits @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss her success at hiring assistants as head coaches. She identifies empathy as one of the most important skills she looks for when evaluating current assistants for future leadership positions. Dr. Wicker McCree also touches on the importance of professional develop...

DePaul AD Jean Lenti Ponsetto covers a bunch of interesting ground on 1.Q in connection to her personal pre- & in-game agenda, some back story on how the new Wintrust Arena came to be, the benefit of driving more students & alumni to games, and how the new building will change her lens of analyzing success for her Men's & Women's Basketball programs.  

In this edition of the 1.Q, co-contributor Tai Brown visits with Long Beach State Athletics Director, Andy Fee. Only six months into the position, Fee talks about which aspect of the interview process was the most challenging to prepare for. He also talks about how his transition from working in facilities and events to development helped him prepare for his current position.

In this edition of the 1.Question Presidential Series, co-contributor Tai M. Brown visits with Youngstown State University President, Jim Tressel. Coach Tressel speaks on how his time as a national championship winning coach helped him when he assumed the presidency. He also addresses the challenges that coaching didn't prepare him for such as the sheer number of people, departments, students, etc...

Turnkey Search Managing Director Gene DeFilippo touches on how the latest MBB-FBI developments could impact search firms and the search process for new Head Coaches in the near future. DeFilippo points to the "team" of leaders who together execute a search, also wonders if new tools will be introduced to the marketplace to more effectively look through the backgrounds of candidates.

Turnkey Search Managing Director, Gene DeFilippo, reviews how he assembled a team to help conduct an AD search when he sat in the chair, the hyper importance of confidentiality for search firms & all parties involved, the growth of firms talking to agents of HCs, the Nebraska hiring of Bill Moos, interacting with university presidents & chancellors, plus more.