One Question Leadership Podcast

Rekha Patterson, Head Women's Basketball Coach at Southeast Missouri State, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of leadership after winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship and being named the 2019-2020 OVC Coach of the Year. She talks about preparing for the NCAA selection show when learning that the national tournament was cancelled. Patterson also speaks on the time it took to l...

Candice Walls, Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Performance at University of Louisiana, visits @1QLeadership to discuss how the performance staff has made themselves available to the Student-Athletes at home. Her staff chose daily social media postings for different aspects of the Student-Athlete's life. From cooking gumbo, to in-home workouts, to mental conditioning, Coach Walls works...

Sean Frazier, Associate VP & Director of Athletics at Northern Illinois, visits @1QLeadership to give insight on the questions ADs may be asking themselves during the coronavirus chapter. One of the key items covered is how to operationalize and provide resources for some of the ideas being discussed regarding the future. He also heavily emphasizes his concern for the health and well-being of the...

Mike London, Head Football Coach at College of William & Mary, visits @1QLeadership to discuss the synergy between he and Tribe AD Samantha Huge. London checks classes so the team and professors understand the importance of academics to the football team. He talks about dealing with the loss of a player and allowing the team to see him cry. Coach London also gets emotional as he goes into detail a...

Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the America East Conference, visits @1QLeadership to walk us through her timeline of gathering information to make the decision to cancel the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments as they were down to the final championship games. She talks about using other conference's decisions as data points and speaking with fellow commissioners as the situatio...

Matthew Caruso, Acting Director of Athletics at Kean University, visits @1QLeadership to discuss Kean as it was among the first institutions to adjust to the effects of the Coronavirus situation. Caruso talks about receiving word of the cancellations and scrambling to let coaches and teams know. During a bit of introspection, he mentions that he could have handled the situation a bit better in ter...

Tommy Amaker, Head Men's Basketball at Harvard University, visits @1QLeadership to discuss ending the 2020 season prematurely amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the leadership needed to guide the Student-Athletes through the announcement. Being the first Division I school (and conference) to cancel its conference tournament, Amaker talks about how important it was that Harvard, and the I...

JP Abercrumbie, Assistant AD for Student-Athlete Development at Rice, visits @1QLeadership to discuss her approach to the role. Her priority is to bridge the gap between internal and external operations ensuring the entire department is involved in the Student-Athlete experience. She also engages departments outside of athletics to provide Student-Athletes the best access to the resources availabl...

Joe Karlgaard, Director of Athletics at Rice University, visits @1QLeadership for a conversation on leadership within the ranks of his organization. Karlgaard mentions Built to Last as his favorite leadership book, emphasizing the importance of homegrown talent. He also talks about giving people on his staff a wide range of experiences that can help with career enhancement. 

David Shaw, Head Football Coach at Stanford, visits @1QLeadership to discuss the recruiting philosophy of "Start as you mean to go on." Shaw emphasizes that coaches should be the adult in recruiting conversations. He mentions differences in communicating to today's youth as opposed to 10-15 years ago. Shaw also gives insight into what he sees as a major deficiency in the development of young peopl...

Greg Burke, longtime Director of Athletics at Northwestern State, visits the 1.Question Leadership Podcast to discuss adjusting as a leader after almost 25 years in the chair. He talks about working with a multi-generational staff as he leads people that have been with him for decades and people who recently joined the department. Burke also addresses his efforts to give his staff and coaches insi...

Mark Alnutt, Director of Athletics at University at Buffalo, visits 1Q for a conversation on being in the AD chair at a place where there have been a succession of great leaders. He talks about how his default skill of building relationships has helped to create a successful environment. Throughout the discussion, Alnutt continues to emphasize that knowing his staff beyond the office is what will...

Mel Tucker, Head Football Coach at Colorado, visits @TaiMBrown and the 1.Question Leadership Podcast to talk about the process of creating a culture for winning. He covers the intentional brand transition from establishing his culture in year one to his #TheBuild in year two. He shares the importance of being a relentless recruiter in order to build on the foundation they have laid in season one....

Cathy Rossi, Deputy Director of Athletics at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, visits 1Q to discuss her role as the number two. She talks about what to look for when initially assessing the financial health of an athletics department. Rossi goes on to speak about starting in ticket sales and working her way into the business of college athletics.

Tavaras Hardy, Head Basketball Coach at Loyola University Maryland, joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Leadership podcast on the topic of being a new leader in the head coaching role. Hardy, discusses the adjustments he has made as a head coach from year one to year two. He identifies transparency and accountability as two areas he heavily focuses on. Hardy also gives the methods for self-reflecti...

Chrissi Rawak, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at University of Delaware, visits @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Leadership Podcast on the topic of ensuring good leadership exists throughout an entire organization. Rawak discusses the discovery that her department was missing the mark on the foundational elements of a successful functioning organization. She goes into the steps she has taken to...

Coach Tremaine Jackson, newly named (and first time) Head Football Coach at Colorado Mesa, engages in an insightful conversation with Coach Glenn Caruso of Unversity of St. Thomas, Coach Tim Lester of Western Michigan, and @TaiMBrown on the topic of being a first-time head coach. Jackson gets advice from Caruso and Lester on addressing the team for the first time, hiring staff, and developing a su...

Jashell Mitchell, Manager of Diversity & Inclusion for NFL Operations, visits 1.Q to discuss the opportunities she creates for Student-Athletes from HBCUs. Mitchell, former Associate AD for Internal Operations at North Carolina Central, has a history of working in football after spending time as a DFO. She oversees the HBCU Careers in Football Forum through which students are nominated by ADs, SWA...

Anton Goff, former AD at Bowie State, Hartford, and St. John's visits the 1.Question Leadership Podcast to give insight into his reason for abruptly leaving St. John's. Goff talks about the stresses of living separate from family and speaks on how he will handle living situations moving forward. The conversation also covers Goff's success in developing relationships in development and the idea of...

The tables are turned on @jayfhicks as his Sports Creatives Podcast is commandeered by 1Question Leadership Podcast host, Tai M. Brown. Hicks is put in the in the guest's chair as Brown asks questions about leadership in the collegiate sports creatives industry. Specific topics cover how creatives can value themselves and what to look for in an athletic department that values creatives.

Jim Grobe, former head football coach at Ohio, Wake Forest, and Baylor, visits @TaMBrown on the 1.Q. Coach Grobe talks about the differences in his initial assessment of the programs at his head coaching stops. He goes in depth about taking over at Baylor for one year as his primary focus was to do whatever was necessary to help the Student-Athletes and staff get through the season. Grobe also giv...

Ken Mannie, Strength & Conditioning Coach at Michigan State, talks about his thoughts on similarities and differences in working with coaches, administrators, and Student-Athletes over 45 years in the profession. With standards and expectations on the forefront of his leadership philosophy, Mannie discusses how his approach to leading Student-Athletes has changed. He also talks about the three imp...

Shawn Jones, Director of Athletics at Henderson State joins @TaiMBrown to discuss the school's transition to the Arkansas State system. Jones talks about learning to communicate with a new interim president while simultaneously working with the Arkansas State system to help manage the transition from an athletics perspective. He expresses excitement about new resources to the program, which includ...

Kirby Hocutt, Director of Athletics at Texas Tech, visits the 1.Question Leadership Podcast on the topic of inclusive leadership from entry-level roles all the way through executive positions. Hocutt mentions the culture at Tech, which encourages input and collaboration from staff through subcommittees that are open to everyone in the department. He also talks about the in-house Talkington Leaders...

On the eve of the NCAA Volleyball Semifinals and AVCA National Convention, @TaiMBrown caught up with University of North Dakota Head Volleyball Coach, Jeremiah Tiffin. Fresh off of his first season as a Division I head coach, Tiffin talks about the commonalities from his stints as a two-year and NAIA head coach. Thrust into the head coaching position after only four months as an assistant, Tiffin...