SportStories - The Podcast

Whats the big deal about intramurals? Having played a few different intramural sports, I began ask: Why does everyone compete so hard? Why is this so important? Why do college students care about recreation? Well, I asked these very questions to Kevin Sneed, the Senior Director for Student Recreation Activities at Broward College in South Florida. We had a lengthy conversation about the world of C...

Part 2 of the series with Brian Leahy! We talk all things MLB and what the future holds. Hope you enjoy the episode!! [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.]

I wonder what Babe Ruth and Stan Musial would think of the MLB today... Do we think they would be proud of where the league is right now? These questions have flooded my brain recently, so I reached out to baseball expert, Brian Leahy. Brian is the director of Camp Chen-a-Wanda in Pennsylvania. CAW is a sleep-away summer camp in the Poconos, but don't get me wrong here, Brian knows ball, that is a...

Have you ever wondered what life is like for an executive (i.e., CEO, COO, CFO, etc.)? Well, I have always been curious as to what exactly do executives...do. Sure, we understand that executives are the leaders of the organization, but what does their daily life look like? My curiosity landed me to a conversation with Ella Chan, the COO of Pedalheads. Pedalheads is a privately owned company in Van...

Thank you for listening to a FULL YEAR of SportStories The Podcast. The journey has been challenging over this last year. We transitioned from audio-only to providing video and also underwent a branding change. The podcast initially began as "Rebuilding the Ivory Tower: Perspectives on Sport in Society", whew. Realizing now, this name was WAY too long. Also, nobody knows what the "ivory Tower" is...

With the current landscape in the NCAA being compared to the wild west, I wondered what life was like behind the scenes. How does an AD approach the transfer portal? How does an AD build a culture within their athletic department? I sat down with Jordan Harmon, the Athletic Director for Austin Peay State University. We discussed his story from being a student athlete at APSU to working within the...

With Jack Hughes scoring the golden goal to award the US its' first Gold Medal since 1980, we began to think, who cares? I am joined by the hosts of Royally Quacked, Cody & Gary, an in-depth hockey podcast focusing on the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, to answer this question. With the recent success of the US on the Olympic stage, will this actually influence people to watch more ho...

"The Father, Son, and the Holy Touchdown" "I want to give all glory and thanks to God" - Fernando Mendoza after winning NCAA National Championship. Have you noticed that more and more athletes are praising God during post-game interviews? Maybe you noticed the amount of athletes praying before the game starts. Where did this come from and why are athletes so outwardly religious now? I spoke with S...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Hello everyone! This episode is a banger! I am gratefully welcomed by Alexia P. Hammonds, a 43-year-old self-made businesswoman with 23 years of experience as an exercise and wellness expert, fragrance specialist and doctoral student based ou...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Hey everyone! I begin this episode by sharing my story through Sport and how it has shaped me. I was born and raised in St. Louis where I grew up playing every sport possible. Even though I found a passion for competing in Sports, I realized...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Coach Darrion Cockrell (better known as DC) was born to a mother who struggled with addiction and a father who passed away at age 4. He bounced in and out of foster care in St. Louis and found himself involved in gang and drug-related activit...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Are you familiar with the story of Billy Bean? Maybe you've heard of the movie, Money Ball. With the rise of Sports data analytics and statistics, we as consumers have become reliant upon percentages and data-driven analyses. Enter Mr. Neil S...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.]  I wonder what athletes go through off the field..? How do they manage their life while also playing at an elite level..? What do they do if they get traded and need to find a new home..?  These are questions that race through my mind when wa...

Send us a text Hi everyone! Welcome to SportStories - The Podcast, my name is Nathan Merkel. Have you ever wondered why people love sports so much? How do people fall in love with teams, brands, and/or athletes so quickly and heavily? What does this do us as humans and how does it change us? All of these questions will be, slightly, addressed throughout this podcast with the help of a wide variety...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.] The Paris Paralympics, saw an 70% increase in viewership from 2020 to 2024. In total, over 15 million viewers streamed in for the Paralympics in 2024 and saw an average live-coverage viewership of 160,000. It is evident that the Paralympics i...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect the opinions of any respective organization or institution.] With the recent rise in popularity of American collegiate football, organizations have taken note on the importance of proper (sport/s) fan engagement and marketing. I spoke with Allison Kelly, the Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement at...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Do you think supporting a semi-professional sports team is different than a professional team? Have you ever attended a semi-professional sports game/event? Matt and I talk about the intricacies of semi-professional sporting events and how they a...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in an athletes' daily schedule? I have been curious about what collegiate and professional athletes are up to when they're not competing. I am grateful to be welcomed alongside Mary Long, a pr...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Has anyone noticed how the landscape of sports media has changed? It went from a casual newspaper/magazine article to a monthly/yearly contract. I spoke with Tyler Hill, a multi-media reporter at WCIA in Champaign, Illinois about the landscape of...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Hey everyone! I am gratefully joined by Michael Creek, a goalie for FC Tulsa in the United Soccer League.  We dive into topics about life as a professional athlete, the identity struggle that athletes face, the psychology of being a professional...

Send us a text [Disclaimer: The opinions in this episode are of my own accord and DO NOT reflect opinions of any respective organization or institution.] Are you a sport fan and wonder what life behind the scenes is like? I spoke with Brian McQueen, an equipment manager for an ECHL team in Maine about his journey through sport, experience working for a professional hockey club, and the current lan...

Send us a text Hey everyone! Thank you for joining us for Episode 2, "4th and... Australian?". I sat down with Hugh Robertson, a recently graduated athlete from the University of Illinois. Hugh competed as the punter for UIUC's football team from 2020-2024. He is originally from Australia and shared his experiences of being an international athlete in the Collegiate Football context.  Here are som...

Send us a text This episode will dive into the experiences of my father and I who were season ticket holding St. Louis Rams fans from 1998-2015.  The St. Louis Rams relocated to LA in 2015 and decimated our psychological connection to football, and sport in general. Are you a fan curious about franchise relocation? Are you a practitioner wondering what franchise relocation does to your loyal fanba...