The CUSP Show

Joe and Tom are back to speak with Paula Segal, Head of Consumer Product at SeatGeek, and discuss her journey to the intersection of sports and tech, which unexpectedly started with getting her Master’s in Medieval Studies from Columbia. Paula shares what makes SeatGeek different from other ticket-selling platforms and how the company operates with a focus on its customers. She explains some of th...

Tom and Joe are joined by Michael Dresner, founding partner at Forward Media Partners. During this episode, Michael Dresner shares his career journey and insights into the evolving sports media landscape. From his beginnings in international TV syndication at the NBA to his founding Forward Media Partners, Michael discusses the power of storytelling in sports, the growing market for translating po...

Tom and Joe are joined by David Palmer, Founder & CEO of Bernoulli | Locke on this week’s episode. Palmer discusses his background in finance and hospitality, and how he made the transition to the forefront of decentralized, autonomous organizations (DAOs) in the blockchain world.  Palmer weighed on the increasing participation in the Web 3.0 era, where there is a trend of democratization in the w...

Scott Rosner is joined by Chris Marvin, founder of Marvin Strategies, who talks about his military background and his career path. He shares his experience serving as a combat veteran in Afghanistan and his involvement with organizations that help veterans support their communities. Chris discusses his role in building a narrative for Vet the Vote, a campaign that recruits veterans to volunteer as...

In this episode, Scott Rosner sits down with Mori Taheripour, a negotiation expert and author of the award-winning book Bring Yourself. Mori shares her personal background, including her passion for sports and her experience as a first-generation Iranian immigrant, and how it led her to her career as a negotiation expert. She discusses the importance of the human side of negotiations and how her b...

Joe and Scott are joined by Christian Ponder, Former NFL Quarterback and founder of The Post. During this episode, Ponder discussed his personal transformation from a professional athlete to a thriving entrepreneur. He shares the path of establishing The Post, a networking hub and database for former college or pro athletes turned business people. The Post's objective is to offer a sense of belong...

In the latest episode from Radio Row, Wayne Kimmel of SeventySix Capital discusses the shift in pro sports as leagues and teams embrace tech and try to find the next big thing. Wayne shares how he became interested in helping other companies get off the ground and what he looks for in an entrepreneur to invest in. He also shares the story of how many of the companies he invested in are changing ho...

On this episode from Radio Row, Scott and Joe  sit down with Jeff Smulyan,  one of the founding fathers of sports talk radio, to discuss his new book Never Ride a Roller Coaster Upside Down. Jeff shares how we went “from idiot to genius” with his idea of creating sports talk radio and “from genius to idiot” with purchasing and selling the Seattle Mariners. They also explore importance of organizat...

From Radio Row at the Super Bowl, Joe and LJ Holmgren, the Deputy Academic Director of Columbia's Sports Management Program, present a special episode featuring Vince Pierson - CEO of VSP Impact Strategies and a close connection of the Sports Management Program who lectures in the Cultural Competency series workshop. During this episode, Pierson shares his career journey, from working in college s...

Angela LaChica joins the CUSP Show to speak with Joe and LJ Holmgren, Deputy Director of the Sports Management Program at Columbia University, about her women-led sport management firm, LaChica Sports & Entertainment Group. LaChica shares how she carved a lane for herself in sports and her work with the Players Coalition's impact on the community. She also shares her source of inspiration for her...

From Radio Row at the Super Bowl, Joe and Scott Rosner, the Director of Columbia's Sports Management Program, present a special episode featuring Gordon McGuinness - the Head of Content at Pro Football Focus. With over a decade of experience at PFF, McGuinness currently serves as a senior analyst, overseeing the company's special teams processes. In the podcast, McGuinness delves into the company'...

Scott and Joe talk with Ken Shropshire, Professor Emeritus at The University of Pennsylvania, about the ever-changing challenges and opportunities around diversity in football, from athletes at HBCU schools to the Rooney Rule to the evolution of quarterbacks of color. They also discuss the impact of the transfer portal on college sports and how it further complicates the “student” part of the stud...

Mike Pereira, Fox NFL Rules Analyst, and former NFL Referee returns to the CUSP Show from radio row to discuss the current state of officiating in the NFL. Mike shares the ways he feels replay has most impacted the work referees do and how it can strip them of their common sense. Lastly, he explains the current status of the referee pipeline and what he feels needs to be done to attract more peopl...

Markus Kuhn ‘19 returns to the The CUSP Show to discuss the growth of the NFL in Germany and why the league has found more success there than in countries. Joe and Tom talk to Markus about the growth of flag football in Germany as a gateway to growing the NFL’s product and how football is now the second-most popular sport in the country. Markus also shares his experiences broadcasting NFL games in...

Joe and Scott are joined by Mike Tannenbaum, fellow Columbia Sports Management professor and former general manager of the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Mike shares the story and latest developments for his media company The 33rd Team, as well as how he got his start in media as he transitioned out of football. He shares a sneak peek inside the classroom for his course Football Business Manage...

Scott Rosner, Director of the Sports Management Program at Columbia University, brings you a special episode from Radio Row leading up to the Super Bowl. He is joined by Greg Cosell, the Executive Producer of "NFL Matchup," Senior Producer of NFL Films, and Co-author of "The Games That Changed The Game." Cosell reflects on the start of his career, discusses the evolution of the “NFL Matchup” show...

Joe and Scott Rosner, Director of the Sports Management Program at Columbia, bring you a special episode from Radio Row leading up to the Super Bowl. They are joined by Eric Allen, Senior Reporter for the New York Jets, a veteran who has been a part of the team since 2001. In this episode, Eric sheds light on the development of the Jets' media department and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at th...

Scott Rosner sits down with Kathy Dieringer, President of The National Athletic Trainers Association, to discuss the importance of having athletic trainers in youth sports and why only one third of high school athletes have access to a full-time athletic trainer. Dieringer shares her background in athletic training en route to becoming president of NATA, as well as how the organization brings atte...

Joe and Scott Rosner, Director of the Sports Management Program at Columbia, come to you from Radio Row ahead of the Super Bowl. The two discuss being back at Radio Row for the first time since the start of the pandemic and how the coverage leading up to the the big game has changed over time. They examine how many of the NFL’s new projects, such as the Pro Bowl Games and NFL Flag, will impact the...

Joe sits down with Ryan Berman, founder of Courageous, an agency that focuses on creative and courageous marketing. He shares how he got his start in advertising and what is was like to watch the industry change around him. He explains why he left New York for San Diego to become an entrepreneur and pursue his belief in courageous ideas. Berman explains why he fired himself from the first company...

Tom and Joe lead us into the new year with Dylan Robbins, Founder & CEO of Lucra Sports. Robbins discusses his upbringing in a sports fanatic family in NYC, his professed love for analyzing statistics in live and fantasy sports games, and how sports betting redefined his game-watching experience. Struggling to get his friends to participate in sports betting, he utilized his background in finance...

Joe leads us into the Holidays with his friend Tom Odjakjian for a deep dive into sports scheduling and how it has changed with the growth of broadcast media. Tom shares how he got his start in sports media, getting a  job at a young ESPN and growing the network’s live sports portfolio through college sports. Tom takes us through the details of building a television schedule and the complications...

Tom is flying solo and is joined by David Sikorjak (@DSikorjak), President of Dexterity Consulting, who is also an author, storyteller, and marketing strategist. In this episode, David introduces Fans Have More Friends, a new book he co-authored with Ben Valenta. He discusses a range of topics, including the inspiration behind the book, why fandoms are worth investigating, their greater psychologi...

Joe and Tom are joined by Stephen Elmore, Assistant Vice President of Global Sports & Entertainment at Morgan Stanley. Stephen Elmore discusses his upbringing in a sports-centered environment in New York, his leadership in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion division (DEI) at DKC public relations, and how he forged professional experiences through managing business operations and communications....

Joe is joined by Joel Feld, EVP of Broadcast and Content at the National Lacrosse League (NLL), at the Columbia Sports Management Conference 2022. A veteran in the media industry, Joel talks about his illustrious career with organizations such as ABC Sports, Marquee SFX, CSTV (now CBS Sports Network), and now with the NLL. He shares insights on the biggest changes in sports content production and...