Trustees and Presidents: A Podcast for University Leaders On College Athletics

Deep inside the Prudential Center, the home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, thirty-seven-year-old Michael B. Jordan was shuffling a deck of cards. You’re a card player, I asked? He said, yes, and he listed a few games, some of which I’ve heard of, some not. He seemed at ease. He had just done a pre-recorded hit for NBC’s the Today Show, and was about to do an interview with me. Named to Forbes’ 30...

An emerging trend on larger college campuses is the creation of innovation districts. Typically located adjacent to the campus (or in the case of colleges with multiple campuses, the main location), these ecosystems involve businesses, residential and entertainment/sports options, creating a “24 hour a day” energy to an otherwise sleepy part of town. The upside of this trend is obvious to real est...

The worlds of higher education and college athletics are changing so fast, it's dizzying. Those who work in the industry are hit with change seemingly every day.  How are your students, faculty, coaches and others handling all the challenges in their world?   Enter Real Response. Originally a tool for college athletes to speak up and share their experiences with athletic administrators has evo...

You've likely heard the old adage, "I'm shocked-there's gambling in this establishment?". While it is an old movie line, it applies to today's college campus. College students (and others) are betting on sports on their phones, hourly, daily and sometimes, more often.  With sports betting now legal in over 35 states, college presidents and campus leaders must address the...

For the past 20 years, it seems as if wherever there’s been a sports law story involving athlete rights, Michael McCann has been near the epicenter of it. Whether it was as a member of former Ohio State player Maurice Clarett’s legal team in the groundbreaking Clarett v NFL, case; co-authoring a book with Ed O’Bannon, the former UCLA men’s basketball player who found his likeness had been sold off...

Last week, former players in Northwestern's Football Program appeared at a press conference with attorneys who are representing them. What are they asking for? Simple-cultural change and restitution on behalf of dozens of Northwestern athletes who have alleged similar behavior. The podcast opens with a sound clip from plaintiff’s attorney Parker Stinar from the press conference. Why do institu...

When it comes to the "old definition of amateurism", the NCAA is under legal assault on at least 3 different fronts.  Our podcast conversation today focuses on three pending legal cases involving athletes as employees-Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team attempting to unionize; Johnson v NCAA, with the plaintiffs arguing athletes should be treated as employees under the Fair Labor Standards...

Kicking off the fifth season of this podcast, West Georgia President ⁠Brendan Kelly⁠ takes us inside the decision to move their  athletics program from Division II, where they were highly successful, especially in football,  to Division I. Kelly began his tenure in March 2020, as the campus (and most of the world) closed down for the pandemic. 3+ years later, he and his team took a deeper look at...

Chase Griffin , a UCLA quarterback heading for his third year in 2023, has a boatload of great insight and advice for senior campus leaders about how NIL really works. In this conversation, he tells us his perspective and shares how he brings his personal mission and beliefs into his work on and off the field. Since 2019, he has earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and is on trac...

How can colleges and universities creatively leverage new trends in finance? Technology? Real Estate? NIL? This conversation provides valuable Insight from long-time higher ed consultants: Baker Tilly's Adrienne Larmett and Dave Capitano . We discuss mergers/acquisitions, reimagining too much or too little housing space on campus, should private equity and NIL deals include private off-campus...

In early June 2023, the second annual NIL Summit was held at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Over 500 athletes traveled to Georgia to talk about NIL and grow their understanding of how to maximize their opportunities. The amount of attention and interest in what college athletes might be able to earn via this marketplace is still being established. One thing is for certain,...

Why aren't more women holding Division I college presidencies? While smaller colleges (especially community colleges) have seen significant growth in women leading institutions, the numbers dwindle as you move towards Division I. Is there a perception that women presidents can't manage big-time college sports? An important discussion about presidents, college sports and the 2023 ACE Study...

We are joined today by Sports and Data Rights Attorney Michael Clohisy. He is a Boston-based sports attorney, business executive, board member, and former certified National Football League (NFL) player-agent, who has advised clients and matters involving: data rights, privacy and protection in sport; athletes’ digital, publicity (US) – name, image, and likeness—NIL, image (UK) and personality (EU...

Higher Ed scholars and faculty are near unanimous in their agreement—the job of being a college or university president today is as difficult as ever. With stressors from finances, to enrollment and state-wide politics, every day is a new adventure. For those whose presidencies are in states like Florida and Texas, the pressures on both presidents and trustees from governors and legislatures is ev...

From the perspective of the NCAA's National Office, no one has seen more change in the last 35 years than former VP Dan Dutcher. From 2 Divisions to 3, all the while working with countless coaches, presidents, athletics directors and colleagues, Dan has seen it all. He joins me today to talk about the challenges facing Division III institutions (and their leaders) today. The overwhelming numbe...

We know college athletics is undergoing a substantive transformation. And partially due to Covid and other factors, including demographic shifts across the nation, so is higher education. College presidents are under tremendous pressure to CHANGE and REINVENT their campuses, yet what they are initially hired to do often is not what they end up doing. Case in point-Temple University's now forme...

Much has been covered about NIL and college athletes, but one topic we don't hear much about is---taxes. If you make over $600 in a year from NIL, an athlete should receive a 1099. However, the categories of how athletes are being paid vary---from cash, to Venmo, to crypto to NFTs. How does this work? And what about athletes that are starting their own microbusinesses, like Caitlyn Clark (Iowa...

Eric Barron’s career has been built on innovation. From his time as Dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (and as founding director of the Earth System Science Center), to his presidencies at both Florida State University and Penn State University, he has focused broadly on how to do things better.   At both Penn State and Florida State, he has dealt with high profile Division I athlet...

My guests today hold two crucial roles in the modernization of DIII athletics. Gerard Rooney is the President at St. John Fisher University in New York. Chuck Mitrano is the Commissioner of the Empire 8 Conference and the Chair of the NCAA DIII Championships Committee. Our topic? How DIII leaders are centering the athlete experience around well-rounded mind and body wellness and defining the colle...

We all have it. Whether we like the color red over blue, or like a sports car over an SUV, we all have preferences. It's what makes us unique. But when we make decisions about situations and personnel that are based purely on our perception (or, our bias) about what a woman "should do" or a man "should behave", we are treading into the turbulent waters of "implicit bias". My guest today is an expe...

For the 2023 Super Bowl alone, an estimated $16 billion was spent on legalized gambling, including mobile apps, live casinos and other technologies. With 21 states now allowing gambling on sports, the activity is in its infancy in the U.S. The next big sporting event-NCAA March Madness, promises to add to the amount of money changing hands between sports books and fans, leading to positive tax rev...

"In 2014, Noriana Radwan, then a women’s soccer player at the University of Connecticut (“UConn”) and recipient of a one-year athletic scholarship, raised her middle finger to a television camera during her team’s post-game celebration after winning a tournament championship. The game was being nationally televised and Radwan’s gesture was captured on the broadcast. Although she initially was susp...

When the news broke that both the women’s and men’s swimming programs at Michigan State would be cut in October 2020, there was shock and sadness. Citing declining department revenue resources available in the early days of the pandemic, as well as an outdated pool, former athletics director Bill Beekman and president Stanley signed off on a news release , stating “We understand that the news is d...

Boise State burst on the to the national stage in football over 20 years ago and made a mark few non-Power 5 schools have done. From the famous "Blue Turf" in the stadium, to 3 Fiesta Bowl victories, football put a regional state school in the national discussion. Along with the Mountain West Conference's first mover status in creating its own television network, the Broncos became a national phen...

When a college leader assumes his/her presidency for the first time, I've often wondered how they begin to understand the complexities of college athletics. Nearly 90% of sitting presidents rise to the position from the academic side of the house- where do they learn about athletics? In 2023, there are so many challenges and choices for presidents to make, that it can seem daunting. How do new pre...