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

In the past year many Division I schools tried to drop sports. Most tried to drop men’s sports; some, like William and Mary and Stanford, dropped a large number of Olympic sports. Almost immediately, the players took to the internet, finding law firms to help them in their quest to reinstate their teams. In the past, this has been an uphill battle for the players. Athletic departments could wait o...

There have been a slew of books written about the faults and foibles of college sports, some hitting very close to home as to what is really going on. Five years ago, journalists Joe Nocera (then of the NYT, now of Bloomberg) and Ben Strauss (then of the NYT, now of the Washington Post) collaborated on a look into college sports titled “ Indentured: Inside the story of the rebellion against the NC...

As states have rushed to deal with legislation surrounding names, images and likenesses, there are a lot of folks involved to help state legislators understand the industry. Its important to state governments that they have a working partnership with higher education institutions in order to factor in their perspectives. As the NCAA’s July 1 deadline approached, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania wo...

If you are an avid listener to my podcast, you might remember a podcast we did about a year ago that introduced the concept of athlete biometrics and public vs private data collected from various performance software and clothing. Today, we’ll take that discussion one step further and look more deeply. My guest today is Kristy Gale , President & CEO HONOR Data Rights Management, Principal &amp...

A lot has been written about the legal challenges facing athletes in the new world of NILs--but do campus employees face legal heartburn as well? If that thought has crossed your mind, you are not alone. We are joined by former Vanderbilt University General Counsel (and current partner in Bass, Berry and Sims law firm) Audrey Anderson to discuss those issues and more. Topics include: Boosters and...

This week, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the NCAA was in violation of antitrust laws with its rules surrounding athlete compensation, specifically around limiting athlete’s educational benefits. My guests today are two UCLA Bruins who have been working on different paths, but both played significant roles in the outcome of this case. I’m joined by Ramogi Huma and Makan Del rahim. Ramogi...

Delaware’s state capital, a town known more for Dover Air Force Base (AFB), the Dover 500 racetrack, and traffic jams leading to the Delaware beaches, is the setting where higher education history is about to be made. May 15th, a day that should have been filled with exuberance for seniors celebrating their big moment graduating from Wesley College, was instead, bittersweet. All knew it would be t...

If you’ve been paying attention to college sports at all this past year, the rise in social justice activism has been unlike any other time in recent memory. As this podcast is being recorded, we are in the middle of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer charged with 2nd degree murder in the death of George Floyd. Along with so many other tragic deaths at the hands of police (...

The week before this podcast, the University of Michigan Board of Regents were embroiled in a very public controversy with one of their own members. A Regent had publicly attacked three senior State officials, including the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. Several Regents called for the member's resignation and/or censure. It was one of several public challenges the Regents have faced in th...

A perfect podcast for senior leaders trying to understand the NCAA legal issues in play in the Supreme Court. My guest is an expert in sports law, particularly in the issues the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard in the NCAA v Alston case, Gabe Feldman . Gabe is the director of the Tulane Sports Law Program and Tulane University's associate provost for NCAA compliance. He is one of the leading voic...

There has been a narrative for quite sometime about campus building and amenities—you know, lazy rivers, climbing walls, fancy cafeterias…the whole 9 yards. I could talk a lot about the amenities boom on the athletics side of campus—the Athlete Villages and gated communities built just for revenue producing athletes. But, this podcast goes deeper than that. My guest today is Karin Fischer , s...

The outcry was fierce and nearly universal . Women's basketball teams arriving on site in San Antonio to compete for the 2021 NCAA Division I title were appalled at the so called "strength facilities" available to them as compared to the men,--a few yoga mats and dumbbells. The NCAA site management staff quickly responded and attempted to correct the obvious error, but by then, the floodgates open...

When Universities decide to “re-classify” their institution’s athletics program, it is a big deal. I’m joined by two higher education leaders who led their institution, Northern Kentucky University , from NCAA Division II to Division I. Dr. Jim Votruba was the President at NKU from 1997-2012, and recently retired from the NKU faculty after 8 years. Dr. Katie Herschede is currently the Vice Preside...

Today I’m joined by Dr. Christine Baugh , an assistant professor in the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Center for Bioethics and Humanities. Christine’s work focuses on acute and chronic health implications of repetitive brain injury from sport, and the resultant individual, institutional, policy and ethical considerations. She was named a Forbes “30 under 30” in sports, and also studies risk, d...

The United States Military Academies play an important role in developing future leaders. All five of the Academies offer competitive athletic programs. As academic excellence is a cornerstone for each one, I wanted to understand how the Faculty Athletics Representative functions inside the military chain of command. This FAR can walk into the Vice-Admiral's Office (aka the Superintendent) at the...

Take a look at pictures of the coaches in your athletics program. How many men do you see? How many women? How many people of color? Have you ever asked your athletics director how he/she works to make the staffs more reflective of the athletes in the program? We're joined by a researcher who thinks deeply about this issue, with a particular emphasis on recruiting and retaining women in college co...

I will freely admit I am not a gambler—I’ve spent very little time in my life inside casinos and have only a tangential relationship with understanding the odds in sports betting. So, like any other student, I need to learn more about this industry and its looming impact on college sports. I invited the best expert I know to enlighten all of us. Robert Ambrose is a casino/hospitality consultant, u...

Just prior to his January departure, Makan Delrahim put the finishing touches on the Antitrust Division’s opinion in the Alston v NCAA case and sent it to the Solicitor General. According to the former Department of Justice antitrust lawyer, the NCAA is approaching uncharted territory in antitrust law, and is looking for the Supreme Court and/or Congress to throw them a lifeline. Makan joined me f...

Duke's Krzyzewskiville--The Most Famous On-Campus Pre-Game Housing In America Duke is famous for “ Krzyzewskiville ”, where students are known to literally camp out overnight for tickets, all the while to create a frenetic home court advantage for men’s basketball. It's a major part of campus life in Durham, North Carolina. But there are more intricate details that go into navigating the balancing...

Welcome! Today's podcast will discuss the explosion of journalism focused on college sports, and in particular, the incredible work being done by independent writers in this space. For many, this is a labor of love; for some lucky ones, they are able to make a living out of their entrepreneurial efforts. Subscriptions prices range from free, all the way up to $9 or $10/month. promising to deliver...

Welcome to 2021! The Olympic program in 2024 is going to look very different. Of the 32 sports on the Olympic program, only 16 - (exactly HALF) of the 2024 Olympic sports - correlate with an NCAA-sanctioned national championships: athletics (track and field), rowing, basketball, fencing, football (soccer), golf, gymnastics, field hockey, wrestling, water sports, equestrian sports, tennis, shooting...

Former college President and occasional guest host Scott Flanagan joins me for a look back at the most remarkable year in college sports history. We talk about Presidential decisions to close campuses and what has changed in letting administrators think they couldn't play basketball in March, but they could play football in September. We talk about attempts at Division I reform and why certain Pow...

Ahead of a 60 minutes segment on the future of Olympic sports scheduled for Sunday December 6, I talked with KYW Radio's Matt Leon about what Olympic sports bring to college athletic programs. As a former field hockey coach (a sport the US has struggled to be competitive internationally in), I know what a big stage having your sport in the Olympic Games can mean.  Will colleges continue to be...

I’m joined today by Tom Farrey , Executive Director of the Sports and Society Program. He is best known for his work on college and youth sports reform, with  The Nation  writing that Tom “ has done more than any reporter in the country to educate all of us about the professionalization of youth sports.” While college presidents may have a deep understanding of enrollment management and...

Let me introduce you to Vaughn College (NY). It is a unique place to be a college athlete, because one of its main academic majors is aviation. And as you may know, the airlines have been deeply impacted by the current recession.  My guest is Dr. Sharon DeVivo , the President of Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, and their first female president. Vaughn is located in Flushing, NY,...