1.question Podcast

Fresno State Director of Compliance, Marcus Everett visits @1QLeadership to work on developing his leadership philosophy. Everette speaks about his previous experience as a one man shop at Stetson University. He talks about coming to Fresno State in a leadership role and learning to be an effective leader. His philosophy develops into being willing to learn, being knowledgeable about your role, being accountable for the work you do, and being able to effectively communicate whatever needs to be communicated.

Andrew Gavin, Director of Athletics at Wisconsin-Parkside visits @1QLeadership on a number of topics. He talks about his background as an SID and how that laid the foundation for how he leads from the AD chair. The conversation also covers answering questions he didn't have the answer to when he began at Parkside. Other topics discussed include introspection, internal fundraising, and his relationship with the chancellor.

Illinois Sr. Associate AD for Sport Administration and Student-Athlete Development, Dr. Brian Russell visits @1QLeadership to talk about the importance of developing a narrative about how the athletics experience helps to develop Student-Athletes for life after sports. Russell also discusses his leadership philosophy, which is rooted in candid care. The conversation wraps with exploring the strategic trade-offs that may be necessary in an athletics department.

Marcus Sedberry, Senior Associate AD at Baylor stops by @1QLeadership for a wide ranging conversation covering hiring, project management, and leadership among other things. Sedberry talks about working with compliance and the university on managing NIL. He also gives his hiring philosophy which revolves around character fit, competency in experience, and coaching acumen. The conversation wraps with his thoughts on the importance of cohesion amongst offices within  an athletics department.  

Tim Lester, Head Football Coach at Western Michigan visits @1QLeadership on the day his freshmen class reported to camp. Excited about his first full team meeting since before the lockdown, Lester talks about having two classes who have a unique experience coming into college. Recently appointed to the AFCA Board of Trustees, he talks about the job ahead for football coaches amongst all the changes in college athletics. The conversation wraps on Lester's passion for using science and analytics in the game of football.

Compliance and NIL are the @1QLeadership topics with UNLV Sr. Associate AD of Compliance, Eric Nepomuceno. Education, documentation, monitoring, and enforcement are the common aspects in compliance, but this discussion covers adding Name, Image, and Likeness to that plate of responsibilities. Nepomuceno gives insight about the Vegas Effect, which is UNLV's three pronged education platform for Student-Athletes regarding NIL. He also talks about what surprises him so far about NIL since its inception.  

Not long before announcing his retirement, longtime Ohio University football coach, Frank Solich, visited @1QLeadership to discuss longevity in coaching. Coach Solich talks about staying nimble with regard to leading 18-22 year olds. He touches on learning how to treat players from legendary coaches Devaney and Osborne at Nebraska. Serving as one of the AFCA Trustees, Solich talks about the importance of service to the industry. He also talks about developing players and sending them out in the world.

Frank Pucher, Sr. Association AD for External Affairs at Fresno State, visits @1QLeadership about providing leadership in the external operations area. He talks about his background working in media rights and how that informs his decisions in his current role. Pucher, former Deputy AD at Southern Utah, talks about his leadership philosophy on building a creative environment.

Jeremy Wang, Associate VP for Development at Temple, visits @1QLeadership with insight from his experience working in fundraising for athletics and on campus as a whole. He talks about the many leadership opportunities while working in development but emphasizes leading from wherever you are. Wang educates on types of development office structures, performance metrics, and priorities in terms of on campus versus the athletics department. The conversation wraps on his upcoming move out of higher education.

Rice Provost, Dr. Reggie DesRoches, visits @1QLeadership guest host Blair on the role of the Provost on campus. As the former Faculty Athletics Representative for Georgia Tech, DesRoches discusses helping faculty understand the commitment and efforts put forth by Student-Athletes. The discussion goes into the similarities between being the number two for a university and being the number two in an athletics department. The conversation wraps on the topic of being the first Black Provost at Rice during the social justice events of 2020.

University of San Diego Sr. Associate AD/Chief Development Officer/SWA, Marcy Lanoue, visits @1QLeadership to talk about her career experiences in external affairs and fundraising. Lanoue goes into some of the challenges and ways to be creative in overcoming the challenges of working in athletics development, specifically deciding when to elevate a donor's issue to the AD or beyond. She also covers her thoughts on leadership opportunities when working in this specific area of college athletics.

Ashwin Puri, Sr. Associate AD and Chief Athletics Operations Officer at Villlanova, visits @1QLeadership to discuss how his background in professional sports has influenced his experience in college athletics. The primary difference is understanding what (or who) is defined as the bottom line. He reflects on the moment he realized the difference between selling a ticket in the pros versus selling a ticket in college. Puri also gives insight on the similarities and differences between fundraising and sales.

Maryland Deputy AD, Colleen Sorem, stops by @1QLeadership to discuss her evolution as a leader. In addition to her Deputy responsibilities, Sorem also serves as CFO and she talks about the challenge of thinking beyond the budget when leading those who work with her. She also gives her insight into making a budget now during the pandemic and how it compared to the pre-pandemic environment.

WashU Director of Athletics, Anthony Azama visits @1QLeadership to talk about how the failure resiliency of being an athlete translates to leading an organization. Azama covers the importance of reflection and resolution as he processes the ups and downs of the day. He talks about the challenge of staying in the moment when you are the leader of the department as it can be easy to get caught up in the minutiae of running the operation. Azama also gives us his insight on the athletic curriculum Student-Athletes learn while participating in college athletics.

Yale Deputy AD and COO, Ann-Marie Guglieri, visits @1QLeadership to talk about her role as the number two in charge under AD, Vicky Chun. Guglieri explains the department's delineation between Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Athletics Director. She talks about the adjustments made while gaining more seniority in her career, specifically going from checking boxes to leading people. She also emphasizes taking time to make decisions as there is much more to consider when thinking about how something impacts the entirety of the organization.

WVU Deputy AD, Kelli Zinn, visits @1QLeadership guest host Blair on the topic of longevity at one place. Zinn talks about her progress to deputy and the challenges when constantly pursuing excellence. With similar career progress, Zinn and Blair discuss the benefits of beginning their athletics journey in compliance. Zinn discusses being responsible for football oversight and touches on the transition to the Big 12. She also talks about her involvement in capital projects and personnel changes.

Dr. Ed Scott, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Morgan State, visits @1QLeadership to talk about his process in deciding to take the AD job. Scott covers common misconceptions about working at HBCUs, early wins in his tenure in the chair, and being creative in finding resources. Growing the number of athletics sponsors by over 500% and recruiting top staffers to his department are some of the specifics of the discussion. The conversation wraps talking about MOAA, the Minority Opportunity Athletic Association.

Ron Seaver, President of the National Sports Forum (NSF), visits with @1QLeadership guest host Blair about the NSF and its growing relevance over 26 years in existence. Seaver gives an overview of the purpose of the event including its emphasis on increasing diversity in the sports industry. The conversation also focuses on the NSF's four pillars of revenue generation and its emphasis on networking and professional development.

Angel Mason, Director of Athletics at Berry College, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of listening to oneself. Mason talks about the transition from coaching basketball to working in administration. She mentions making decisions based on values and how finding an organization that aligns with those values can make leadership less challenging. The conversation wraps on navigating strategic planning through the pandemic.

LSU Director of Student-Athlete Mental Health and Interim Senior Advisor to the AD for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. LaKeitha Poole visits @1QLeadership. In a conversation ranging from her role advising the Athletics Director on DEI to helping Student-Athletes deal with the challenges of the starts and stops of the 2020 football season, Poole talks about filling what could possibly be three different full-time positions in the department. She also gives some insight on discussions with fellow mental health professionals on best practices for helping student-athletes with dealing with a season during the pandemic.