Conversations on College Athletics Athletic Director U

Katie Thompson, Senior Account Manager at Google's Sports and Live Entertainment Team, joins Trip Durham on the Conversations on College Athletics Podcast to discuss internet marketing and how search engines play an important part of the process.

Trip Durham talks to Dan Donovan of T&M Protection Resources, LLC about the state of security in college athletics. Donovan discusses balancing the fan experience with securing a safe environment at athletic venues. The conversation covers methods to deter security breaches, issues with drones, cyber terrorism, and much more.

Trip Durham visits Wake Forest University to take a deep dive into what it takes to host five consecutive home games during a football season. Big storms aside, this in depth view includes input from a number of people who make things happen on gameday. Durham explores the approach taken by Wake Forest's athletic administrators in terms of facilities, strategic communication, fundraising, leadership, and methods of evaluation.

Jack Ford, CBS News Legal Analyst, discusses the potential effects of the SCOTUS ruling on gambling. Stressing the importance that the ruling says that individual states should decide whether to allow gambling, Ford says some states will rush to move and use this as an additional tax revenue stream while some will wait to see what plays out. Regarding college athletics, he discusses some of the primary concerns, i.e., hosting championships, new regulations, and lines of communication.

John Roberson is the CEO of Advent, joins Trip Durham on Conversations on College Athletics, to discuss the importance of telling powerful stories as an asset in intercollegiate athletics programs. Roberson talks about the importance of telling what makes a program unique and important to an audience.

Bruce Nelson, former CEO & President of Office Depot, continues to discuss the mechanisms of developing an organizational culture. His emphasis on people and trust is very obvious as he quotes from the book, The Speed of Trust, and asks the question “As a leader, what are you doing to develop trust?” Nelson mentions that everyone in an organization knows exactly what the leader will tolerate to accomplish goals, whether good or bad, so be aware of the culture you create.