Higher Ed Athletics

Travis Smith
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College Athletics is a Decision Sport. Higher Ed Athletics helps aspiring athletic directors get better by interviewing the top administrators in division one college athletics.

  1. MAY 5

    Marcus Hilliard: Tennessee Executive Associate AD/Chief of Staff

    Marcus Hilliard has worked for some incredible leaders during his career, including Danny White, Gerald Harrison, Kevin White, and Stan Wilcox. He is a UT alumnus who fully appreciates getting to work with an incredible team of Vols leaders and colleagues. The first half of the conversation is a deep dive on those leaders and what he's learned. Then we get into how he learns and what he looks for in potential next opportunities. Hilliard is pursuing a doctorate in higher education and we talk about why the higher ed part of the degree is an asset for future ADs. Marcus shares what he learned from the "Leadership Knoxville" program and I talk about why I think more aspiring ADs and current ADs need to consider participating in these types of programs and rethinking their approach to LinkedIn to better connect with the business community. We wrap the conversation talking about the most overrated business advice Marcus has ever heard and applies it to today's college athletics. 0:00 Introduction2:58 Initiatives at Tennessee8:35 Working as a UT Alumnus10:37 Leadership Knoxville Program + LinkedIn Approach14:50 Learning from Great ADs (Gerald Harrison, Stan Wilcox, Kevin White, Danny White)21:28 Learning from Dad: Football Coach David Cutliffe22:55 Career Design24:22 Staying Ready - How Do You Study the Position?31:00 PhD in Higher Education39:55 Different Types of Institutions43:18 Most Overrated Piece of Business Advice47:15 HEA Road Trip Update - Thank You PILYTIX.ai & AD Vantage for Sponsoring AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.comOnrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: https://onrise.care PILYTIX is an AI tech company for higher education institutions and sports organizations. Increased Donations. Fast, Effective Targeting. Improved Performance. Learn more: ⁠https://pilytix.ai/ Game One is the apparel company that can outfit your teams in Adidas, Nike or Under Armour. Learn more: https://www.game-one.com/

    49 min

  2. APR 30

    Former AD-Turned Apparel Executive Tim McMurray Talks Uniform Patches & Apparel Contracts

    Tim McMurray is the former AD at the institution we now know as East Texas A&M. Before that he was a senior-level administrator at Maryland, SMU, NIU, Texas State and Lamar. McMurray is now the VP at Game One, an apparel and equipment company that outfits colleges in Adidas, Nike and Under Armour. I was talking with Tim about getting Higher Ed Athletics polos for the show and that turned into me asking him to come on and share his perspective on uniform patches and apparel contracts - including what aspiring ADs need to know. Tim talks to a lot of ADs in this role - are they still having fun? Come for the uniform topics, stay for the great advice from a former AD. 0:00 Introduction2:05 Uniform Patches10:30 Breaking Down Uniform & Apparel Contracts18:28 What Tim's Hearing from ADs Across the Country - Are They Having Fun?26:25 Five Pieces of Advice for Aspiring & Current ADs Higher Ed Athletics⁠ is Rethinking How Athletic Directors are Studied, Prepared, and Hired. AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: ⁠https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com⁠ Onrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: ⁠https://onrise.care

    32 min

  3. APR 27

    Montana State Athletic Director Leon Costello

    Just how difficult is it to run a FCS athletic department right now? In what ways will the football national championship help Montana State with both fans and corporations? Those that watch Higher Ed Athletics know I think highly of Leon Costello, and this interview will show you why. We talk about fan support and the trickle-down-effect of North Dakota State reclassifying as FBS. Is there pressure for Montana State to follow? We discuss football and basketball scheduling strategies with talk of the CFP and March Madness both likely to expand at some point. Costello's response about football scheduling priorities may surprise you. He shares his thought processes behind hiring and evaluating head coaches and ends the conversation with advice for aspiring ADs that is also helpful for current ADs sitting in the chair. 0:00 Introduction1:40 How difficult is it running a FCS athletic department right now?6:55 What does winning FCS national championship mean for fan support return on investment?12:20 How are companies in Bozeman area responding to success of Montana State?16:30 North Dakota State trickle-down-effect. Pressure to go FBS?23:45 Future scheduling with CFP and March Madness expansion27:45 Head Coach hiring approaches and evaluations37:48 Final advice for aspiring (or current) athletic directors41:45 The cool factor of having Rodeo as a varsity sportHigher Ed Athletics is Rethinking How Athletic Directors are Studied, Prepared, and Hired. AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com Onrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: https://onrise.care

    43 min

  4. APR 21

    Haven Fields Sr: Nebraska Deputy Athletic Director/COO

    Haven Fields Sr. is constantly looking to get better. That's what I took out of this conversation. From the great ADs he's worked for like Troy Dannen, Beth Goetz and Josh Whitman, to his personal board of directors, Fields has clearly paid attention as he continues his path to the AD chair. Haven talks about what he's learned from those ADs and how he consumes and stores insights to keep learning about the industry. He is led by his faith and talks about why it's important for him and his family to find the right fit anywhere he's been in his career as he wants to be part of the community. I asked Haven what it's like being a competitive person on the pursuit of the first AD job and how to still be happy for your industry colleagues when they get opportunities, too. 0:00 Introduction2:00 Proud Nebraska Initiatives4:27 AD Vantage - Where Victory Is Vetted5:45 Learning from Great Athletic Directors11:00 How Haven Learns & Consumes Information14:55 Onrise - Mental Health for College Athletes16:30 Decision Process for Job Opportunities21:06 Tactical Strategy - How Do You Keep Notes/Materials for Future AD Chair24:32 Working with Very Different Budgets Throughout Career28:30 Competitive Nature of Pursuing First Athletic Director Job31:50 Haven's Podcast and Book RecommendationsAD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: ⁠https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com⁠ Onrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: ⁠https://onrise.care⁠

    35 min

  5. APR 16

    AD Short Lists for Toledo, Kentucky, Oregon State and Wisconsin

    To continue demonstrating how I think about AD openings as I work to break into executive search, here are my shortlists for Toledo, Kentucky, Oregon State and Wisconsin. I try to base these names off reality (contracts), trends and situational needs of the institutions. I do not use sources for these names and no one has influenced me to mention their names. These are not predictions but instead the names I would reach out for to measure interest if Higher Ed Athletics was leading the search. 0:00 Introduction3:45 Toledo9:35 Kentucky20:30 Oregon State27:38 Wisconsin

    38 min

  6. APR 14

    New Haven Athletic Director Devin Crosby

    Devin Crosby joined HEA to talk in-depth about New Haven's 5-day decision to reclassify from D2 to D1. Under his watch New Haven raised $9 million to help support the transition. The first half of the episode is about institutional vision and alignment. Then the conversation shapes into advice on how ADs can think creatively to solve problems, like manufacturing a football rivalry with a local non-conference school. Crosby has spent much of his career in D1 but he was also a D2 AD at Lynn University for 8 years. We talked about how aspiring D1 ADs could benefit from applying to D2 AD jobs. 0:00 Introduction1:30 The 5-Day D1 Decision7:25 AD Vantage - Where Victory is Vetted8:50 Raising $9 Million the Same Year13:00 The Blueprint After the Decision21:20 Manufacturing a Football Rivalry23:30 The South Florida Showdown25:10 Onrise - Mental Health Care for Athletes26:43 Leadership Style & Empathy31:35 Should D1 Administrators Consider D2 AD Jobs?37:10 Advice for Aspirational ADs AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.comOnrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: https://onrise.care

    39 min

  7. APR 6

    Eric George: Rice Deputy Athletic Director

    Eric George joined the Rice Owls in late 2023 after 4 years at Clemson where he started as the Senior Associate AD/CFO before being promoted to Deputy AD. He is a business-minded strategist with a CPA that has worked for some incredible athletic directors. This conversation is mostly focused on how George thinks in his job, how he learns from others, and how he and his wife processes opportunities that led him to Rice and the ones that he will have in the future. I finish by asking Eric about the trend in FBS AD hires going younger lately and how that might change his approach. Eric is very focused on his deputy role at Rice and learning from Tommy McClelland, but I know he will be a great AD for some school at some point. 0:000 Introduction2:25 Proud Rice Initiatives So Far # 15:45 HEA: AD Chair Strategy Sessions7:18 Proud Rice Initiatives So Far # 28:50 AD Vantage - Where Victory is Vetted10:10 Learning from Great Athletic Directors13:55 Studying Athletic Director Content & Interviews16:35 How Eric Keeps Thoughts Organized for Future AD Role23:55 Career Design & Processing Opportunities33:40 Onrise - Mental Health Care for Athletes34:41 Balancing AD Ambitions with Deputy AD Demands37:20 The Evolving Role of the FBS Athletic Director42:40 FBS Presidents Taking Chances on Younger First-Time ADsHEA is presented by PILYTIX, an AI tech company for higher education institutions and sports organizations. Increased Donations. Fast, Effective Targeting. Improved Performance. Learn more: ⁠https://pilytix.ai/ AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com Onrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: https://onrise.care

    48 min

  8. APR 1

    Studying Athletic Director Press Conferences: Syracuse, Oklahoma, Charlotte, New Mexico

    The idea of "AD Film Study" is to watch a handful of athletic director press conferences and break them down in a way that I think can help future ADs in preparing for their introductory press conference, whether that be in their words or understanding the settings of the press conferences. At the end I offer a list of final thoughts and tips based on what I observed.I watched Bryan Blair (Syracuse), Roger Denny (Oklahoma), Kevin White (Charlotte) and Ryan Berryman (New Mexico) press conferences. Each situation was different when you think about it. Blair was the G6 sitting AD that is now joining the P4. Most Syracuse fans expected it to be someone with ties to the university and Blair had to introduce himself to the fan base. Denny was a surprise hire at Oklahoma coming from Illinois when everyone thought Oklahoma would go industry outsider or at least hire a sitting AD. Kevin White was the P4 deputy from Clemson, likely seen as an aspirational peer school to Charlotte from an athletic department perspective, and had more of a traditional pathway to the AD chair. Ryan Berryman was the interim that everyone seemed to know would be the permanent AD despite his young age.And if you want to support the HEA Road Trip I’m planning, please consider donating 5, 10 or 20 bucks via my HEA Stripe accountIf you prefer reading, I wrote a very long article of my notes for each of these press conferences on the HEA website0:00 Introduction3:38 Bryan Blair - Syracuse10:45 Explaining the HEA Road Trip11:45 Roger Denny - Oklahoma25:00 Custom HEA Briefings + Career Mapping Conversations27:30 Kevin White - Charlotte41:20 Ryan Berryman - New Mexico52:25 Final Thoughts & TipsHEA is presented by PILYTIX, an AI tech company for higher education institutions and sports organizations. Increased Donations. Fast, Effective Targeting. Improved Performance. AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts.Onrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue.

    1h 1m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

College Athletics is a Decision Sport. Higher Ed Athletics helps aspiring athletic directors get better by interviewing the top administrators in division one college athletics.

Information

  • Creator
    Travis Smith
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Travis Smith
  • Show Website
    Higher Ed Athletics

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