Seldom in the high-pressure, fast-paced world of intercollegiate athletics do we find ourselves in a quiet period, a period that not only allows for, but arguably invites reflection, learning, relationship building, depth, and uninterrupted attention to detail.
In the latest edition of the Experts' Roundtable series, AthleticDirectorU chats with a three athletic development professionals on a few key topics related to fundraising in college athletics.
If you read Part I of this series, you know that I’m building a model to judge the net present value of the 2012 decision for Larry Scott and the Pac-12 to not bring on a strategic partner for the Pac-12 Networks. Crucially, I’m judging this decision based on the time value of money.
Since this is AthleticDirectorU, I’m going to lay out my process so that hopefully other ADs and leaders in college athletics could learn from my approach. Moreover, I’ll teach a few points about business strategy, that apply as much to college sports as consumer packaged goods.
AthleticDirectorU and Athlete Viewpoint have partnered to develop original opinion research about various issues in college athletics. This inaugural study on MBB-FBI developments gathered data from ADs, Senior level compliance staff and conference commissioners.
Anyone who has led an organization has felt the frustration of leaked information, be it confidential negotiations, planned personnel moves or even informal discussions. More than other setbacks, leaks frustrate leadership because they also trigger an emotional reaction, which is a sense of betrayal
Making judgments calls, some about people, some about strategy, and, occasionally, some in times of crisis, requires that we lean heavily on our values and beliefs to steer us in a direction that is congruent with our organizational culture.
Leadership has to ensure that they are including and engaging employees in an experience that the leader is proud to provide, but also one in which if leadership was a member of a marginalized group, they too would value that experience.
One place where women have seen more success securing senior level positions is conference commissioners. Eleven of the 32 NCAA Division I conference commissioners (34.4%) were women at the time of this study, a much higher percentage than observed in other intercollegiate leadership positions.
There’s certainly a halo effect when men’s basketball is firing on all cylinders, a contagious energy and good feeling that permeates throughout the athletics department and the campus. so it’s only natural that it acts as a motivating force for others to do the same in their own roles.
In the latest edition of the Experts' Roundtable series, AthleticDirectorU chats with a quartet Softball sport administrators on a variety of topics, including what impact the new Student-Athlete Transfer Portal is having within their program.
This year is not yet two months old but we can already see hints about the future of sports programming and delivery platforms. Some of these clues involve the continuation of ongoing story lines, while others are emerging.
