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Speaker 1: Look, if you're here, you're here for a reason. We

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Speaker 1: obviously are very interested in the need. But I don't

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Speaker 1: want you to come here just because we want you.

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Speaker 1: You need to want to be here. You need to

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Speaker 1: feel comfortable in this environment. You need to feel that

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Speaker 1: this is a place that you want to spend the

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Speaker 1: next four to five years of your life and feel

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Speaker 1: that it's going to be in your best interest to

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Speaker 1: be here.

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Speaker 2: This is the Reform Sports Project, a podcast about restoring

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Speaker 2: healthy balance and perspective in all areas of sports through

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Speaker 2: education and advocacy. Hi, this is Nick Bonnacor from the

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Speaker 2: Reform Sports Podcast. Today, I'm speaking with David Benedict, director

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Speaker 2: of athletics at the University of Connecticut. Joining the Yukon

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Speaker 2: team in March of twenty sixteen, Dave helped orchestrate Yukon's

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Speaker 2: move to the Big East Conference, which has been nationally

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Speaker 2: recognized as a change that will provide a dramatic boost

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Speaker 2: to Yukon athletics. Prior to Yukon, David served as a

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Speaker 2: Chief operating officer for the athletics department at Auburn University,

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Speaker 2: directing the day to day operations of the department. Coming

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Speaker 2: off an exciting March Madness victory for the Yukon men's team.

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Speaker 2: David and I discuss how the professionalization of youth sports

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Speaker 2: impacts college athletics, the importance of retaining quality coaches that

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Speaker 2: care about the athletes, and rethinking how the higher education

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Speaker 2: system can better support student athletes. I got another phenomenal guest.

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Speaker 2: He's on a super tight schedule. He is coming off

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Speaker 2: of a major successful winter sports season, highlighted by the

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Speaker 2: national championship won by the Yukon men's basketball team. But

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Speaker 2: really tickled to have them and get his perspective. The

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Speaker 2: athletic director for the Yukon Huskies up in Stores, Connecticut,

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Speaker 2: Dave Benedict.

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Speaker 3: Dave, thanks so much for hopping on, man age.

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Speaker 4: Great to be with you.

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Speaker 2: I appreciate it, man, And come to find out, I mean,

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Speaker 2: first off, congratulations of course the women, you know, Yukon

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Speaker 2: ladies basketball had a tremendous year, But I mean winning

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Speaker 2: a national title for the men. That doesn't happen to

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Speaker 2: me five times in twenty five years. Make congratulations, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: thank you.

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Speaker 4: It was a great run.

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Speaker 1: And be happier for the coaches and the student athletes

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Speaker 1: and everyone that's part of that program, but also the fans.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's been been a rough, little bit of

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Speaker 1: a rough go since I've been at Yukon, trying to

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Speaker 1: climb the mountain and get back to the championship, which

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Speaker 1: is obviously what Coach Calvin built that program to be

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Speaker 1: a championship level program, and I couldn't be prouder to.

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Speaker 4: Have been a part of it. You know.

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Speaker 2: It's funny, as I mentioned to you, a lot of

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Speaker 2: the listeners obviously know I've had Coach more On, obviously,

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Speaker 2: Coach Calhoun. I've interviewed Jim Penners before. I mean, you

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Speaker 2: know Jim Penners in the Super Regional of course, jiu Oriema,

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Speaker 2: you know, one of a legend. I mean, the John

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Speaker 2: Wooden of the women's side as far as success is concerned,

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Speaker 2: and I mean football talk about a turnaround winning a

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Speaker 2: bowl game, you know, and I mean your decision to

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Speaker 2: get back into the FPS. I mean, how's the transition

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Speaker 2: been with conference realignment? Of course, Yukon going back to

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Speaker 2: the Big East. And I think Yukon football wise is independent.

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Speaker 2: What's it like juggling you know, the conference realignment, all

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Speaker 2: these things on the football side, and just how does

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Speaker 2: it impact the overall program?

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Speaker 1: Well, I think when we made the decision to go

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Speaker 1: back to the Big East, obviously football was that piece

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Speaker 1: that everyone immediately kind of.

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Speaker 4: Jumped to, asking questions about how are you going to

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Speaker 4: do this? What does this mean? Are you killing football?

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Speaker 1: You know, the brand that you comes built on the

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Speaker 1: backs of mensal women's basketball. It's an international brand and

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Speaker 1: it was very, very important to me that we not

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Speaker 1: see the potential of our brand value slide further than

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Speaker 1: what it already had. And that's not a shot at

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Speaker 1: the American it just was not working for us, and

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Speaker 1: so we made that decision. And you know, if you

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Speaker 1: look at what's happening right now across the board in

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Speaker 1: ukond of Athletics, we're having success across the board. And

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Speaker 1: so the decision, the strategy, the thought process behind it

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Speaker 1: has worked out.

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Speaker 4: It's paid off. But look, conference realignment is constant, it's

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Speaker 4: going to continue to happen.

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Speaker 1: We're going to do everything we can to monitor what's

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Speaker 1: going on, and just like we did for between four

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Speaker 1: and five years ago, we're going to make the best

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Speaker 1: decisions for our athletic programs. Sustainability is really critical for US.

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Speaker 1: We want to remain competitive and provide our coaches and

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Speaker 1: programs the opportunity to continue to compete on a national level.

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Speaker 1: You look at our baseball program, one game away from

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Speaker 1: getting to the College World Series last year, currently ranked

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Speaker 1: number ten in the country. We want to make sure

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Speaker 1: that we have the opportunity to do that over the

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Speaker 1: next two decades.

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Speaker 4: So, you know, making sure that we understand what's going.

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Speaker 1: On, how certain things that are happening around college athletics

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Speaker 1: right now are impacting us today, but also what it's

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Speaker 1: going to look like five to ten years from now

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Speaker 1: is really important.

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Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought that up because obviously a lot

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Speaker 2: of our listeners are sports parents, they're coaches. You know,

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Speaker 2: you might have some kids, you know, a lot of

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Speaker 2: people that are interested in trying to navigate this youth

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Speaker 2: sports dynamic. And you know, it's become a term where

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Speaker 2: it's called the professionalization of youth sports. I mean, right now,

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Speaker 2: it's it's the travel space between travel sports and the tourism.

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Speaker 2: It's like a thirty billion dollar industry. It's projected to

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Speaker 2: be upwards of a seventy six billion dollar industry by

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty six, and in no way does that not

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Speaker 2: impact college sports? I think that people now are saying

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Speaker 2: with NIL, it's the professionalization of college sports.

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Speaker 3: Well, what are your thoughts?

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Speaker 2: How do you juggle this whole phenomenon of the transfer

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Speaker 2: portal NIL it's like borderline free agency, Like, how do

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Speaker 2: you think that impacts college athletics entire landscape going forward?

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Speaker 2: But also the trickle down effect? I mean you're seeing

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Speaker 2: laws and states being passed where you know, it's okay

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Speaker 2: for middle schoolers, you know, young kids, high school kids

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Speaker 2: to be able to get NIL deals. You know, how

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Speaker 2: does one fee the other? And overall, how do you

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Speaker 2: see the entire landscape shifting?

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Speaker 4: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: That that is the question of the day, and we

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Speaker 1: could probably spend hours going back.

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Speaker 4: And forth on this topic.

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Speaker 1: As someone that grew up, you know, in a household

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Speaker 1: that had had a father that was a coach at

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Speaker 1: the at the junior college level, you know, my entire

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Speaker 1: life was spent, you know, around college football, wanting to

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Speaker 1: eventually have the opportunity to play college football.

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Speaker 4: I was fortunate enough to go.

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Speaker 1: To Southern Utah and be able to live out my

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Speaker 1: dream and play.

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Speaker 4: My perspective was totally different at that time.

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Speaker 1: My perspective was, boy, I would just love the opportunity

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Speaker 1: to be a part of a team and play. It

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Speaker 1: wasn't about hey, what are you going to do for me?

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Speaker 1: You know, how much nil am I going to get?

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Speaker 1: How much money am I going to receive? And so

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Speaker 1: good that are indifferent. That is the environment that we

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Speaker 1: live in today, and I think it's in some ways

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Speaker 1: perpetuated by how youth sports has changed. You know, you see,

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Speaker 1: the best players are being recruited, whether it's in high

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Speaker 1: schools or whether it's in summer leagues, and so there

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Speaker 1: is this huge focus on talent acquisition and success, and

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Speaker 1: therefore the talent wants to be compensated. And I think

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Speaker 1: that's what you're seeing evolved in college athletics.

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Speaker 4: I am, you.

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Speaker 1: Know, someone that has been in the business now for

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Speaker 1: about twenty five plus years. You know, I've seen a

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Speaker 1: mentality that was very dug in and very stubborn about

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Speaker 1: things that I would say are very stupid. I use

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Speaker 1: the analogy of the bagel and the cream cheese as

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Speaker 1: kind of my go to example. You know, at one

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Speaker 1: point in time, early in my career, you know, some

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Speaker 1: group of people decided that we could we can now

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Speaker 1: give bagels to our student athletes, but we weren't allowed

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Speaker 1: to give them anything to put on it. And that

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Speaker 1: was the mindset that I really believe perpetuated the situation

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Speaker 1: that we're in today because we've gone so far to

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Speaker 1: the other end of the spectrum that you know, there

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Speaker 1: are no rules, there are no policies, are there is

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Speaker 1: no structure right now. And while I certainly am a

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Speaker 1: proponent and a supporter of individuals being able to own

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Speaker 1: their name, image, and likeness and being able to monetize that,

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Speaker 1: I think the environment today is is not necessarily going

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Speaker 1: to prove out to be in the best interest of everybody.

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Speaker 1: And I'm not talking about the monetaries. I'm just talking

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Speaker 1: about how things are currently happening right now. It's a

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Speaker 1: free for all, and it's certainly created freedoms, but having

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Speaker 1: the kind of.

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Speaker 4: Freedoms that.

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Speaker 1: Are currently available to people, I'm not sure ultimately will

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Speaker 1: will be in the best interest of everybody.

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Speaker 4: So hopefully we can create.

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Speaker 1: Some structure around the current environment that will allow everybody

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Speaker 1: to maintain their ownership with their nil, create opportunities for

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Speaker 1: them that are appropriate, but also have some type of continuity.

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Speaker 1: Because we're really right now the only sport industry and

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Speaker 1: Concha athletics where they're truly just there is no rules

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Speaker 1: governing anything.

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Speaker 2: It's an interesting point because there was just a change made.

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Speaker 2: I'm sure, you know in college baseball, where you know,

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Speaker 2: for the last i mean GZ five six seven years,

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Speaker 2: it was very common. I mean even seen some of

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Speaker 2: the biggest media outlets that cover youth sports having live

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Speaker 2: Instagram feeds of eighth graders, ninth graders committing to universities,

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Speaker 2: and a lot of people don't understand that there's nothing

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Speaker 2: binding on that there's nothing binding until on national letter

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Speaker 2: and tennis sign But just recently it was in a

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Speaker 2: couple weeks actually, I think the rule went into effect

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Speaker 2: where it's no longer you're no longer allowed to offer

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Speaker 2: a kid until they're at least a junior in high

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Speaker 2: school from the baseball side, which I think baseball was

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Speaker 2: playing catch up with a lot of other sports. So

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Speaker 2: is that one of the things that you're seeing change,

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Speaker 2: And I mean, you know, how do you monitor, you know,

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Speaker 2: to make sure that recruiting, because I would argue that

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Speaker 2: exposure recruiting, the selling the dream of full ride scholarship

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Speaker 2: is like the major selling point to sports parents to

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Speaker 2: really hit the accelerator and spend just bucos of money

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Speaker 2: as their kids are eight, nine, ten, because they feel

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Speaker 2: like they're missing out. So how do you feel or

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Speaker 2: how do you as the athletic director navigate to make

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Speaker 2: sure I guess coaches are doing things the right way,

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Speaker 2: the right protocol, and really keep your arms around this

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Speaker 2: big gorilla because it, I mean, let's face it, it's

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Speaker 2: a It's a big might be the biggest component and

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Speaker 2: what people are chasing from a youth sports standpoint.

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Speaker 4: Yeh.

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Speaker 1: Again, you touched on so many different things and I'm

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Speaker 1: just trying to in my mind here keep track of,

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Speaker 1: you know, all the points in questions that you just made.

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Speaker 4: That I'd like to offer something back.

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Speaker 1: I mean, first of all, when you when you talk

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Speaker 1: about recruiting, I was involved in a visit one day.

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Speaker 1: It was an unofficial visit obviously, but it was it

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Speaker 1: was an individual as you pointed out, I think he

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Speaker 1: and his parents were at a football game that came in.

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Speaker 1: They were looking around the university on a big game day,

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Speaker 1: but the coach asked me to come over and say hello.

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Speaker 1: I was talking to an individual that was in eighth grade,

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Speaker 1: and I won't reference the sport, but it's an impossibility

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Speaker 1: for an individual that's an eighth grader to have the

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Speaker 1: ability to make a decision that would be in their

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Speaker 1: best interest at that age and choose where they want

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Speaker 1: to go to school. And so, you know, my biggest

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Speaker 1: issue with that is just, you know, so much of

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Speaker 1: the issue around transfer is student athletes really being in

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Speaker 1: a position to make a informed decision. And I meet

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Speaker 1: with a lot of young people and their parents or

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Speaker 1: whoever comes with them on their visits, and a lot

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Speaker 1: of times you try to have these conversations. My perspective

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Speaker 1: is always that, look, if you're here, you're here for

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Speaker 1: a reason.

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Speaker 4: We obviously are very interested in you.

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Speaker 1: But I don't want you to come here just because

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Speaker 1: we want you. You need to want to be here.

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Speaker 1: You need to feel comfortable in this environment. You need

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Speaker 1: to feel that this is a place that you want

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Speaker 1: to spend the next four to five years of your life,

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Speaker 1: and feel that it's going to be in your best

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Speaker 1: interest to be here. And so it's a very two

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Speaker 1: sided decision, and a lot of times it doesn't work

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Speaker 1: out that way, and that's why you see individuals show

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Speaker 1: up and it's not necessarily the best place for them,

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Speaker 1: But a lot of that's because they don't really put

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Speaker 1: themselves out there when they're on their visits.

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Speaker 4: Or being recruited.

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Speaker 1: They just have kind of, you know, some sort of

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Speaker 1: an emotional tie to something, or they think this is

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Speaker 1: great because of success or whatever it might be, and

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Speaker 1: ultimately it.

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Speaker 4: Doesn't work out. Now, that's not the majority of kids, but.

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Speaker 1: You'd like to see that process be developed in a

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Speaker 1: way that really allows for the people that are making

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Speaker 1: decisions to be.

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Speaker 4: In the best place possible.

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Speaker 1: And the older one is, the more experiences they have,

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Speaker 1: the better position they're going to be to make a

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Speaker 1: more decision. So that on the on the recruiting piece

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Speaker 1: that's really critical. The other piece, you know, going back

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Speaker 1: to what you talked about just the overall sporting industry.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's there's so much money that's involved in

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Speaker 1: sport these days, and I think the challenge between a

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Speaker 1: true high educational experience where your focus is getting a degree.

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Speaker 1: I think we're kidding ourselves if we believe that every

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Speaker 1: young individual is coming to a campus, particularly in the

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Speaker 1: area of college athletics, and their primary focus is earning

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Speaker 1: a degree. I think that that has shifted quite a bit,

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Speaker 1: and because of how much money is potentially out there

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Speaker 1: for some of these individuals, I'm not sure that it's necessary.

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Speaker 4: For them to have that as their top pity. If

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Speaker 4: your top.

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Speaker 1: Priority is trying to be the best athlete you possibly

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Speaker 1: can be, to put yourself in a position so that

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Speaker 1: you can earn as much money as possible within your

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Speaker 1: sport in a very potentially short window, I don't see

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Speaker 1: a problem with that.

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Speaker 4: And so the question is, is they're different. Is there

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Speaker 4: a different.

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Speaker 1: Formula for providing young prospects that have that kind of

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Speaker 1: talent the ability to come to college, benefit from that experience,

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Speaker 1: but then be able to come back and earn their

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Speaker 1: degree at whatever.

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Speaker 4: Time they choose to.

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Speaker 1: And do we need to have the very significant demands

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Speaker 1: on young people that are trying to achieve something like that.

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Speaker 1: And so I think there's a lot of work to

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Speaker 1: be done. I think the evolving nature what's going on

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Speaker 1: around college athletics right now might.

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Speaker 4: Provide an opportunity to open up that discussion and.

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Speaker 1: Rethink how the higher educational experience ties in and merges

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Speaker 1: with individuals that have, you know, unbelievable talent and earning

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Speaker 1: potential in the area of sport, and do we need

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Speaker 1: to force people into a certain process that may not

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Speaker 1: necessar necessarily benefit them and what they're really trying to

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Speaker 1: achieve in their own personal life. So I'm hopeful we

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Speaker 1: can we can have some evolution in that area as well.

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Speaker 2: You know, I couldn't help but think about as you

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Speaker 2: were speaking there about.

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Speaker 3: Kind of the way the evolution.

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Speaker 2: I almost feel like, to a certain degree, it's already

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Speaker 2: happening with these you know, post grad kind of institutions

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Speaker 2: or these IMG academy types.

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Speaker 3: Because listen, I didn't go to Colt.

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Speaker 2: Now, I never had any you know, feeling that I

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Speaker 2: was going to make a living as a professional athlete.

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Speaker 3: But make no mistake.

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Speaker 2: About it, I got a degree as a byproduct of

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Speaker 2: wanting to play college baseball. I mean, that's just my

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Speaker 2: focus was. I loved playing sports, and for that reason,

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Speaker 2: I got a degree in four years.

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Speaker 3: And I'm very proud of that.

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Speaker 2: But to your point, imagine being someone who can literally

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Speaker 2: be potentially making millions of dollars or monetizing or you know,

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Speaker 2: have a career as a professional athlete, and you're seeing

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Speaker 2: you know, schools and case in point, IMG Academy was

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Speaker 2: just acquired by private equity firm for like one point

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Speaker 2: two billion dollars.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, how much more so? I mean to your point,

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Speaker 3: you're seeing.

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Speaker 2: Venture capital, private equity money coming all in this space.

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Speaker 2: It almost seems like that kind of shift or this

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Speaker 2: kind of evolution of an alternative is already underway.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's being forced upon the system. The challenges in

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Speaker 1: my opinion is, you know, the system is not changing

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Speaker 1: with it, and so, you know, what is in the

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Speaker 1: best interest of an individual that comes to a campus

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Speaker 1: of higher education that is also an elite athlete. We

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Speaker 1: should be doing everything we possibly can to prepare that

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Speaker 1: young person to be successful in their career. And that's

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Speaker 1: you know, I think that's what the basis of higher

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Speaker 1: education is all about. And I don't see a problem

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Speaker 1: with us, you know, creating you know, an educational track

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Speaker 1: that has much more flexibility in it than what we

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Speaker 1: currently allow for. And so is it really necessary for

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Speaker 1: a young person to be required to take a certain

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Speaker 1: number of hours every semester, you know, and why not

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Speaker 1: you know, use the entire year, use fall semester, spring semester,

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Speaker 1: in summer to allow an individual to take hours when

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Speaker 1: they want to take them.

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Speaker 4: If we want to have.

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Speaker 1: A minimum number of hours that they need to pass

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Speaker 1: at a certain grade point, that's fine. But why do

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Speaker 1: we have to say, well, you have to take this

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Speaker 1: many classes in the spring and fall, and then you

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Speaker 1: can make some things up in the summer if you

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Speaker 1: need to. Why don't we say, hey, look, this is

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Speaker 1: your championship segment. You can take less hours. That way

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Speaker 1: you can focus more on your sport and more on

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Speaker 1: your preparation for the most important time in your calendar year.

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Speaker 1: And so I'd love for us to think differently about

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Speaker 1: how we're educating our young people that are also student athletes.

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Speaker 4: And look, this isn't going to impact everybody, but there

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Speaker 4: is a there.

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Speaker 1: Is a small percentage of individuals that we could do

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Speaker 1: better for and that the educational system could.

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Speaker 4: Be redesigned in a way that's more.

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Speaker 1: Supportive with Look, make no mistake, I'm a huge believer

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Speaker 1: in higher education and earning a degree.

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Speaker 4: I think there's massive value in that.

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Speaker 1: But I think the system can be evolved in a

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Speaker 1: way that is more supportive to our young people. That

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Speaker 1: would reduce the stress and anxiety that a lot of

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Speaker 1: our student athletes face because of the pressure and the

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Speaker 1: massive amount of requirements that are on them as a

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Speaker 1: student athlete.

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Speaker 2: When we come back, Dave and I discuss managing revenue

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Speaker 2: sports first, not revenue sports, and creating positive environments for

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Speaker 2: coaches and students. Welcome back where we left off, David

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Speaker 2: and I were about to discuss why sports is all

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Speaker 2: about giving people opportunities and transformational experiences. You know, another

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Speaker 2: fascinating piece that I think separates Yukon from many other

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Speaker 2: institutions is you know you mentioned earlier the global brand,

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Speaker 2: you know, which I believe you have, but but some

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Speaker 2: may say the global brand is driven by the women's

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Speaker 2: basketball program as far as like notoriety. Now, I for

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Speaker 2: one will argue that Stores, Connecticut is the basketball capital

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Speaker 2: of the world, both men and women. But some people

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Speaker 2: will say, wow, the women's program. That's a unique circumstance.

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Speaker 2: How do you juggle you know, two parts to this

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Speaker 2: is how do you juggle the fact that many believe

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Speaker 2: or say that the women's side is the biggest program

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Speaker 2: on campus? And two, as the ad, how do you

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Speaker 2: juggle non revenue sports along with you know, those that

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Speaker 2: are that are driving the revenue.

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Speaker 1: And look the whole conversation about, you know, who's responsible

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Speaker 1: for the brand that you kind of I, for one,

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Speaker 1: really don't care.

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Speaker 4: It's great if people want to debate which which program,

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Speaker 4: either the men or the women, are.

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Speaker 1: Responsible for the fact that we have a global brand.

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Speaker 4: I'm all for it because the fact that the fact.

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Speaker 1: That someone could have that argument or debate is fascinating

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Speaker 1: and fantastic at the same time, because I don't think

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Speaker 1: there's any place in the country that could sit there

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Speaker 1: and talk about, well, is it the men's program or

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Speaker 1: the women's program that has really contributed more to the

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Speaker 1: fact that we have that kind of brand recognition globally.

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Speaker 1: And you know, look with with this additional championship, that

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Speaker 1: makes sixteen national championships between the two programs. No other

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Speaker 1: high you know, athletic program can boast that in men's

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Speaker 1: women's basketball. When I got to stores and I was,

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Speaker 1: you know, able to walk through all of our facilities,

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Speaker 1: the one facility that was probably the newest on our

404
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Speaker 1: campus at the time was the World Champion Center and

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Speaker 1: it's home to the mental hellen's basketball programs.

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Speaker 4: And you walk in the front.

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Speaker 1: Door and they had this really large lobby and it

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Speaker 1: was empty.

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Speaker 4: I mean literally empty. There was nothing in it but

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Speaker 4: the walls and floors.

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Speaker 1: And I couldn't help but think, look, you have the

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Speaker 1: best you know, history and tradition and combined in all

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Speaker 1: of college athletics, and you know.

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Speaker 4: Why is it and on display?

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Speaker 1: So we were fortunate enough to work with some donors

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Speaker 1: at Dennis and Britain Naden and they helped us really

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Speaker 1: properly display the rich history and tradition. And so the

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Speaker 1: first thing that you see now when you walk into

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Speaker 1: that building is the sixty national championship crystals and you know,

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Speaker 1: it's it's pretty impactful. So, look, that's a wonderful thing.

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Speaker 1: Is it relates to, you know, how you manage the

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Speaker 1: revenue sports versus the non revenue sports. You know, look,

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Speaker 1: the best position to be in is not have to

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Speaker 1: worry about that and that you try to do the

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Speaker 1: best you possibly can to give the resources to the

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Speaker 1: programs that have the chance to compete.

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Speaker 4: And so that's what we're trying to do at Yukon.

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Speaker 1: It becomes a lot more difficult and you're not a

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Speaker 1: part of a conference that's distributing you know, twenty thirty

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Speaker 1: forty fifty sixty million dollars.

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Speaker 4: And you've got to be creative.

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Speaker 1: You've got to have support from your from your donors,

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Speaker 1: your fan base, your institution, which we do and we

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Speaker 1: go around and do the best we possibly can. And

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Speaker 1: you know, the better our programs are, the more we

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Speaker 1: try to support them. And so programs that have the

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Speaker 1: chance to compete on a national level, we're going to

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Speaker 1: do everything we possibly can to give them what they

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Speaker 1: need to be successful.

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Speaker 4: However, I'm not a believer that you.

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Speaker 1: Know, the more you spend necessarily to wins and losses

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Speaker 1: all the.

443
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,760
Speaker 4: Time, and so you take care of great coaches.

444
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:11,600
Speaker 1: We had situations this past year with the coach Penders

445
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,639
Speaker 1: and coach Kavanaugh or men's ice hockey coach. Both of

446
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:18,600
Speaker 1: them had opportunities to leave for more money and they.

447
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:23,680
Speaker 4: Decided to stay. And to me, that probably is more

448
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 4: important to me.

449
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:30,080
Speaker 1: Because if the individual has the ability to leave and

450
00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,680
Speaker 1: get paid more and they choose to stay, it means

451
00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,880
Speaker 1: they really like what they're doing, they like the environment

452
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:38,560
Speaker 1: that they're in, and they feel like they're being in

453
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,879
Speaker 1: support because if they didn't, they would leave. So the

454
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 1: fact that we've been able to continue to fend off

455
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:49,240
Speaker 1: people from recruiting our best coaches is really meaningful to me,

456
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,119
Speaker 1: and that's you know, that's what suggests to me that

457
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:58,280
Speaker 1: you're doing the right things to support programs, regardless of

458
00:24:58,320 --> 00:24:59,960
Speaker 1: whether or not they're generating money.

459
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,080
Speaker 3: I kind of want to shift gears here.

460
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:05,560
Speaker 2: You played college football, and if I'm not mistaken, your

461
00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,840
Speaker 2: wife was like an elite gymnast. And you have kids.

462
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 2: So are your kids involved with sports currently?

463
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 3: Youth sports?

464
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:12,440
Speaker 4: Yeah?

465
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:14,280
Speaker 1: You know you were talking about you You said you

466
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,239
Speaker 1: went to North Carolina Wesleyan. Yes, so my kids are

467
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:22,399
Speaker 1: at Christopher Newport University. Wow, they played your school earlier

468
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,400
Speaker 1: in the season. So when you said that, I was like, hey,

469
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:28,000
Speaker 1: I think the boys played North Carolina Wesley They basically

470
00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:29,800
Speaker 1: having that experience.

471
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,720
Speaker 4: And you know, to be honest with you, going back

472
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:32,200
Speaker 4: to some of.

473
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,720
Speaker 1: Our earlier discussion, you know, the boys, I think I

474
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,320
Speaker 1: have twin boys, so that they're we we had two

475
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,200
Speaker 1: of them at the same time, and they're going through

476
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:43,720
Speaker 1: the recruiting process.

477
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:48,960
Speaker 4: And obviously someone with my I guess perspective is probably

478
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 4: you know, a little bit different than the average person.

479
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:55,480
Speaker 1: But my kids, like most were probably focused on I

480
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:56,040
Speaker 1: want to be a.

481
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:56,879
Speaker 4: Divisional one athlete.

482
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,480
Speaker 1: I want to play at the Division one level, and

483
00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:00,720
Speaker 1: I'm saying, you know, I understand that.

484
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:04,720
Speaker 4: I get that, but the most important thing is the experience.

485
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 4: And at the end of your career, as you know,

486
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:09,440
Speaker 4: it's not necessarily.

487
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,440
Speaker 1: About whether you played Division one, Division two, Division three,

488
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:15,720
Speaker 1: it's how good was your experience. I wanted them to

489
00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:17,840
Speaker 1: go someplace where they were going to get a good education.

490
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:22,520
Speaker 1: And you know, fortunately because I worked in Richmond for

491
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,199
Speaker 1: a time at Virginia Commonwealth, I became very aware of

492
00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:26,960
Speaker 1: Christopher Newport.

493
00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,960
Speaker 4: John Harvill's the coach. They have been there a long time.

494
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,320
Speaker 4: Reminded me a lot of Jim Penders. You know, they

495
00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:32,840
Speaker 4: both went.

496
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,320
Speaker 1: To school at their present location.

497
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 4: They've been at their jobs a long time, had a

498
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,000
Speaker 4: lot of success, and.

499
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,840
Speaker 1: I knew the hallmark of kind of what makes a

500
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,840
Speaker 1: good program. And so they're freshmen at Christopher Newport. They're

501
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 1: both starting their teams ranked in the top ten, they're.

502
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,360
Speaker 4: Going to go to the postseason, They're getting.

503
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:55,040
Speaker 1: A great academic experience, and to me, regardless of division

504
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,080
Speaker 1: or level, that's what it's about. And so you know,

505
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:04,000
Speaker 1: hoping that every individual can find the spot that is

506
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,760
Speaker 1: a great experience for them, but we've been fortunate. So, yeah,

507
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,800
Speaker 1: they're baseball players and they're having a great experience and

508
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:11,679
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to.

509
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,760
Speaker 4: Seeing them play the rest of their season.

510
00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,200
Speaker 1: Out they play Salisbury, who's number one in the country,

511
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:18,880
Speaker 1: maybe number two.

512
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,040
Speaker 4: I think they just dropped this.

513
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:24,440
Speaker 1: Coming weekend, which will be a top ten battle for them,

514
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:27,880
Speaker 1: which is you know, hey, you're freshman and you're an

515
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,960
Speaker 1: experience where you're going to be playing against a top

516
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,360
Speaker 1: ten team to see how postseason plays out for him,

517
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 1: So pretty pretty.

518
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:35,920
Speaker 4: Fun for them.

519
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:37,080
Speaker 3: That's freaking awesome.

520
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, we played against CNU, I mean great program, great school,

521
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,320
Speaker 2: great conference too, I mean great baseball, you know at

522
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,960
Speaker 2: every eleven of course, Yeah, of Eastern Connecticut up and

523
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,159
Speaker 2: I think coach Penders, I think coach Penners isn't his

524
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,240
Speaker 2: kid played Eastern His son does.

525
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 1: Hank is a catcher there, and they won the national championship,

526
00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,199
Speaker 1: and obviously we're proud of proud of that.

527
00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,480
Speaker 4: And yeah, they're they're in the hunt to they're having

528
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:03,200
Speaker 4: another good year.

529
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:04,439
Speaker 3: I got to ask you.

530
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,800
Speaker 2: I put out a tweet on the Reform Sports Project

531
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,440
Speaker 2: Twitter account, and this is me. It kind of made

532
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 2: me think about because I have six kids, and one

533
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:14,680
Speaker 2: of my younger kids, my son, Rocco, is an and

534
00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,960
Speaker 2: a half year old, and I find myself when I

535
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,680
Speaker 2: was going to my older kids wrestling matches or my

536
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,720
Speaker 2: younger son, now is you know baseball games? I like

537
00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:25,040
Speaker 2: to sit by myself, man, I like to I don't

538
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,119
Speaker 2: want to get caught up in the riff raff and

539
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:29,040
Speaker 2: and I want to hear you know, so how are

540
00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:30,960
Speaker 2: you as a sports pan are you? Are you in

541
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,119
Speaker 2: there with cow bells or are you sitting by yourself

542
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:35,240
Speaker 2: chilling out because you want to hear the knuckleheads, you know,

543
00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:36,359
Speaker 2: complaining all the time.

544
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,800
Speaker 4: Yeah. No, my wife tells me I'm antisocial.

545
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,560
Speaker 1: I think she figured it out over over time that

546
00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:49,040
Speaker 1: it is hard being in the role that I'm in,

547
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 1: understanding it the way I do.

548
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,640
Speaker 4: Yeah, I did not want to get dragged.

549
00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,600
Speaker 1: Into that kind of nonsense. I remember actually being in

550
00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:03,760
Speaker 1: a game where parents, as unfortunately they can do I

551
00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:07,440
Speaker 1: don't want to say typically, but literally, there was a

552
00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,000
Speaker 1: parent on the team.

553
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,320
Speaker 4: That my kids were participating in, and it was.

554
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,160
Speaker 1: A local game, and there was like a fight that

555
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,320
Speaker 1: was getting ready to happen between a parent and one

556
00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:23,080
Speaker 1: of the umpires and it's like I'm leaving. I can't

557
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:28,760
Speaker 1: be associated around this kind of behavior. And I enjoyed

558
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,920
Speaker 1: watching my kids. I was very fortunate that at a

559
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:36,040
Speaker 1: certain point in time we found a program that really

560
00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,640
Speaker 1: cared about the kids and it wasn't about the money,

561
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,760
Speaker 1: and they had a great experience playing a few years

562
00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:48,440
Speaker 1: for that program and an individual coach that just really

563
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:50,720
Speaker 1: was what you want for your kids is someone that

564
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:54,240
Speaker 1: really cares about them individually and that's going to do everything.

565
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:58,120
Speaker 4: They can to support them. But again, not to keep going.

566
00:29:57,960 --> 00:29:59,800
Speaker 1: Back to what we talked about, but there's so much

567
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:04,040
Speaker 1: more money in sports, not even youth sports, but just

568
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 1: sports in general that a lot of people that's their

569
00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:10,880
Speaker 1: main driver is the money and it's not about you know,

570
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 1: certainly why I got into it, which is really because

571
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:19,040
Speaker 1: the impact that athletics had always been a part of

572
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:20,680
Speaker 1: my life and.

573
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,840
Speaker 4: How it provided opportunities for me. It wasn't about the money.

574
00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:26,040
Speaker 1: It was certainly not about that for my father because

575
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,160
Speaker 1: he didn't make a lot of money, but he loved

576
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:29,640
Speaker 1: what he did.

577
00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,320
Speaker 4: He loved having to impact on the young people he coached.

578
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 4: And I saw it firsthand. I mean back in the

579
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,280
Speaker 4: day in junior college, they did't have a lot of rules.

580
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,600
Speaker 1: My dad would recruit kids from out of state and

581
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:41,760
Speaker 1: they'd stay with us when they got there and he'd

582
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,080
Speaker 1: you know, feed them and they'd sleep in my bed.

583
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,120
Speaker 1: And so it's just it was all about giving people

584
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:52,440
Speaker 1: opportunities and helping people have transformational experiences that were going to.

585
00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,480
Speaker 4: Impact their lives the rest of their their days. And

586
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:57,600
Speaker 4: so to me, that's what it's about.

587
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,840
Speaker 3: So as at what level, Yeah, first of all, I

588
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:01,840
Speaker 3: couldn't agree with you more.

589
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 2: And that's one of the main reasons I want to

590
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:07,160
Speaker 2: start Reform Sports project was to you know, enlighten people like, hey,

591
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 2: it's so much more than scholarships and trophies and all that.

592
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,920
Speaker 2: And as we wrap up with your perspective, as you know,

593
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,680
Speaker 2: former collegiate athlete, your wife, you know, being a lead gymnast.

594
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:18,560
Speaker 2: You know, you're a sports parent, your kids are playing

595
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,920
Speaker 2: in college at a Division three school, you're the ad

596
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,200
Speaker 2: of one of the biggest brands in college sports. What

597
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,880
Speaker 2: would you say to sports parents as they try to

598
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,280
Speaker 2: navigate this entire culture?

599
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:31,720
Speaker 3: You know, what's the best way.

600
00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:33,360
Speaker 2: I know you've kind of touched on a lot of it,

601
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:37,520
Speaker 2: but you know, briefly summarize how can they keep balance?

602
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,720
Speaker 2: You know, what are ways to keep their composure to

603
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,560
Speaker 2: not get wrapped up? I always like to say, to

604
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:46,440
Speaker 2: resist the urge to start a fight with an umpire

605
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,160
Speaker 2: all those things. What are techniques or ways in which

606
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:54,600
Speaker 2: keep perspective, enjoy the moment, smell the roses, and realizing

607
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,160
Speaker 2: it's not all about you, it's about your kitchen journey.

608
00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's you know, it's it's really hard, especially with

609
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,200
Speaker 1: your kids. I mean, I'm not going to sit there

610
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,719
Speaker 1: and say that, hey, there were times that I was emotional.

611
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,880
Speaker 4: I probably was smart about how I manage that.

612
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:14,960
Speaker 1: But you have to try to separate the emotional side

613
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:20,600
Speaker 1: and be whether it's being realistic or whether it's being

614
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:25,200
Speaker 1: you know, thoughtful as to you know, what exactly are

615
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:29,719
Speaker 1: the goals? What are you trying to accomplish? And you know,

616
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,760
Speaker 1: it can be different for everybody. I mean, some some

617
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:37,520
Speaker 1: kids that play youth sports, it's about being active, it's

618
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:41,600
Speaker 1: about you know, being healthy, it's about having the opportunity

619
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,080
Speaker 1: to learn socially.

620
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:48,040
Speaker 4: Develop friends and relationships. It's not necessarily it doesn't have.

621
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,280
Speaker 1: To be about well, hey, my kid's going to be

622
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,360
Speaker 1: a superstar and a college athlete, a professional athlete. And

623
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,920
Speaker 1: you know, the one thing that that, again I think.

624
00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 4: Is what's best about sports.

625
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,920
Speaker 1: Every time we moved from one job to the next,

626
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:07,040
Speaker 1: and we did that a lot with our kids, sports

627
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 1: was the balancing piece of that from the standpoint that

628
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,240
Speaker 1: I knew that if we got them to whatever location

629
00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,760
Speaker 1: we moved to and got them immediately involved in team sports,

630
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:23,400
Speaker 1: that everything else was going to work out fine because

631
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:26,600
Speaker 1: they felt comfortable there, They were going to develop friends there,

632
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:33,160
Speaker 1: and they could build relationships but also respect by.

633
00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,040
Speaker 4: Going out and playing whatever sport it might have been.

634
00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:39,920
Speaker 1: And so sports has meant, you know, way more to

635
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,560
Speaker 1: me and my family than it is just about hey,

636
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,240
Speaker 1: are they good or not good? Or are they winning

637
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,320
Speaker 1: or losing? It just has meant so much more. And

638
00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,320
Speaker 1: I think if you can have a perspective that is

639
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,400
Speaker 1: at a much higher level and think about the impact

640
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,240
Speaker 1: and the things that can be earned.

641
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:02,480
Speaker 4: Through competition, especially in.

642
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,280
Speaker 1: Team sports, you won't be so focused on the things

643
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:11,040
Speaker 1: that might get you really emotional. And look, you try

644
00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,040
Speaker 1: to support kids, you try to support their dreams and

645
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:17,200
Speaker 1: provide them the opportunities. But the more you can take

646
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 1: the emotional out of it and the personal out of it.

647
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,600
Speaker 1: The better chance is that you're going to be successful.

648
00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:28,080
Speaker 1: And the recruiting process I think is a challenge for

649
00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:32,640
Speaker 1: any young individual and parents, especially when you have no

650
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:33,759
Speaker 1: experience with it.

651
00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:36,799
Speaker 4: And it was challenging for me, even.

652
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,799
Speaker 1: With my background, dealing with my kids because I understood

653
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,600
Speaker 1: what their hopes and dreams were and I was trying

654
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,359
Speaker 1: to balance that with what I thought reality was and

655
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:48,319
Speaker 1: what was going to provide them the best experience. So

656
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,960
Speaker 1: trying to navigate that support them and what their dreams were,

657
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,959
Speaker 1: but also try to be realistic about what I thought

658
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,880
Speaker 1: was going to provide them the best experience, which is

659
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,319
Speaker 1: what is most important to me. It's not being able

660
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:05,120
Speaker 1: to say, well, my kids playing Division one baseball. It's now, hey,

661
00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:08,680
Speaker 1: my kids having a great experience period, regardless of where

662
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:12,680
Speaker 1: that is. And so if you can try to come

663
00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,759
Speaker 1: at it with that mindset and perspective, I think you'll

664
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:16,439
Speaker 1: be better off.

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Speaker 3: This is awesome.

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Speaker 2: Dave benedict yukon Huskies. Where can people find you? I

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00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,799
Speaker 2: know you're on Twitter if they want to get up

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00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:24,920
Speaker 2: with you, Is there any other place to get you?

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Speaker 1: You know, if we're talking to social media, forum that

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00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:31,600
Speaker 1: I spend most of my time in Twitter. I know

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00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:33,960
Speaker 1: there's a lot of other places you can be, but

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00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,800
Speaker 1: it seems like that's where our fan base is. But look,

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Speaker 1: if you want to find me, just come out to

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Speaker 1: a Yukon athletic event. I'm around most of the time

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00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,080
Speaker 1: and couldn't be happier and prouder to be a part

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Speaker 1: of a nonbelievable appropriate.

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Speaker 3: I love it.

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00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,000
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for coming on and sharing, Dave,

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00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:52,760
Speaker 2: this has been awesome.

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00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 4: Thanks Nank, I appreciate it.

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Speaker 2: That's Dave Benedict, Yukon Husky's athletic Director.

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Speaker 5: Thanks for listening to The Reform Sports Project pod dominick

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00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:03,240
Speaker 5: Bonacorp and our goal is to restore a healthy balance

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00:36:03,239 --> 00:36:07,200
Speaker 5: and perspective in all areas of sports through education and advocacy.

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00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:08,840
Speaker 3: For updates, please follow us on

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00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:12,200
Speaker 5: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or check out our website by

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00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,080
Speaker 5: searching for the Reform Sports Project