1 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: Hey, what I welcome in. I'm dog godlig. This is 2 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 1: all ball. 3 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 2: And as part of All Ball, we are going to 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,159 Speaker 2: share with you a conversation, a two part conversation that 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 2: I had with West Mollette. Wes is the athletic director 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 2: at UC Riverside. If you know that name, you see 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 2: Riverside a couple different things. One they got Mike mcpio's 8 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 2: the head coach. He is a Filipino American and was 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 2: also the coach of the Year, a Filipino Coach of 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 2: the Year. And together they not only won at Uston Riverside, 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 2: won the Big West, but they've saved sports at UC Riverside, 12 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 2: literally save sports. So with that part of this conversation, 13 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:55,279 Speaker 2: big part of this conversation is over an il, all 14 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 2: the changes coming, all the changes that have already come 15 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 2: by everything that's going on in the in the world 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 2: of college athletics. And he's super unique in his perspective. 17 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 2: How unique, well, he was a student AUTHT himself. He's 18 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 2: worked in the professional space at BT at PAC twelve. 19 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 2: You know, he's also worked in a high major athletic 20 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 2: department at cal Berkeley, and of course now he works 21 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 2: at UC Riverside. 22 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: Which is more low major what we all call mid major. 23 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 2: Now, and so I think it's a it's a fascinating look, 24 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 2: fascinating look at college athletics. And oh yeah, by the way, 25 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: his son is a talented college basketball player at Pepperdine. 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 2: And so there's there's a bunch of different layers to it. 27 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 2: Let's get into our conversation here. It is with Wes Mollett. 28 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: Well, she grew up where. 29 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 3: I grew up in North Jersey. So where I grew up, 30 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 3: I grew up in a town called form Park, basically 31 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 3: form Park, Madison, mark Town, East Hanover, that area of 32 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 3: North Jersey, Marris County, New Jersey. So I tell people 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 3: all the time, you know, growing up in North Jersey, 34 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 3: I'm so thankful for it every day because you learn 35 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 3: so much about yourself. You learn how to deal with adversity, 36 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 3: you learn how to do with everything that can be 37 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 3: thrown at you, including weather, that wherever you go from 38 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 3: there in the world, you know, everything is easier. 39 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 2: So were you know, were you an all sport athlete 40 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 2: or just just football? 41 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 3: I was football, baseball, track and field, but growing up 42 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 3: I actually played soccer, and because my mom wouldn't let 43 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 3: my younger brother and I played football until we were 44 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 3: a little bit older. So I'll never forget when my 45 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 3: brother was able to negotiate us playing football, and that 46 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 3: was so we used to I was just telling Michael. 47 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 3: During the summers, you know, my mom grew up in Membn, 48 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 3: North Carolina, and her and my dad was from Willington, 49 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 3: And so every summer we would ride in the station 50 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 3: wagon and I'd be in the back. I'd be in 51 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 3: the back seat with my younger brother Chris, or six 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 3: of us all together, but my younger brother, Chris and 53 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 3: I we'd be in the back and we were really 54 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,959 Speaker 3: seeing where we went instead of seeing where we were going. 55 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 3: It was that whole deal, no seatbacks, you know. 56 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 2: Like, yeah, that's how we drove across country. We moved 57 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 2: here from New York, and we were in the back 58 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 2: of a station. 59 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 3: Wagon yep, and so you see, you know, you're looking 60 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 3: where you've been instead of where you're going. But so 61 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 3: at one point we were a little bit older, and 62 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 3: my mom used to hate driving through tunnels. So on 63 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 3: the way down we used to go through I forget 64 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 3: which tunnel, maybe it was the tunnel in Baltimore. There 65 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 3: was one that you go and you go under obviously, 66 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 3: so you're going under underwater. And my mom was used 67 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 3: to hate that. So you used to say, okay, Chris 68 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 3: and West, I need you guys to talk to me, 69 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 3: you know, talk me through. So my brother Chris says, 70 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 3: on one condition, and my mom is like what, and 71 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 3: she's like, we get to play football if we do this, 72 00:03:57,840 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 3: and so she's like, all right, all right, just talk 73 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 3: me through it. So he did it and we ended 74 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 3: up we started playing football after that and the rest 75 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 3: is history. But the great part about is I could 76 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 3: see my younger brothers negotiation skills because Chris went on 77 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 3: to become a lawyer. He played at Princeton, his wife 78 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 3: played at Princeton, and he has four boys, three of them. 79 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 3: One played at Northern Illinois, one's playing at Iowa right now, 80 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 3: and you know, he's got two more and his youngest 81 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 3: is getting recruited by everybody, you know. So it's it's 82 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 3: amazing how it started this whole journey of football and 83 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 3: sport and life and how we kind of give back 84 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 3: in our respective areas. He's a head coach at Chicago 85 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 3: Hope Academy out in Chicago, and both of us find 86 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 3: our passion and giving back through through athletics. 87 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 2: And you went Jami, he went to Princeton and those 88 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 2: are great academic schools. How how was academics in your household? 89 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: Like? How did how did your mom do it? 90 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 3: So my mom she raised I have an older sister 91 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 3: from my dad's first marriage, my sister Nancy, and and 92 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 3: the gap between my three my four older siblings, myself 93 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 3: and my younger brother between me and the next one 94 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 3: up is seven years, so you know we're we're we're 95 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 3: thirteen months apart. But education was always critical. So oldest 96 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 3: brother went to Harvard, sister went to Ructors. Cousins went 97 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 3: to Columbia. My mom was either the valid I think 98 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 3: she was the valedictorian at Bennett College where she went. 99 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 3: Then she went to Mahari Medical School. My dad went 100 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 3: to MAHARII my dad they divorced when I was little. 101 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 3: But my dad was a neurologist. My mom was a 102 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 3: psychiatric nurse. So the academic piece was never it could 103 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 3: never be compromised. And the athletics component was as long 104 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 3: as you do well academically, you could continue to play. 105 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 3: But what we found was the balance was so critical, 106 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,599 Speaker 3: and the better we did academically, the better we did athletically. 107 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 3: So and our kids, all of our kids, my brother's sisters, myself, 108 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 3: all of our kids have done extremely well academically too. 109 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,719 Speaker 1: Psychiatric guys, Wow, she must have seen some stuff. 110 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:06,679 Speaker 3: Huh yeah, yeah, So it was again when we were little. 111 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 3: She's My brother and I were the test dummies for 112 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:11,919 Speaker 3: all the things she had to do, like when she 113 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 3: had to work on the restraining holds and see if 114 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 3: this worked. And here, you know, my brother and I 115 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,799 Speaker 3: were like high school football guys at the time, figuring 116 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 3: out where we're going to go to college and all that, 117 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 3: and here comes my mom. And my mom was a 118 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 3: basketball player. Because everybody said, where does my son get 119 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 3: his basketball skills? And I say from his grammy. You know, 120 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 3: my mom. But she played in a time where, you know, 121 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 3: it was very tough for girls to play, and her 122 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 3: father found out she was playing because she broke her 123 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 3: finger in a game and she, you know, had to 124 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,160 Speaker 3: tell them what happened, and that was kind of it 125 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 3: for basketball for her. But she was the heck of 126 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 3: a basketball player. And then I think that's where my 127 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 3: son absolutely gets it from. But my mom used to 128 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 3: tell she she we'd go through the restraining holds with her, 129 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 3: and here we are. My younger brother and I are 130 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 3: high school athletes, you know, both of us had to 131 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 3: play college somewhere, and she's literally taking us down with 132 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 3: like one two moves like these grips. Like I can't 133 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 3: even begin to describe how painful it was. But I 134 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 3: was like, yeah, mom, I think you're gonna be okay 135 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 3: running that psyche unit if anything gets out of hand. 136 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: So crazy. What was your college decision? 137 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 3: Like, so initially, you know, we were this was a 138 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 3: time obviously before social media, before videos and everything else, 139 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 3: Like everything was vhs, you know, you send out. So 140 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,119 Speaker 3: I initially went to JMU and I was running track 141 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 3: and after my you know, I moved through my freshman year, 142 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 3: I was like, god, I really missed football. I was 143 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 3: going to go to Rutgers to play, but at the 144 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 3: last minute, I just decided I wanted a different experience 145 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 3: and I went on a visit to JMU and just 146 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 3: fell in love with it. So after a year a 147 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 3: jam you after my freshman year, I talked to the 148 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 3: coaches and I was like, hey, you know, it's like 149 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 3: I kind of want to get back in and they 150 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 3: were like, okay, well we know what you've done and 151 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 3: where you've been. You're running track here right now. So 152 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 3: you know, from that point I shifted over to football 153 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 3: and that was that. But recruiting wise, you know, growing 154 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 3: up in the Northeast, you really get recruited by a 155 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 3: lot of schools in the Northeast, especially back in the 156 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 3: late eighties. So I'm totally dating myself, but hey, it 157 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 3: is what it is, right, But back then it was 158 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 3: you know, everything was VHS tape. Coaches will come out 159 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 3: and see you. And the one thing that I learned 160 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 3: was your recruitment is only as good as your head coach, right, 161 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 3: And so you have two types of coaches at the 162 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,079 Speaker 3: high school level. You have the coaches who are there 163 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 3: who can really develop young men and women for the 164 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 3: next level, whether it's D three, D two, D one, NAI, 165 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 3: whatever it may be. Then you have the coaches who 166 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 3: are out there trying to be the big person in 167 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 3: the bar on the weekend, right, talk about their teams 168 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,839 Speaker 3: and everything else. So I tell parents, when I talk 169 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 3: to parents a lot now on the high school side, 170 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:53,439 Speaker 3: make sure, I mean, obviously you have to have the talent, 171 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 3: but you want to make sure that your kid has 172 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 3: a coach who actually has connections and can push them forward. 173 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 3: You know that's going to help them. So I find 174 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 3: you know, again, that was thirty years ago, but now 175 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 3: it's no different. You know, you still have to have 176 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 3: coaches who can really connect and get kids where they 177 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 3: need to be. And that lesson that I learned was 178 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 3: prevalent and never more prevalent when make a decision when 179 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:20,559 Speaker 3: we moved down to southern California from the Bay Area, 180 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,079 Speaker 3: because you know, we moved between Houston's freshman and sophomore 181 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 3: year and he was he was at Silesian College prep 182 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 3: up in the Bay under Bill Mellis and his whole staff. 183 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 3: There just great group of human beings. And the hardest 184 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 3: day of my life outside of well, obviously, you know, 185 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 3: there was a lot of hard days, but probably the 186 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 3: hardest day as a parent was the day I drove 187 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 3: over to Silligion with him and he was telling his 188 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 3: high school teammates that he was moving to southern California 189 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 3: between his freshmen and sophomore year. I felt like the 190 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 3: worst parent in the world. It all worked out, you know, 191 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 3: Houston ended up all cif three years in a row. Sophomore, junior, 192 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,559 Speaker 3: senior year. Absolutely killed it at pacifica Christian. But more importantly, 193 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 3: he helped build the culture of a school because the 194 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 3: school was so new. But the thing is, Doug, the 195 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 3: reason we chose pacifica Christian for him, he and I 196 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:16,679 Speaker 3: when we talked it through, was Jeff Barakoff, who's the 197 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 3: head coach there, unbelievably connected and had anywhere from forty 198 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 3: to sixty Division one coaches in that gym every year, 199 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 3: and he was a builder of guards, right so, Houston, 200 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 3: when we moved down here, that's why we you know, 201 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 3: we landed in Orange County, and I just made the 202 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 3: drive back and forth to the riverside every day because 203 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 3: that's where he had is the best opportunity, and it 204 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 3: all worked out. He think he ended up with close 205 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 3: to forty one offers, you know, but that all stemmed 206 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 3: from the fact that he had a coach who was connected, 207 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 3: had relationships, and was a good coach on top of that. 208 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:55,079 Speaker 1: So let's go back to you. 209 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 2: You know, most stories that have guys that go astray 210 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 2: start with a single parent. Okay, but now you're painting 211 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 2: the picture of Harvard Princeton, Rutgers JMU Columbia and whatever, 212 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,319 Speaker 2: and now you go to school and you're running track 213 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 2: and then you're deciding to play football, Like, how did 214 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 2: you not fall through the cracks? 215 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 3: So I think it was basically the way our mom 216 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 3: raised us right, and she taught us a lot of 217 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 3: things about life. But the biggest thing is my mom 218 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 3: always said, like, the biggest sin that you could commit 219 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 3: is squandering the gifts that God gives you, right and 220 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 3: recognizing the gifts that you have, do everything you can 221 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 3: to maximize those. You know, it's not going to be easy. 222 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 3: Nobody said it would be, and especially you know, when 223 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 3: you grow up as one of a handful of kids 224 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 3: of color in you know, the area of North Jersey 225 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 3: that we grew up in, you learn a lot of 226 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 3: things really fast. But the biggest thing that you learn 227 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 3: is yes, you have to really you have to excel 228 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 3: at the level that others don't necessarily have to just 229 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 3: to be in a position where you're on level footing. 230 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 3: And I think the thing for me was, you know, 231 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 3: I knew, you know, you ask how my brothers and 232 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 3: sisters and I ended up where we are today. And 233 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,600 Speaker 3: everybody's doing great things, making tremendous impact in the world 234 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 3: because we learned from her. You know how important it 235 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 3: is to follow your passion and pursue that and everything 236 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 3: else will follow. And so, you know, my mom would 237 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 3: always tell me parenting is the toughest job you'll ever love. 238 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 3: I never really understood that un till I became a parent, 239 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 3: and I think all of us who are parents now 240 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:43,839 Speaker 3: really understand what understood understand what that means. But she 241 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 3: just instilled in us a work ethic that was based 242 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 3: on that was based on faith, family, how you treat people, athletics, 243 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 3: and just really getting an enjoying life, and matter where 244 00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 3: you are, no matter what you're doing, how you treat 245 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,200 Speaker 3: people is everything. My mom is probably the kindest human 246 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 3: being that I've ever been around. There's a lot of 247 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 3: people who are nice, there's a lot of people who 248 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 3: do nice things, but kindness is something that it comes 249 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 3: from within. And so when I would watch how my 250 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,559 Speaker 3: mom would maneuver through the most difficult and challenging and circumstances. 251 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 3: You know, she worked nights at the hospital. You know, 252 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 3: she worked eleven to seven. And so when my younger 253 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 3: brother and I, because again my older siblings were older 254 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 3: than us, when we would get ourselves ready for school. 255 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 3: We learn how to wash our clothes, do the dishes, 256 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 3: iron do all the chores around the house, get ourselves 257 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 3: ready to go. From the time we were five, six, seven, 258 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,959 Speaker 3: eight years old. So we had that level of discipline 259 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 3: and that was the thing, Like we are such a 260 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 3: discipline family across the board, and we operate with, you know, 261 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 3: just an incredibly laser focus when it comes to doing 262 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 3: the things that we want to be successful at and 263 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 3: what it takes to do it and to be successful. 264 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 3: And so we learned, like you're you know, it's like 265 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 3: my boy Mike Tomlin says, there is no secret. The 266 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 3: secret is work, right, you got to work and you 267 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 3: got to put it in. And so that just like 268 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,199 Speaker 3: showed us, like we watched what she could do what 269 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 3: she did, and like, if our mom can raise five 270 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 3: of us by herself and do the job that she did, 271 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 3: we have no excuses, you know. And so I think 272 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 3: that set us on the trajectory that we were on. 273 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 3: And then she also taught us the importance of being 274 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 3: you know, an important, an important factor in being a 275 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 3: strong member in your community is to make sure you 276 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 3: treat people with kindness. And you start there, you know 277 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,800 Speaker 3: and everything else from their flows. So that I think 278 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 3: was the key is just how we were raised. I 279 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 3: always telling people like I did the best of both worlds. 280 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 3: I was raised in the Northeast, so I learned, you know, 281 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,240 Speaker 3: a lot about just toughness across the board. But I 282 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 3: was raised by a mom who's from the South, so 283 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 3: I learned about compassion, kindness, and just you know, southern hospitality, 284 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 3: if you will. So combining those things together has been 285 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 3: probably one of the most important things for me and 286 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 3: things I try to instill invoke my son and my daughter. 287 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 2: So okay, so you hadn't played what in a year 288 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 2: when you went from track to football? 289 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 3: Mm hm. 290 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 2: So when when you say, okay, I want to play football, 291 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 2: defensive back, wide receiver, Like, how did it go through 292 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 2: your decision on or their decision where to use you. 293 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 3: So it was one of those things where you know, 294 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 3: high school, I was running back. Growing up, I was 295 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 3: running back. Got to college, you know, we we ran 296 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 3: we we had moved to a three receiver set. We 297 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 3: basically single back and uh, you know, we had like 298 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 3: nine running backs in the room. So talk to a 299 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 3: couple of guys. You figured the fastest way to get 300 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 3: on the field, special teams and being in the top 301 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 3: six and the receiver rotation and you'll get on the field. 302 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 3: And so that was the plan and that's what you 303 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:54,240 Speaker 3: know I was able to do. You know, it comes 304 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 3: back fast, it doesn't go anywhere. And you know, again 305 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 3: my my first initial plan was go to Rutgers and 306 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 3: play there. But the hard thing was it's like I 307 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 3: knew I needed and wanted a different experience. And with Rutgers, 308 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 3: like I mean at the time, Dick Anderson was the 309 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 3: coach there. I mean, they were winning one game a 310 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 3: year every year. So it's like you're going to go 311 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 3: to Rutgers, You're going to get your head beat in 312 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 3: and you're not really gonna have a great experience. The 313 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 3: thing that I realized with JMU was, holy cow, this 314 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 3: is a great experience. Like from a student perspective and 315 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 3: a student athlete perspective. The people were great, you know, 316 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 3: the professors and the faculty tremendous. The culture on the 317 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 3: campus was fantastic, and I'd still tell people to this day, 318 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 3: I challenge anyone to meet someone who competed at JMU 319 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 3: in any sport who had a bad experience. And you know, Doug. 320 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 3: When I look at it and I look at the 321 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 3: trajectory that that program has been on and where it 322 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 3: is now, it's amazing. You know, it's really amazing to 323 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 3: see that, you know, where they are thirty years later. 324 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 3: But that's intentional, you know, that's investing in your kids. 325 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 3: That's investing in the student athletes, investing in the culture 326 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 3: and what you're going to build around it. It's kind 327 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 3: of what I modeled UC Riverside around in terms of 328 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 3: how we want our student athletes to feel, what we 329 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 3: want them to experience, and how we want them, you know, 330 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 3: to walk away from their four or five years here like, 331 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 3: holy cow, this is tremendous because again it's like you 332 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,160 Speaker 3: know as well as I do, like these three four 333 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 3: five years, you know, four or five years in college. Well, 334 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 3: I guess now with the COVID year and the portal 335 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,200 Speaker 3: could be up to six, right, But you know, it's 336 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 3: like it's it sets the tone for literally for the 337 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 3: rest of your life and how you're going to show 338 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 3: up and what you're going to do and how you're 339 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 3: going to be. So I want to make sure and 340 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 3: it's not possible for every kid to have a great 341 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 3: experience but I want everybody to experience what I experienced, 342 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 3: which was great teammates, great program, opportunity, opportunity to be successful. 343 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 3: You know, you have a great experience, and thirty years later, 344 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 3: you know you're you're still on text chains with your 345 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 3: old teammates, who are your best friends and your kids, 346 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,399 Speaker 3: aunts and uncles, et cetera, et cetera, And it just 347 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:04,120 Speaker 3: carries on and you have that that tradition that you've 348 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,879 Speaker 3: really built and the pride that you have, you know, 349 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 3: from where you went to school and where you competed. 350 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 4: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in 351 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 4: the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio 352 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 4: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to 353 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 4: listen live. 354 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 2: So what is what is so special about jam You Like, 355 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 2: I've been there, it's an incredible campus. Obviously if Sildy's 356 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 2: now like new and mass Wrient, it's incredible. 357 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: But what what's it really like to be there? What 358 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:38,640 Speaker 1: makes it so special? 359 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 3: The people and the culture. You know, it's like it's 360 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,679 Speaker 3: it sounds so cliche, but it's really true, Like and 361 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 3: the culture starts at the top. You know that when 362 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,200 Speaker 3: I was there, Ron Carrier was the president at the 363 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 3: time he was on campus. He's shaking your hand. He 364 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 3: may not remember everybody's name, obviously you got you know, 365 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 3: at the time was fourteen fifteen thousand students maybe and 366 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 3: now it's twenty five thousand. But he was involved. You know, 367 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 3: he was a president who was involved. The faculty were 368 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 3: the same way. You know, professors were you know, when 369 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,360 Speaker 3: you were on campus and you run into him, sit down, 370 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,199 Speaker 3: chat you up, have a conversation, ask you about you, 371 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 3: how your life was going, how you were adjusting, et cetera, 372 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:26,879 Speaker 3: et cetera. And from an athletics standpoint, Casey Carter was 373 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 3: She's a legend. She was our you know, student athlete, 374 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 3: academic person and just the advisor for so many and 375 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 3: here we are like all these years later. The equipment staff, 376 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,639 Speaker 3: the coaching staff in the different teams, but your teammates, like, 377 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 3: there's a certain type of kid that would go to 378 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,120 Speaker 3: JAMU and still does just an all around good quality 379 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,960 Speaker 3: human being, right, And when you're around that and it's 380 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 3: a feeling that you have. Right. We always talk about, yeah, 381 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 3: a program could be great on paper, and you know, 382 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,080 Speaker 3: they could do all the right things, but the culture 383 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,879 Speaker 3: is really the feeling right and what it feels like 384 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 3: to be part of it. Here at UC Riverside, I 385 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,479 Speaker 3: built a culture for us now that's listening and caring, 386 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 3: and it meets people where they are to help them 387 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:13,920 Speaker 3: get to where they need to go. And I find 388 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,000 Speaker 3: that from a leadership standpoint, I've taken a lot of 389 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 3: my cues from what I learned to Jmu in terms 390 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,120 Speaker 3: of how people lead, and I lead with joy, passion, integrity, 391 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 3: and purpose and a whole lot of energy and enthusiasm. 392 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 3: But I found that again with doctor Carrier, JMU and 393 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 3: the presidents who you know succeeded him since he retired, 394 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,159 Speaker 3: and the you know and since he passed and everything 395 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 3: else it's been. It's been unbelievable because everyone who goes 396 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 3: there has a similar experience. And I find as a leader, 397 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,199 Speaker 3: you don't have to have all this stuff right. We 398 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 3: don't have a lot of the facilities, and we're not 399 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 3: competing in the facility's arm arms raised the way we'd 400 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 3: want to hear at UC Riverside, right. But what we 401 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 3: have is our people, and people are the secret weapon 402 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 3: because we have coach just who can develop young men 403 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 3: and women. We're winning because everybody's bought in. People are aligned, right, 404 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,919 Speaker 3: We don't always agree, but we're aligned. We have a 405 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 3: great Chancellor, Kim Wilcox, who every step of the way. 406 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 3: You know, when we talk about stuff, we talk about 407 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 3: stuff from the standpoint of here's our endpoint of what 408 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:18,640 Speaker 3: we're looking to do and how we want to get there. 409 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 3: Then we talk about how we get there together. You know, 410 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 3: our Head of Student Affairs, Vice Chancellor Brian Haynes, same way, 411 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,360 Speaker 3: Our Head of University Advancement Monique Dozers, same way, our 412 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 3: provosts Liz Walkin, same way. And it trickles down. So 413 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 3: when you have senior administration and you have athletic staff, 414 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:39,439 Speaker 3: ad head coaches administration, it trickles down to the student 415 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,360 Speaker 3: athletes and it impacts their experience. So to me, that 416 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 3: model of JMU, which is why I'm always so high 417 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,879 Speaker 3: on it, was everything and that's what makes it different 418 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 3: from other places. And I think when you talk to 419 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 3: people today, you still see and feel that, you know, 420 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 3: purple and gold passion that everybody has for the place. 421 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:02,120 Speaker 1: She did that, what was your plan? 422 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,440 Speaker 3: Go to Maryland? Got my master's degree at Maryland? 423 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: What was that was that? The plan? Or that that 424 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: just happened, Like, how did you. 425 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 2: How did you decide to go to Maryland and get 426 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 2: a master's. 427 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 3: So I knew. I knew initially I wanted to go 428 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 3: into broadcast journalism. And this was one of the other 429 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,959 Speaker 3: reasons that now I'm in college athletics, right, because at 430 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 3: the time I couldn't do the internships because of conflicted 431 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 3: with practice. Right, So I went into PR and then 432 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:34,359 Speaker 3: I went into I knew when I was then I'm like, well, 433 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 3: what do I want to do? So I knew I 434 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 3: wanted to get my master's degree, and I an opportunity 435 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 3: to go to Maryland, went to Maryland College Park, got 436 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 3: my master's there in journalism, and from there I wanted 437 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 3: to combine the undergrad degree in communications in PR with 438 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:51,399 Speaker 3: the master's in journalism and really move into entertainment, in 439 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 3: entertainment media, if you will. So I'd like to say 440 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 3: it was all part of a master's plan, but actually 441 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 3: just came together. So when I was at Maryland getting 442 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 3: my master's in journalism, I met a gentleman named Craig 443 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,439 Speaker 3: Muckel who was at B E. T at the time. 444 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,479 Speaker 3: And you know, Craig was a black entertainment Television and 445 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 3: I did an internship with them. The internship two years 446 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 3: later turned into a job, and a couple of years 447 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,680 Speaker 3: after that, I found myself enrolled as senior director of 448 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 3: Communications at b E. T. And I had a four 449 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 3: or five year run at BEET, which was fantastic, and. 450 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 1: That all were working for Bob Johnson. Yep. 451 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 3: I worked for Bob Johnson. I worked under Curtis Simons 452 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 3: who was head of the EVP of marketing, Clint Evans 453 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 3: who was under him, and a woman named she passed 454 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,879 Speaker 3: a few years ago, Dannette Wills, who was absolutely fantastic 455 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,600 Speaker 3: on the PR side, and they taught me a lot, 456 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 3: so much about, you know, the entertainment side, strategic communications, 457 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 3: and really how to build a brand right. And at 458 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 3: the time, during my time at BT, we had a 459 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,880 Speaker 3: lot of fun, and I think it was probably one 460 00:23:55,880 --> 00:24:00,160 Speaker 3: of the five, maybe one of the three most impact 461 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,919 Speaker 3: and fun experiences in my life, you know, professionally. The 462 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,440 Speaker 3: other two probably my time at cal and uc R 463 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,960 Speaker 3: here and then probably the most the most impactful and 464 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 3: the most fun was launching slam Ball with Mason Gordon 465 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 3: and Mike Tolan and that whole crew in two thousand 466 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 3: and two and two thousand and three, which made it me. 467 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 2: Okay, you're getting You're like, you're you're getting ahead of 468 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,199 Speaker 2: you're gonna I want to get to slam ball, Like, 469 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 2: give me a second, bro Okay. So so yeah, it'd 470 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 2: be uh huh. 471 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,120 Speaker 1: And then how'd you decide to leave? 472 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 3: I'd done everything I could do at that point. It 473 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 3: was time to make the next step, you know, And 474 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 3: I find times in I've been there about four just 475 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 3: under five years, and there was really there was no 476 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 3: the growth opportunities weren't there anymore. And I'm a lifelong learner. 477 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,719 Speaker 3: I always want to grow. And so made the decision 478 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,679 Speaker 3: to leave and went in a slightly different direction at 479 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 3: that point and went to and to investor and media 480 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 3: relations for Victoria's Secret parent company Limited brand and spent 481 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 3: a year and a half in Columbus, Ohio, managing media 482 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:10,119 Speaker 3: and helping on the internal or sorry, investor relations side 483 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 3: with on the Victoria's Secret and the Bath and Body 484 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 3: Works brand side. Loved it, but entertainment was really my thing, 485 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 3: and I really am a coastal person, so I knew, 486 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 3: you know, I always wanted to be in California. And 487 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,000 Speaker 3: then the opportunity with MTV Networks came up, and that's 488 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 3: how I ended up in Santa Monica. 489 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,359 Speaker 1: So that was Monica. You Movese, san Monica, We're going 490 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,120 Speaker 1: to MTV. What was your actual job to be. 491 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 3: Vice president of Communications at MTV Networks? 492 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 1: What were you doing? 493 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 3: All media relations, strategic communications, events, brand related stuff for 494 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 3: the networks? So like MTV, VH one, MTV two, h 495 00:25:55,560 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 3: MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies and they started a record label 496 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,760 Speaker 3: at the time, Nickelodeon and Jive Records, and they did 497 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:10,400 Speaker 3: one and really just helping that brand from one to three. 498 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 3: When I was there in Santa Monica. 499 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: How did slam Ball come to be? 500 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,400 Speaker 3: Oh? Man, so slam Ball. So when I was making 501 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 3: the next move after MTV Networks, I worked on slam 502 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 3: Ball my last year there. It was just getting started 503 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 3: and then I just went out on my own and 504 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 3: slam Ball was my first client. And Mason Gordon, creator 505 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 3: and founder along with Mike Tolan, you know, Tolan Robbins. 506 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 3: They were like, Hey, we're gonna We're gonna build this thing, 507 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 3: and man, Doug, it was it was it was so 508 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 3: much fun. Man. It was like you're recruiting. You're you're 509 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,680 Speaker 3: on the road, you're recruiting guys. You're trying to find 510 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,480 Speaker 3: individuals who like you're basically building something that is a 511 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:04,160 Speaker 3: sport that's airing on television, but you're also building a league, 512 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 3: right and you're recruiting guys. And a lot of the 513 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,679 Speaker 3: guys that we found either ex football, ex basketball, or 514 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 3: the combination of who really weren't afraid to mix it 515 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 3: up in a sport that combined you know, gymnastics, basketball, football, 516 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 3: hockey all rolled into one, you know, and the arena 517 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,359 Speaker 3: that it was played in, and it was amazing. You know, 518 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,000 Speaker 3: we did my partners and I at the time, we 519 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 3: did all the branding for him. We did all the communications, 520 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 3: all the media relations side, and then we did whatever 521 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 3: it took to help that brand really get off the ground, 522 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,159 Speaker 3: you know, and it was. It was definitely one of 523 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,040 Speaker 3: the most impactful things because everywhere we would go, you know, 524 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 3: when people would watch it, then we're like, oh my gosh, 525 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 3: it's the greatest thing ever. And here we are twenty 526 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 3: something years later and Mason Gordon, you know, and the 527 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:56,480 Speaker 3: company that brought it all the way back and I 528 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,479 Speaker 3: know they had to run this past year on ESPN. 529 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 3: So it's good to see. 530 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: How did you get into college athletics. 531 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,400 Speaker 3: That's a great that's a great question. So about fifteen 532 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 3: years into my corporate career, if you will, because after 533 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 3: MTV Networks, I went up to the Bay Area and 534 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 3: helped an ad agency build out its PR, marketing and 535 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 3: event management and engagement department because ad agencies at the time, 536 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:26,160 Speaker 3: in the early two thousands were trying to really expand 537 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 3: and figure out what else can we do besides traditional 538 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 3: advertising and really expand the brands that we're working for. 539 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:37,960 Speaker 3: So about halfway through it, I just realized I was like, 540 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 3: you know, I really missed college athletics and I really 541 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:46,719 Speaker 3: missed building people. You know, the corporate life was fantastic, 542 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,320 Speaker 3: it was amazing, but like I said, going all the 543 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,320 Speaker 3: way back to my childhood, leading a life of impact 544 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 3: and making an impact is so important to me. So 545 00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 3: I was doing a lot of consulting work at the time, 546 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 3: and you know, circa twenty thirteen, connected with a gentleman 547 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:11,160 Speaker 3: named Phil Eston who's now the athletics director in Minnesota. 548 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,960 Speaker 3: Phil was at CAL at the time. Now he's an 549 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 3: ad in Minnesota, and he took Saint Thomas from Division 550 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 3: three to Division one in one year. So Phil and 551 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,040 Speaker 3: I talked, and Phil's like, hey, we have a real 552 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 3: issue here. And again, when you look at all my background, 553 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 3: the thread, the common thread through all of it is 554 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 3: issues in crisis management, strategic and brand communications and the 555 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 3: external relations sign and so Doug he he's like, hey, man, 556 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 3: we've we're going to need a head of strategic communications, 557 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 3: an associating for strat comms here at CAL. And you know, 558 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,640 Speaker 3: I talked to him, met with Sandy Barber, and then 559 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 3: went to CAL. And the whole reason I went to 560 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 3: CAL at the end of thirteen was to help them 561 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 3: change the narrative because if you remember, at the time, 562 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 3: Cow was last in the country in football and graduation 563 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 3: success rate, and that was a story that their donors 564 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 3: and their alums they you know, someone told me when 565 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 3: I got there, they were like, some of the donors 566 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,240 Speaker 3: would rather not go to the Rose Bull for fifty 567 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 3: more years than be dead last in GSR in the nation, 568 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 3: not in an institution like UC Berkeley. So I got 569 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 3: there and I worked with the crew there and Herb 570 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 3: Benison and everybody else there, and we built a plan 571 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 3: to really change the narrative, but also tell the story 572 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 3: on how we were going to rebuild the athletics brand 573 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 3: from a narrative standpoint. We brought in a bunch of 574 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 3: media people that covered you know, Cal athletics, talked them through, 575 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 3: this is what APR is, this is what GSR is. 576 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 3: This is why their GSR was last in the country 577 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 3: because the narrative was guys were going to failing out 578 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 3: of school, but that wasn't the case. You know, guys, 579 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 3: a lot of guys were leaving early and going to 580 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,480 Speaker 3: the NFL and not coming back to finish. So it 581 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 3: impacted the graduation success rate. So we were able to 582 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 3: do that, worked with Sunny Dykes, who was the coach 583 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 3: at the time, and within two years we went from 584 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 3: work the first in the league and the conference in 585 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 3: the PAC twelve at the time academically and rose to 586 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 3: one of the top teams of the most competitive teams 587 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 3: in the PAC twelve during the time that I was there. 588 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 3: And so that's what brought me back into college athletics 589 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 3: and quite frankly, just I missed it. You know. It's 590 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 3: like it was something that I had dabbled in here 591 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 3: and there as a professional, done some consulting work with, 592 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,080 Speaker 3: but I knew I also wanted to create opportunities for 593 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,880 Speaker 3: young men and women in college athletics to have a 594 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 3: relatable experience with someone in administration who had walked a 595 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 3: mile in their shoes, and quite frankly, for a lot 596 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,520 Speaker 3: of the kids, someone who looked like them and someone 597 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 3: who could guide them when things got really hard and 598 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 3: they didn't feel like they were on an island or 599 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 3: they didn't have people they could relate to, if you will. 600 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 3: So that's what brought me back into college athletics, and 601 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,280 Speaker 3: you know, eleven years later in the athletics director's chair. 602 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,920 Speaker 1: So give me your best Berkeley story. 603 00:31:53,320 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 3: Oh man, Oh, there's so many. I'm just trying to 604 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 3: think of the ones that I could say publicly, if 605 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 3: you will, because I had many welcome to Berkeley moments, 606 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 3: so well, one of them I learned about, you know, 607 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 3: Berkeley is the home of the professional protesters. We were 608 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:20,080 Speaker 3: in we were in the athletics building, uh, and we're 609 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:22,040 Speaker 3: in the a D suite and at the time it 610 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,760 Speaker 3: was myself, Mike Williams was the a D took over 611 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:29,560 Speaker 3: from Sandy Barber. Chris Pesman, who's now the a D. 612 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:35,800 Speaker 3: At Houston, Jenny Simon O'Neill, who's still still there, Oshrendport, 613 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 3: who's now the ad at Lasal I'm thinking Jane Jackson 614 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 3: was there too, and a few other people. So we're 615 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 3: in the AD suite and all of a sudden we 616 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 3: hear you know, you're you're used to hearing the protest 617 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 3: on campus, but we hear this huge commotion, like what 618 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 3: is that noise? All of a sudden, he's getting closer 619 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 3: and closer, and the next time we know it's in 620 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 3: our building, right, and it's getting louder and louder, And 621 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,400 Speaker 3: then the next we know, we're overrun in the AD 622 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 3: suite by about probably thirty forty fifty kids, however many 623 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:09,200 Speaker 3: could fit in there, and they all sit down and 624 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:10,800 Speaker 3: they're sitting on the floor and they're standing up and 625 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 3: they're locking arms, and I'm like looking like, what's happening 626 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:17,800 Speaker 3: right now? Like why are you guys here? What's the problem? 627 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,360 Speaker 3: What did we do that would cause you to come 628 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 3: in here and disturb the day like this? And had 629 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,120 Speaker 3: nothing to do with us, right, and had with some 630 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 3: of the issue on campus that were upset about. And 631 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:30,760 Speaker 3: I'll never forget Like we sat there and we were 632 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,480 Speaker 3: like we were literally we were trapped in our offices 633 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:38,320 Speaker 3: for hours. So we ended up they ended up leaving 634 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 3: after a period of time, but we had to call 635 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 3: campus police. They had come in and they just started 636 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 3: taking the kids out one at a time, those who 637 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:47,880 Speaker 3: didn't leave on their own. But I remember saying to 638 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 3: the leadership of the group, I said, here, here's my card, 639 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 3: call me and let me sit down and try to 640 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 3: help you through whatever your issue is. And so then 641 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:57,640 Speaker 3: Doug we sat down in the conference room a couple 642 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:00,840 Speaker 3: of weeks later, and I literally talked them through how 643 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,160 Speaker 3: to be more effective when they're trying to get their 644 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:06,040 Speaker 3: point across. For I don't even remember what the issue was, 645 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:08,799 Speaker 3: something with labor on campus, had nothing to do with us, 646 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:12,279 Speaker 3: But they came back like a year later. I ran 647 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:14,319 Speaker 3: into them on campus and they told me how much 648 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:16,600 Speaker 3: it actually helped, you know, because they were yoused to 649 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:17,840 Speaker 3: just we're upset. 650 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,719 Speaker 1: So you helped the protesters protest more effectively. 651 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 3: I helped protesters get their point across more effectively without 652 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,360 Speaker 3: disrupting everybody's day if you will, you know so, and 653 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 3: they were able to kind of move through it. But 654 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,239 Speaker 3: it was, yeah, that was one Berkeley moment man there 655 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:34,920 Speaker 3: it is the home of professional protesting. But I remember 656 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,320 Speaker 3: in the time I was there, there were a total 657 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,760 Speaker 3: of seventeen days that I did not have an issue 658 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:43,319 Speaker 3: or something that we had to work through. From an 659 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:49,040 Speaker 3: athletics standpoint, yeah, I tell people like, and I make 660 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,400 Speaker 3: no bones about it, it was easier to save the 661 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:56,919 Speaker 3: athletics program at UC Riverside from being eliminated. Then three 662 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 3: months on campus in Berkeley and athletics. You know, So 663 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,719 Speaker 3: the ucs are tough, but that is far and away 664 00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:09,000 Speaker 3: the toughest one. Sometimes I feel like it's a you know, 665 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:13,080 Speaker 3: when people necessarily difficult. Sometimes I feel like, yeah, we 666 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 3: don't need to make it. It doesn't need to be that difficult. 667 00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:22,719 Speaker 1: Okay, So how did the path leads your Riverside? 668 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 3: So from cal I went over to the PAC twelve. 669 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:30,319 Speaker 3: Was there for about a year and a half and 670 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 3: the opportunity Tamika Smith Jones called me, who was the 671 00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 3: eighty year at the time, There was an opportunity. 672 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:38,799 Speaker 1: Let me take you back real quick. You're at the. 673 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 2: PAC twelve, okay, and obviously the PAC twelve essentially is 674 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:47,040 Speaker 2: no more now, right, didgit like, what was that like, 675 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:49,719 Speaker 2: what was that the atmosphere of work, Like. 676 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:57,439 Speaker 3: I will say this, there's a lot of really great 677 00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:02,479 Speaker 3: people at the PAC twelve who really care about cared 678 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,520 Speaker 3: about the schools and the direction that was going, and 679 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:10,480 Speaker 3: wanted to do great work. How do I say this? 680 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:16,960 Speaker 3: I think it was. I think if people are honest, 681 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:19,680 Speaker 3: those who were in the PAC twelve, whether you you 682 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:22,440 Speaker 3: know I was school side and conference slash network side, 683 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,920 Speaker 3: I don't think anybody could honestly say with the direction 684 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:30,879 Speaker 3: that it was going, that you could see any other 685 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:32,799 Speaker 3: outcome than what happened. You know. 686 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:36,480 Speaker 1: Well, so let me let me give my read on it. 687 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:41,319 Speaker 2: Okay, So I remember when conference expansion happened, when they 688 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,319 Speaker 2: got there and they got their new TV deal, and 689 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,240 Speaker 2: my thought at the time was I actually thought, obviously 690 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,279 Speaker 2: the PAC twelve network and having all the kind of 691 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:54,200 Speaker 2: regional networks, I thought that was a weird strategy, right, 692 00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:55,520 Speaker 2: so weird. 693 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:56,239 Speaker 1: I didn't like the. 694 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,600 Speaker 2: Strategy and it proved to be a real hard strategy 695 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:03,760 Speaker 2: to X you. But the actual TV of deals they got, 696 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:08,239 Speaker 2: I thought, we're home runs. Considering again, this is from 697 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 2: as talent at ESPN at the time, and what I'd 698 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:16,640 Speaker 2: always been told like those are people associated with the 699 00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:20,520 Speaker 2: success of the sports teams. It's not really how it works, right, 700 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,040 Speaker 2: because of the time zone issues, you know, Pacific time zone. 701 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:26,680 Speaker 2: You know, you can't have a game at six, nobody 702 00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 2: shows up. You have a game at seven that's a 703 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 2: ten on the East Coast, and two thirds of the 704 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 2: viewers of college sports are on are in the Eastern 705 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:38,560 Speaker 2: time zone. So you're kind of screwed either way. And 706 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,480 Speaker 2: TV companies are kind of screwed because they had to 707 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:44,200 Speaker 2: play top dollar for something that's not really worth top dollar. 708 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:48,239 Speaker 2: So I, you know, I understand there's lots of things 709 00:37:48,239 --> 00:37:52,200 Speaker 2: that were mismanaged, but I actually thought that. 710 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:53,880 Speaker 1: Deal was a decent was a good deal. 711 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,680 Speaker 2: It was probably over the probably overpriced because you're not 712 00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:58,560 Speaker 2: going to get much value out of some of those 713 00:37:58,600 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 2: late games, right. 714 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:04,120 Speaker 3: Right, right, So I can't speak to the deals specifically, 715 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:08,920 Speaker 3: but I think the challenges, obviously, you know that we 716 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:16,320 Speaker 3: all face, were being in a place where the production 717 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:22,239 Speaker 3: quality of the games was outstanding, right. The coverage of 718 00:38:22,239 --> 00:38:24,440 Speaker 3: the games, you know, with the with the producers, the directors, 719 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:28,359 Speaker 3: the on air talent, the studio shows outstanding. The hard 720 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 3: thing was obviously visibility and distribution so people could see it, 721 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:34,440 Speaker 3: you know, and it was a challenge that was you know, 722 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,520 Speaker 3: beyond our control, if you will, those of us in 723 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 3: the day to day. But to your point, I think, 724 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,200 Speaker 3: if it's in a perfect world, I'm sure that if 725 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:47,200 Speaker 3: everybody went back and could do it all over again, 726 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,000 Speaker 3: there's probably a few things that they would do differently. 727 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:54,319 Speaker 3: But I think also it's it's I will say this, 728 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:58,800 Speaker 3: I think the lesson if we always talk about like 729 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,680 Speaker 3: don't miss the lesson, right, well, that was the lesson. 730 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,120 Speaker 3: I think if you talk to the athletic directors who 731 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:07,319 Speaker 3: were in the PAC twelve during that time period from 732 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,960 Speaker 3: twelve to to this year, twelve to twenty three, if 733 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,799 Speaker 3: you will, and those who've left in our different places now, 734 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:19,239 Speaker 3: you'll hear a common theme which will be consistent, and 735 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:24,440 Speaker 3: that is sometimes you know, you have to listen to 736 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,200 Speaker 3: the experts in the room, and I don't think the 737 00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:30,160 Speaker 3: experts in the room who are the ads, were listened 738 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:34,600 Speaker 3: to enough. You know, the decision makers, the presidents and 739 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:40,959 Speaker 3: the chancellors, you know, working with the commissioner and company. Yes, 740 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,200 Speaker 3: they made decisions that they made, but I don't think 741 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:49,040 Speaker 3: I don't think that enough people when a lot of 742 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:52,160 Speaker 3: decisions on whatever level they were being made, were listening 743 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:56,800 Speaker 3: intently or listening and really adhering to what the ads 744 00:39:56,840 --> 00:40:00,160 Speaker 3: were saying with the experiences that they were going and 745 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:04,360 Speaker 3: what they needed to really keep their programs competitive, you 746 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:07,160 Speaker 3: know with the SEC the Big Ten than what they 747 00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:10,759 Speaker 3: were doing. And quite frankly, when the ACC network came 748 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,440 Speaker 3: online and launched and just you know, just crushed it 749 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:16,600 Speaker 3: out the gate, you know. So I think that the 750 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,920 Speaker 3: lesson is, as you go forward, conference offices need to 751 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,840 Speaker 3: make sure they're really listening to the leadership in the 752 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,560 Speaker 3: room from an AD standpoint, and that the ads are 753 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:31,080 Speaker 3: aligned with their presidents and chancellors and that those discussions 754 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:34,279 Speaker 3: are happening before decisions are made, you know, at a 755 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:34,920 Speaker 3: higher level. 756 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:39,279 Speaker 1: Okay, So now how do you get to riverside? 757 00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:45,040 Speaker 3: So so okay, So Tamaka Smith Jones, she was looking 758 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:48,759 Speaker 3: for a senior associated for Strategic Communications and external Relations 759 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,840 Speaker 3: and it's in my wheelhouse. And I missed being on 760 00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:53,720 Speaker 3: campus and was the opportunity to get back on campus 761 00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:56,839 Speaker 3: and there was a they had a need and the 762 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:01,520 Speaker 3: need was established a visual in relevancy and that you know, 763 00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:03,760 Speaker 3: I'm one who will never back down from a challenge 764 00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:07,000 Speaker 3: like I love a big challenge, said okay, we could 765 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,880 Speaker 3: do this, and so I said, look, it's going to 766 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:10,440 Speaker 3: be a three year endeavor to really get it to 767 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:11,759 Speaker 3: where it needs to be, and here's how we're going 768 00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:16,440 Speaker 3: to do it. Two years into it, yes, it all 769 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:19,320 Speaker 3: worked out. Took the job, moved down here southern California, 770 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:27,000 Speaker 3: and three years in. Two years in we're going through 771 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:35,680 Speaker 3: COVID Andy. There was the threat that the entire program 772 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:38,160 Speaker 3: was going to be eliminated. So now it's like, you know, 773 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:40,840 Speaker 3: we've worked hard to establish the visual and relevancy and 774 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,520 Speaker 3: now we've got to work and locks up with the 775 00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:47,359 Speaker 3: senior administration on campus to keep the program the whole thing, 776 00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:50,200 Speaker 3: not just like five seven sports, one or two sports 777 00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:54,759 Speaker 3: all seventeen. So it's like okay, again, big challenge, but 778 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:57,120 Speaker 3: going all the way back. So what my mom had 779 00:41:57,160 --> 00:41:59,279 Speaker 3: prepared us for. No challenge in life is going to 780 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,440 Speaker 3: be too big if you for it right. So we prepare, focus, 781 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:06,520 Speaker 3: and execute. So what we do. And so Tamica took 782 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:09,439 Speaker 3: a job with Kennesaw State and left to be their 783 00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:13,680 Speaker 3: COO in Atlanta, and I was made the intermay d. 784 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:17,400 Speaker 3: And then I worked with with all the appropriate people, 785 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:20,680 Speaker 3: we built a plan, and the plan included a financial 786 00:42:20,719 --> 00:42:25,200 Speaker 3: sustainability model, included an operational excellence model, operational efficiency model, 787 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:27,759 Speaker 3: and the Excellence model in terms of how we were 788 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,840 Speaker 3: going to compete in spite of not having certain things, 789 00:42:31,040 --> 00:42:33,359 Speaker 3: in spite of having to cut almost three million from 790 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:36,160 Speaker 3: the program during COVID to figure and survive, to figure 791 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:38,319 Speaker 3: out how we're going to go forward. So we're able 792 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:40,600 Speaker 3: to do it, and here we are. You know, three 793 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:44,359 Speaker 3: years later, I mentoring year six now for year four 794 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:47,280 Speaker 3: is zad. But here we are. With all the lessons, 795 00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 3: in my opinion, that I've learned throughout my career all 796 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:53,080 Speaker 3: came full circle with having to save the program. But 797 00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:55,759 Speaker 3: the most important one, Doug was really understanding like, hey, 798 00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:00,399 Speaker 3: there are no days off of leadership. Right. Leadership hard, 799 00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:03,880 Speaker 3: but if you do it the right way and you 800 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:07,760 Speaker 3: get people aligned and everybody's on that same mission, here's 801 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:09,480 Speaker 3: how we do it, and that's what we're able to do. 802 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:14,040 Speaker 3: So now you know, we're we just came off arguably 803 00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:16,680 Speaker 3: our most successful year ever, one of them at the 804 00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:19,399 Speaker 3: Division one level. Two Coaches of the Year and men's 805 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:22,399 Speaker 3: basketball and men's soccer, multiple student Athletes of the Year 806 00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:27,160 Speaker 3: and different sports number you know, double digit all conference, 807 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:32,440 Speaker 3: you know players academically, our entire program is it just 808 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:36,480 Speaker 3: under three point two GPA every team, all seventeen teams 809 00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:39,319 Speaker 3: or above a three point zero. People are happy, the 810 00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:42,480 Speaker 3: culture is great, and even in the midst of everything 811 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:44,400 Speaker 3: that we're dealing with. And by the way, I listened 812 00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:46,480 Speaker 3: to I listened to the pod that you did with 813 00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:49,840 Speaker 3: bells Are that was fantastic. By the way, and we 814 00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:54,480 Speaker 3: work with Jason with our collective. He's probably, in my opinion, 815 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:57,120 Speaker 3: the smartest person in the room when it comes to 816 00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:00,279 Speaker 3: that stuff. And if not the smartest, he's in the 817 00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:03,799 Speaker 3: top three. But with all the issues that we're dealing 818 00:44:03,880 --> 00:44:08,680 Speaker 3: with across the NCAA landscape, to me, we're going to 819 00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:12,480 Speaker 3: be okay simply because we have the core things in place, 820 00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:16,120 Speaker 3: the people, the culture, you know, the alignment, the mindset, 821 00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:19,600 Speaker 3: how we work with campus and just figuring out how 822 00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:21,879 Speaker 3: we get to where we need to be by being 823 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:24,120 Speaker 3: good stewards over the resources we have while we work 824 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:26,160 Speaker 3: to acquire those that we want and those that we need. 825 00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:30,200 Speaker 3: So that's the long and short on the journey, the 826 00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:32,839 Speaker 3: path two and where we are now at you see riverside. 827 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:37,160 Speaker 2: Okay, So for people who don't know, Okay, so you 828 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:39,680 Speaker 2: take over as ad exactly. 829 00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:42,680 Speaker 3: What January of twenty one? 830 00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:47,640 Speaker 1: Okay, so you'd been is right into the coast. 831 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:50,160 Speaker 3: Twenty one yep. So twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, 832 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:52,680 Speaker 3: twenty four will be my fourth year. 833 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:57,680 Speaker 1: Okay, so this is Smack Davin. When was COVID was twenty? Right? 834 00:44:57,880 --> 00:45:03,080 Speaker 3: It was March of twenty until twenty two twenty one, 835 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:07,799 Speaker 3: and COVID was about two years, right, give or take. 836 00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:11,040 Speaker 1: It was like a well, it started in March of 837 00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:12,080 Speaker 1: March of twenty It. 838 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:15,600 Speaker 2: Started in March, and yeah, I guess it was over 839 00:45:17,239 --> 00:45:21,759 Speaker 2: pretty much the next end of the next March, right, 840 00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:24,760 Speaker 2: wasn't it? Or we had the limit an NCAA tournament 841 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:25,279 Speaker 2: that next year. 842 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:27,359 Speaker 3: Yeah, we're still probably about a year and a half, 843 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:29,680 Speaker 3: give her take. I mean, it's we all have COVID 844 00:45:29,719 --> 00:45:31,600 Speaker 3: brein now, right, like just trying to remember. 845 00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:37,239 Speaker 2: Yes, totally, So okay, so when what when? 846 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:41,800 Speaker 1: What were you doing? When was the the program is 847 00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:42,480 Speaker 1: going to be eliminated? 848 00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:42,680 Speaker 3: When? 849 00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:43,960 Speaker 1: When when did that come? 850 00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:48,520 Speaker 3: That was made public? August twenty ninth of twenty one, No, 851 00:45:48,640 --> 00:45:51,920 Speaker 3: August twenty twenty August twenty ninth of twenty is when 852 00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:52,320 Speaker 3: it come. 853 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:53,800 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it was made public. 854 00:45:54,120 --> 00:45:57,160 Speaker 2: When was it made privately known that, holy cow, we 855 00:45:57,239 --> 00:45:59,120 Speaker 2: may shut down our athletic programs. 856 00:45:59,239 --> 00:46:01,400 Speaker 3: Don't know because I found out when it was made public. 857 00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:05,920 Speaker 1: So okay, So where were where were you at that moment? 858 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:07,319 Speaker 1: M M. 859 00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:10,759 Speaker 3: The moment I found out that it was out there, 860 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,800 Speaker 3: I was at home and I was in the garage 861 00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:19,160 Speaker 3: because I'd set the garage up as a garage office. 862 00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:23,399 Speaker 3: And I remember I got a call. I don't remember 863 00:46:23,440 --> 00:46:25,719 Speaker 3: who the call came from, but somebody called me and 864 00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:28,120 Speaker 3: told me that this was out there, and I was like, 865 00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:31,400 Speaker 3: we what? And so I looked at it and I 866 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:33,920 Speaker 3: was like, how public is this? Because it was kind 867 00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:38,319 Speaker 3: of buried on a website somewhere. And then once I 868 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:39,960 Speaker 3: realized that, I think it was about three or four 869 00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:43,279 Speaker 3: days later, we huddled and we started building a plan 870 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:45,680 Speaker 3: on what we what we needed to do to kind 871 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:49,560 Speaker 3: of turn this thing around. Tamaco Smith Jones was still 872 00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:51,239 Speaker 3: here at the time as a AD so it might 873 00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:53,000 Speaker 3: have been Tamac Goog called. I don't remember who called, 874 00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:57,080 Speaker 3: but talked to Tamaica, talked to the senior athletics about 875 00:46:57,239 --> 00:47:00,560 Speaker 3: leadership team at that time, and we just went to 876 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:02,960 Speaker 3: work and started building a plan on what we needed 877 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,839 Speaker 3: to do to make sure this didn't become a real, 878 00:47:06,360 --> 00:47:09,600 Speaker 3: a real thing, because here's the thing we were watching. 879 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:12,800 Speaker 3: I think it was Stanford had to cut seven sports, 880 00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:14,520 Speaker 3: was it, and then eventually had to bring them all back. 881 00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:18,160 Speaker 3: Clemson had to cut some William and Mary schools all 882 00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:20,879 Speaker 3: around the country were cutting because you know, people were 883 00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:23,160 Speaker 3: we were in COVID and nobody knew it was gonna happen, 884 00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:25,839 Speaker 3: and budgets were of concern, et cetera, et cetera. And 885 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:28,120 Speaker 3: then I believe pretty much all the programs that cut 886 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:30,600 Speaker 3: sports had to end up bringing them all back, right, 887 00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:35,319 Speaker 3: because that's one thing you never really went on. So 888 00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:37,920 Speaker 3: so yeah, I think I was in my garage, you know, 889 00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:42,200 Speaker 3: in my garage office, at my COVID garage office, and 890 00:47:42,239 --> 00:47:44,840 Speaker 3: I was just I was stunned. And then when it 891 00:47:44,840 --> 00:47:46,719 Speaker 3: became real, but it's like, Okay, this is actually a 892 00:47:46,719 --> 00:47:48,480 Speaker 3: real thing, and we have to really kind of figure 893 00:47:48,520 --> 00:47:50,520 Speaker 3: this out. It was about four days later when we 894 00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:53,120 Speaker 3: were meeting on it, early September, right before Labor Day 895 00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:53,600 Speaker 3: that time. 896 00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:56,520 Speaker 1: What was your idea how do you think it was 897 00:47:56,560 --> 00:47:59,240 Speaker 1: going to get fixed? Or do you think it wasn't sayable? 898 00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:03,880 Speaker 3: No, I believe there was sayable. And the reason for 899 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:07,000 Speaker 3: that is because I was like, there's two things right. One. 900 00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:09,839 Speaker 3: I knew as we kind of went into it, we 901 00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:11,600 Speaker 3: had to make I had to make sure that I 902 00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:15,560 Speaker 3: threaded the needle of you know, because it wasn't adversarial. 903 00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:17,920 Speaker 3: So I didn't make sure that it wasn't adversarial. It 904 00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:19,680 Speaker 3: was it was out there because literally was a financial 905 00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:24,520 Speaker 3: decision that our financial possibility that people were talking about. 906 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:27,520 Speaker 3: But so I knew, Okay, we just have to make 907 00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:29,879 Speaker 3: the case, make the point. But I knew we needed 908 00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:32,680 Speaker 3: to win the court of public opinion. We need to 909 00:48:32,719 --> 00:48:35,440 Speaker 3: make people aware of it, and we needed to make 910 00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:38,759 Speaker 3: sure that the campus knew, campus leadership knew if we're 911 00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:40,759 Speaker 3: able to do this, here's how we can do it. 912 00:48:40,800 --> 00:48:43,759 Speaker 3: Because the questions were on the table, do we eliminate it, 913 00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:46,560 Speaker 3: does it go division three? Division two? Does the state 914 00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:48,640 Speaker 3: division one? What does that look like? And how do 915 00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:52,080 Speaker 3: we kind of maneuver in that space? And so I 916 00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:53,840 Speaker 3: knew there was only one way to go, which was 917 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:57,120 Speaker 3: to remain Division one. So we worked with them they 918 00:48:57,160 --> 00:48:59,759 Speaker 3: put a task force together. I worked with the task 919 00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:03,640 Speaker 3: force in Collegiate Sports Associates CSA. They came into an 920 00:49:03,640 --> 00:49:06,479 Speaker 3: assessment of not just where our program was, but where 921 00:49:06,480 --> 00:49:10,160 Speaker 3: mid major programs of like similar size and like mindedness 922 00:49:10,520 --> 00:49:13,680 Speaker 3: with respect to the academic uc deal and everything else 923 00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,880 Speaker 3: where they were and how they were faring. And you know, 924 00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:20,000 Speaker 3: as well as I do, Doug, a handful of programs 925 00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:22,919 Speaker 3: in the nation are profitable. Everybody's in the red right. 926 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:25,320 Speaker 3: This is you have the academic model for athletics, and 927 00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:27,960 Speaker 3: you have the business model for athletics. The business model 928 00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:29,480 Speaker 3: is a lot of what you and Bells we were 929 00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:32,759 Speaker 3: talking about, you know in your podcast with him. That's 930 00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:36,480 Speaker 3: where you know the money game is being played, if 931 00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:40,000 Speaker 3: you will, right, the academic model is where ninety percent 932 00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:44,560 Speaker 3: of Division I universities operate. At the mid majors, the 933 00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:46,799 Speaker 3: Group of five for the most part, and the lower 934 00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:49,640 Speaker 3: level pack fives where we're still in that academic model. 935 00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:53,239 Speaker 3: You know where it's not. You know, if you have football, 936 00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:57,160 Speaker 3: your football program is not you know, bringing in millions 937 00:49:57,200 --> 00:49:59,480 Speaker 3: and millions of dollars to the university. You're there and 938 00:49:59,520 --> 00:50:01,560 Speaker 3: your educ hitting kids and you're building the programs the 939 00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:05,440 Speaker 3: right way, so bring it all the way back. The 940 00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:07,800 Speaker 3: plan that we put in place to fix it involved 941 00:50:07,800 --> 00:50:11,160 Speaker 3: making sure all the stakeholders were apprized of the situation. 942 00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:19,000 Speaker 3: Our donors, our fans, alums, the alumni, our current student athletes, parents, media, 943 00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:22,120 Speaker 3: you name it, you know, folks on campus. And then 944 00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:23,920 Speaker 3: it was how are we going to tell the story 945 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:26,719 Speaker 3: about why we're here in the mission of athletics and 946 00:50:26,760 --> 00:50:31,080 Speaker 3: why it's important. So we engaged in that. We did 947 00:50:31,120 --> 00:50:34,520 Speaker 3: a petition, an online petition. I'm drawing a blank on 948 00:50:34,600 --> 00:50:36,359 Speaker 3: what those things are called again, you know the ones 949 00:50:36,360 --> 00:50:40,719 Speaker 3: where everybody signs, oh gosh, I'm drawing a blank on it. 950 00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:44,520 Speaker 3: But we did one of those and it garnered fifteen 951 00:50:44,560 --> 00:50:49,480 Speaker 3: thousand signatures. There was a letter writing campaign to campus 952 00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:52,680 Speaker 3: administration to let them know how people were feeling. And 953 00:50:52,719 --> 00:50:54,359 Speaker 3: then I just went on a media blitz and did 954 00:50:54,400 --> 00:50:56,720 Speaker 3: a lot of interviews you know, all over the country, 955 00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:01,640 Speaker 3: halftime some of our games on esp and others, you know, 956 00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:04,000 Speaker 3: talk shows, et cetera, et cetera, and just told the 957 00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:07,520 Speaker 3: story of why athletics at this level really matters and 958 00:51:07,560 --> 00:51:11,200 Speaker 3: the ultimate impact of negative impact of losing an athletics 959 00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:14,440 Speaker 3: program especially at a university it's following the education model, 960 00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:18,279 Speaker 3: and especially at a U see, you know, and then 961 00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:20,319 Speaker 3: we were able to make the case and so we 962 00:51:20,560 --> 00:51:25,200 Speaker 3: you know, we were I May May of twenty twenty 963 00:51:25,239 --> 00:51:29,759 Speaker 3: one or May of twenty twenty two, we receive word 964 00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:32,680 Speaker 3: that the program was going to go forward. And it 965 00:51:32,719 --> 00:51:34,600 Speaker 3: was a great day, you know. But what kept me 966 00:51:34,680 --> 00:51:39,520 Speaker 3: going through the whole thing every night for eleven months 967 00:51:39,600 --> 00:51:42,440 Speaker 3: or however long it took. What I would wind the 968 00:51:42,520 --> 00:51:45,160 Speaker 3: night down on my screen I would have. I'd go 969 00:51:45,200 --> 00:51:47,600 Speaker 3: through each team, and I'd look at the faces of 970 00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:50,200 Speaker 3: all of our student athletes and our coaches and our staff, 971 00:51:50,840 --> 00:51:55,960 Speaker 3: and I realized, like, hey, failure is not an option here. 972 00:51:56,440 --> 00:51:58,799 Speaker 3: You know, these are the individuals that you're fighting for 973 00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:02,799 Speaker 3: every day to keep this program going. And you know, 974 00:52:02,840 --> 00:52:04,480 Speaker 3: when I would look at their faces, I knew, like 975 00:52:05,239 --> 00:52:07,640 Speaker 3: it's real. You know, when I was on campus, because 976 00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:10,200 Speaker 3: we were back on campus in October of twenty because 977 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:11,960 Speaker 3: we were still doing games. You remember that we're trying 978 00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:15,000 Speaker 3: to figure out games with no fans for basketballs were 979 00:52:15,040 --> 00:52:18,320 Speaker 3: starting all that, so we were full go the whole time. 980 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:21,759 Speaker 3: But when I'd see the kids or student athletes, when 981 00:52:21,760 --> 00:52:24,680 Speaker 3: I'd see the coaches, see their families, see their friends. 982 00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:27,680 Speaker 3: I knew, like you know, It's like, dude, you can't 983 00:52:27,680 --> 00:52:31,000 Speaker 3: fail failures not you cannot fail at this one. Losing 984 00:52:31,080 --> 00:52:35,040 Speaker 3: is not an option here. All right. 985 00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:38,320 Speaker 2: That's it for Part one the Combo with Les Mallett. 986 00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:40,800 Speaker 2: Stay tuned for part two. Reminder of The Doug Gottlieb 987 00:52:40,840 --> 00:52:45,160 Speaker 2: Show airs daily three to five Eastern Time. It's also 988 00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:48,239 Speaker 2: on a twelve to two Pacific. You can download that podcast. 989 00:52:48,320 --> 00:52:50,960 Speaker 2: Just type in Doug Gottlieb Show. Wherever you download this podcast, 990 00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:54,440 Speaker 2: you can probably get that one as well. And I 991 00:52:54,640 --> 00:52:57,839 Speaker 2: truly appreciate you joining me. I'm Doug gotlig This as 992 00:52:57,880 --> 00:53:03,239 Speaker 2: all ballp