Conversations on College Athletics

Throughout his career, Danny Morrison served in a number of leadership roles including conference commissioner, director of athletics, and president of an NFL team. During his journey, he learned and applied many leadership lessons along the way. Trip Durham visit with Morrison to discuss that journey.

The College Football Playoffs was expected to be an instant success in year one. That's a great deal of pressure and planning and Michael Kelly, COO, and the staff did a fantastic job. Ever since that first kickoff, the playoff structure has continued its evolution. Trip Durham and Michael talk about the CFP chronology, process, and Larry Culpepper.

Trip Durham visits with the former White House Press Secretary for an insightful discussion about planning to stay ahead of the noise that surrounds college athletics from a social media perspective and the importance of controlling reputation.

Did you ever hear the story about Greg Brown's first sales call with Learfield Communications? Listen as Trip Durham dives into the past, the philosophy, and the vision of this most respected CEO. Within the conversation, there is at least one takeaway for everyone.

Few people know that ESPN Lead Analyst Jay Bilas served on a NCAA committee while in college. That experience, along with so many others, have helped shape the perspectives that he has today. Trip Durham sits down with Jay to get his thoughts on transfers, venue brand, and whether or not opinions should ever be held back.

As a research engineer at Dartmouth, John Currier never imagined he would be tasked to create a tackling dummy on wheels. But after a chance conversation with the Big Green football coach, that's exactly what happened. Listen to how the Mobile Virtual Player (MVP) came about and how it is helping us explore the future of college football.

Debbie Antonelli has 30 years experience in college athletics. Many know her as a basketball analyst for TV networks but few realize she was once a collegiate marketer. Trip Durham asks Debbie about her perspective on the state of the game, the responsibility of coaches, and how social media should lift people.​

Rick Jones of Fishbait Marketing has been a stalwart of the college athletics world. With his relationships with Fortune 100 companies and his collaboration with sports admins from across the country, Rick has almost seen it all. Trip Durham entices Rick to pass along some great insights about where we've been, are, and going.

For the old timers, we remember when marketing plans were, more or less, scribbled on a chalkboard. The last 35 years have changed how we approach the external arm of our departments and Bill Sutton has coached, taught, and mentored through it all. The lesson continues in this podcast.

The reality is that Virtual Reality is here. Trip Durham and Gordon Whitener discuss the evolution of VR and how college athletics will be affected by this emerging technology. No goggles required for this in - depth conversation.