In this episode of The Fort Builders, I sit down with Mike Akers, head women's golf coach at the University of North Texas and someone I've known since our days growing up together in Hays, Kansas.

Mike's story starts in western Kansas, where he helped lead Hays High to a state golf championship. Looking back, he now realizes just how unlikely that accomplishment was given the larger programs and resources they were competing against. But even then, the mindset was already there: preparation, belief, and a willingness to do extra work. Before that state tournament, Mike drove five hours by himself, stayed in a hotel alone, and played multiple practice rounds before the rest of the team arrived.

That mindset would follow him throughout his career.

After working as a golf professional, Mike moved into coaching and eventually built successful collegiate programs at Texas State and North Texas. When he arrived at North Texas, the program was ranked around 200th nationally. Today, it has become a nationally respected program with conference championships and victories over schools with significantly larger budgets and recruiting advantages.

What stood out to me in this conversation is that Mike doesn't talk much about talent.

He talks about people.

He talks about relationships.

He talks about culture.

Whether he's recruiting internationally from Thailand, Latvia, South Africa, or India, or evaluating players from Texas, he's looking for more than scores. He's looking for character, independence, work ethic, and people who genuinely want to improve.

We also discuss one of my favorite themes from the conversation: intentional practice.

Mike shares stories about athletes spending hours "practicing" while not really being present and explains why focused effort always beats simply putting in time. Golf provides instant feedback. You can't fake preparation for very long.

Throughout the conversation, another lesson keeps surfacing:

The details matter.

Whether it's club fitting, recruiting, relationships, culture, or leadership, success is rarely one big thing.

It's usually hundreds of small things done consistently over time.

As we often talk about on The Fort Builders, we're all building something.

Mike's story is a reminder that winning cultures aren't built overnight.

They're built through relationships, attention to detail, and a belief that where you start doesn't determine how far you can go.

Women's Golf - University of North Texas Athletics