The AthleticDirectorU Podcast

With the College Football Playoff set, Extra Points' Matt Brown and Navigate's Jeff Nelson review how Navigate's model predicted the top four teams, the circumstances needed for a Group of 5 team to make the CFP, hypothetical scenarios looking back on the season and more.

As the regular season concludes, Extra Points' Matt Brown and Navigate President Jeff Nelson review the impact of rivalry week, the remaining possibilities for the four CFP spots, the paths for Alabama, Cincinnati, Michigan, Baylor and more.

Extra Points' Matt Brown and Navigate President Jeff Nelson recap a very impactful week in college football ahead of the fourth CFP Rankings release. The pair review the path to the playoff for Notre Dame, Alabama and Oklahoma State, the impact of major rivalry games and more.

Extra Points' Matt Brown and Navigate President Jeff Nelson discuss the updated College Football Playoff projections ahead of week three of the CFP rankings. The duo discuss the Big 12's chances of having a representative in the playoff, the impact of Oregon and Ohio State's head-to-head, teams with an outside shot at making the final four and much more (00:00 - 23:50). Brown is then joined by ESPN's Bill Connelly to chat about Notre Dame's CFP candidacy, Cincinnati's chances of making the playoff and a lot more. (23:55 - 37:05).

For week two of the College Football Playoff rankings, Extra Points' Matt Brown and Navigate President Jeff Nelson discuss the underwhelming performances of many top teams, Cincinnati's chances at a top four finish following the initial rankings, impactful games outside of the top teams, Notre Dame's changes at making the playoff and more (00:00 - 16:55). Brown then sits down with The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach to dig into Cincinnati's initial #6 ranking, the chances to make the playoff as a Group of 5 team, unimpressive outings from almost all of the top teams and much more (17:00 - 30:58).

AthleticDirectorU has again partnered with Navigate to present a rich prediction model – based on 3,500 simulations of the rest of the season – for this season's College Football Playoff. For 2021, ADU & Navigate have also added a podcast alongside the weekly projections hosted by Extra Points' Matt Brown. For the next six weeks, Brown will be joined by Navigate President Jeff Nelson and/or Senior Vice President for Client Strategy Jordan Bloem, plus a special guest.

In this year's first episode, Nelson and Bloem review Navigate's methodology behind the projections, Cincinnati's multi-year ascent, why Ohio State is projected to be ranked above Oregon despite the Ducks' early-season win in Columbus, plus lots more (00:00 - 29:58). Brown continues by welcoming UTSA Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos to discuss the undefeated campaign so far for the Roadrunners, which other Group of 5 program can be the model for UTSA and the new contract for Head Football Coach Jeff Traylor (30:03 - 41:05).

Western Michigan AD Kathy Beauregard sits down with AthleticDirectorU to discuss how her and her staff stay innovative after decades together, the highs and lows of being in the AD chair, problem solving methods and much more.

2:10 - How do you stay innovative and creative with a staff that has been at Western Michigan for so long? 5:20 - How differently do you approach things today versus 25 years ago? 9:22 - What is your method of problem solving? 11:08 - What problem solving tools and lessons have you learned from your coaches? 13:58 - Can you recall an excellent idea from a student-athlete? 16:54 - As a former gymnastics coach, what is your perspective on the current state of the sport? 21:37 - As a leader, how do you balance the highs and lows of being an AD? 24:30 - How much do the pressures of the job effect the rest of your life? 26:32 - What are your thoughts on tenured ADs stepping away from the chair? 29:55 - How will this $550 million gift to WMU, $50 million of which will go to athletics, impact the Broncos future? 36:52 - How do you go about creating the future you want to be a part of?

INFLCR's Jim Cavale and Icon Source's Chase Garrett sit down with AthleticDirectorU to give their thoughts on how the first month of NIL went, lay out best practices for student-athletes and schools, and what schools can do to best maximize student-athletes' NIL opportunities.

1:11 - How do you think the first 30 days of NIL have gone? 5:45 - What are some of the best and worst practices institutions and student-athletes have enacted in this first month? 14:27 - With the rules differing across states and institutions, is there a right approach being taken and could there be a better approach? 18:53 - What should schools be doing to maximize opportunities for student-athletes? 27:17 - What are the most important things that need to happen over the next year to make sure that NIL gets off on the right foot?

AthleticDirectorU's Tai Brown and Matt Roberts sit down with Navigate Senior Vice President for Analytics and Innovation Matt Balvanz to dig deeper on the financial projections of an expanded College Football Playoff.

1:15 - Give us some initial thoughts on the analysis. 3:45 - Walk us through how you came to the projected $1.9 billion in total revenue. 6:03 - How does the projected CFP increase compare to other professional sports leagues' media rights? 9:54 - How does Notre Dame's independence factor into these projections? 12:10 - How did you project the average number of teams included in the playoff and the average payout? 15:30 - How does the possibility of first-round games being played on campus impact the projections? 20:47 - What could go wrong in the next 24 to 36 months that somehow changes the paradigm of the value of this property in the marketplace? 25:22 - Do you think any streaming platforms could be involved with an expanded playoff's media rights? 27:44 - How do the rumors of conference realignment effect these projections? 34:03 - Why does the Power 5 need the NCAA to create this type of value proposition to the marketplace?

Read more about this analysis at https://athleticdirectoru.com/articles/how-much-money-can-an-expanded-college-football-playoff-generate

Fresno State Director of Athletics Terry Tumey sits down to chat about his leadership philosophy, the ongoing evolution in college athletics, researching and hiring coaches and much more. 2:05 - What is your leadership philosophy? 5:59 - How do you balance the importance of all sports and the excitement they can bring to campus with the importance of football to the institution? 9:39 - How do you analyze whether a coach would be a good fit at your institution? 11:36 - What is your research process for finding coaches? 13:01 - Is the hiring process something you look forward to as an Athletic Director? 14:43 - How has your dynamic with the new president changed from when he was the provost? 17:31 - What is your opinion on the changing evolution of college athletics?