The AthleticDirectorU Podcast

1:02 - Jeremy talks about his small town roots, and shares how valuable of a decision it was to play Div II baseball at Delta State under Coach Marchant.

7:10 - Jeremy shares the core values and the mental shift that he went through when competing for a spot on the Boston Red Sox, and credits his coaches for helping to build those values and support him as he grew personally and professionally.

8:56 - Jeremy shares a Mike Kinnison coaching story from when the Delta State team was competing in the World Series, and an occasion where Jeremy needed to be pushed to succeed, but also received heartfelt encouragement from his coach.

11:20 - Jeremy discusses the shift from playing at the college level to professional baseball in the minor leagues, and describes the increase in intensity along with the importance of taking care of yourself throughout the process.

12:43 - Jeremy talks about the path that took him from baseball back to working in college sports, and from getting married to earning an MBA, to deciding that he was unhappy in his corporate job and making the decision to work in development for Delta State University.

That decision would lead to an opportunity to take charge as Athletic Director after Brad Teague's departure.

18:57 - Jeremy shares his thought process in realizing that it was time for the next step in his career after 6 years at Delta State, and the transition from working in Div II to Div I. His career journey would take him from AD at Delta State, to Deputy AD at Southern Miss, to AD at Troy, until he would come full circle back as Athletic Director at Southern Miss.

22:20 - Jeremy talks about the tough decisions and tough conversations that need to be made by athletic leadership, and how his personal process for those situations is driven by faith and by colleagues who can have valuable and candid discussions.

28:00 - "For me, it's always been about being creative on the revenue side. How can we get more resources to our student-athletes and our coaches, where they can get their needs list met?"

Jeremy talks about looking at both sides of the balance sheet from a financial leadership perspective, and how his philosophy revolves around creating more opportunities for resources to avoid budget cuts whenever possible.

37:16 - Jeremy shares his number one piece of advice for professionals moving up in their careers in college sports, and his vision for Southern Miss athletics

Naima Stevenson Starks, the NCAA's new Vice President of Hearing Operations gives AthleticDirectorU an update on the position and the new enforcement structure. Stevenson Starks emphasizes that the new process is designed to accommodate certain types of cases rather than supplant the current enforcement structure. The conversation covers the use of independent members and answers the key question that people in the industry want to know, will the new structure speed up the enforcement process?

Success Beyond Winning is the topic of conversation between Sean Frazier, AD at NIU, John Hartwell, AD at Utah State, and Learfield/IMG Executive VP and former AD, Mike Hamilton. The three touch on defining success beyond the easy evaluation points of wins and losses. Frazier and Hartwell talk about internal versus external messaging when discussing athletic expectations, insight on fans and realistic expectations, and the group wraps the discussion on an aspirational note.

Justin Burleigh, Chief Product Officer at Ticketmaster, talks about the company's new digital ticketing product, Presence. With the primary benefit of tying tickets to a person or device, athletic departments can now understand who is in their respective venues and what those patrons want to experience when attending events. Burleigh also discusses some of the new products that Ticketmaster is releasing and how the company can provide input into event facilities renovation and construction.

Athletics leaders, Ed Scott of Morgan State and Stevie Baker-Watson of DePauw join Jason Fein, of Bates College, on AthleticDirectorU to discuss work-life balance while leading a small staff. The trio discuss identifying professional fatigue, schedule flexibility, and advice to new leaders on life in the chair.

Chris Freet, Deputy Athletics Director for External Engagement at the University of Kansas, joins Jay F. Hicks on the newly co-branded AthleticDirectorU and Sports Creatives Podcast. The duo discuss Freet's first time overseeing development and creating a culture of success for the Jayhawks, the priority of social and digital for senior leadership team, and the challenges of developing social and digital in Lawrence. The conversation also covers the Miles to Go series on ESPN+, featuring Head Football Coach Les Miles, the fears that leadership had to overcome, the show's ideation, and much more.

Washington State Director of Athletics, Pat Chun, and Sr. Associate AD & COO, Bryan Blair, are joined by Jean Frankel, President & CEO of Ideas for Action LLC in this episode of the AthleticDirectorU Podcast. The trio give in depth insight about various aspects of the new strategic plan. Including thoughts on why parts of it were included and how they will be executed.

For an in depth look at the Eligibility Center, NCAA Vice President Felicia Martin visits with AthleticDirectorU on a variety of topics, starting her view of the unit prior to arriving in Indianapolis. Martin also discusses the functionality of her team, reviews recent core curriculum changes, academic fraud trend lines and much more.

Jim Knowlton, Director of Athletics at Cal, discusses building strategic alliances as a new leader. Knowlton touches on his meticulous process of deliberate listening during the first 90 days on campus and how it ties in with creating alliances with the campus community. Knowlton also talks about the important role of the President when establishing a collaborative presence on campus.