The CUSP Show

Welcome to the CUSP Show, Basketball Edition. For the next couple of weeks, we will have an additional podcast where we dive into the stories of the people that make Columbia Men’s and Women’s Basketball so great.

For our third episode, we have Quinton Adlesh and Nate Hickman, two star players of the Men’s Basketball team, joining us this week for a conversation on their experiences as Basketball players for the Columbia Lions.

Nate, junior hailing from Newark, Delaware, saw action in 31 contests so far in his Career at Columbia, he also posted his career-best 10 points at Princeton last year. Over the past couple of weeks, he has become one of the key players in Columbia’s new formation. His father, Father, Richard, played for Delaware from 1969-73 where he set the old Field House record with 44 points in a single-game and was the first African American captain in school history. Quinton is a sophomore from Arroyo Grande, California, where he earned the Pac-8 League MVP honors his senior season at Mission College Prep. Last year he struggled with injury, but still managed to score 9 points in the season opener against Kean. He is a player that can have a huge impact on the team this season.

In this episode, Quinton and Nate talk to Joe about their experiences, the good and the bad, of being a student athlete, they also touch on some current subjects such as the political and social climate on campus (Quinton is a political science major), they also talk about what makes the Columbia student-athlete experience so unique.  Be sure to follow both Men’s and Women’s Basketball accounts on Twitter @CULionsMBB and @CULionsWBB. For more information and highlights be sure to check out http://www.gocolumbialions.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Welcome to the CUSP Show, Basketball Edition. For the next couple of weeks, we will have an additional podcast where we dive into the stories of the people that make Columbia Men’s and Women’s Basketball so great.

For our second episode, we have Tori Oliver and Camille Zimmerman, two key players of the Women’s Basketball team, joining us this week for a conversation on their lives as Columbia Lions athletes.

Tori, a senior hailing from Manassas, Virginia, became the 10th player in the program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau with a nine-point performance on the road against Princeton, she finished her junior season with 1,055 points, putting her seventh on the all-time scoring list. She also  became Columbia’s all-time leader in free throws made. Camille, a junior born and raised in Temple, Arizona  was named second team MBWA All-Met and second team All-Ivy League , she was also chosen as the Ivy League Player of the Week on Nov. 23 and the Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 21, she earned six Ivy League weekly honor roll selections and was named Academic All-Ivy.

In this episode, Tori and Camille talk to Joe about their lives prior to playing for Columbia, they also share some on and off court stories and give us their perspective on how Columbia trains them to be great athletes and great students. Be sure to follow both Men’s and Women’s Basketball accounts on Twitter @CULionsMBB and @CULionsWBB. For more information and highlights be sure to check out http://www.gocolumbialions.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Chris Lencheski joins Joe and Tom this week for a conversation on working for a sports investment company and the sports business success that is Drag Racing. Chris is one of the most well respected professionals in the global sports and entertainment landscape. With over 20 years of professional experience, he has authored industry-setting standards and practice guidelines followed by major entities from network and cable television groups to Fortune 500 companies. His work has included collaborations with the Americas’ Cup, the Olympics, Formula One and World Cup projects as well as a host of international and national properties from every major league to governing bodies. Chris was a multiple team owner in the NASCAR Sprint and Nationwide Series, as well as owner and governor of the International Hockey League franchise; the Quad City Mallards – The IHL Affiliate of the NHL Philadelphia Flyers. The Mallards were “IHL Franchise of the Year 2009-2010”.

In this episode Chris talks about his work for the Drag Racing league and talks about the changes in the international sports business and the digitization of sports. Chris also shares some incredible stories of his career and talks about teaching at the Columbia University Sports Management program.

The Facts

The CUSP Show is a production by the faculty of Sports Management at Columbia University. You can get in touch with the program on Twitter @CU_SPS_Sports Our presenters are Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Welcome to the CUSP Show, Basketball Edition. For the next couple of weeks, we will have an additional podcast where we dive into the stories of the people that make Columbia Men’s and Women’s Basketball so great. 

For our inaugural episode, we have Jim Engels and Megan Griffith, the coaches of Men’s and Women’s Basketball, joining us this week for a conversation on the intricacies behind coaching an Ivy League team. Coach Griffith spent six seasons on the women’s basketball coaching staff at Princeton University, including the last four as an assistant coach and the team’s recruiting coordinator. The last two years, Griffith helped Princeton make back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. During that span, the Tigers posted a 54-7 overall record, including an undefeated 30-0 regular season in 2014-15.This year marks her first as the coach of the Columbia Lions.

Named the 2015 Metropolitan and Mid-Major Coach of the Year, Engles returns to Columbia after spending the past eight years as head coach for the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Over the past six seasons at NJIT, Engles compiled a 100-88 record, including back-to-back 20-win seasons the past two years. Prior to leading the Highlanders, Engles served as an assistant coach at Columbia under former head coach Joe Jones from 2003 to 2008.

In this episode, the coaches talk to Joe and Tom about their stories prior to becoming head coaches at Columbia, they also share their experiences working with the Lions and give us some unique insights on how to instill culture in a team. You can find Coach Griffith on Twitter @mgriffith12 and Coach Engels @CoachJimEngles. Be sure to also follow both Men’s and Women’s Basketball accounts on Twitter @CULionsMBB and @CULionsWBB. For more information and highlights be sure to check out http://www.gocolumbialions.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Stephanie Rudinck joins Joe and Tom this week for a conversation on telling stories and brand management. Stephanie Rudnick is an seasoned brand management and communications strategist with nearly 20 years’ experience across numerous industries - sports, entertainment, lifestyle, technology, travel, luxury, advertising, experiential and marketing. Rudnick opened her consultancy in early 2015 and counts leading global lifestyle marketing agency MKTG as a tentpole client as well as Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, Andrew Luck and Derek Jeter's The Players' Tribune. She also consults with established female entrepreneurs on their business communications and marketing strategy and volunteers to help those in the wellness community establish their purpose and grow their reach.

In this episode Stephanie talks about working with athletes like Abby Wambach and Jason Collins and starting unique and powerful brand initiatives like the Andrew Luck Book Club. Stephanie also shares some tips for up-and-coming PR people and marketers on how to get your first job. You can find Stephanie on Twitter @Stephrudnick

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Frank Golding joins Joe and Tom this week for a conversation on digital sports media. Frank Golding is an entrepreneur and the former Head of Sport for North America at Google, overseeing North America sports deals for YouTube. He has built sports partnerships for leagues, teams and athletes – across professional, college and high school entities — helping them connect more deeply to YouTube’s one billion monthly users. Prior to YouTube, he spent nearly nine years at ESPN working on digital deals across all of ESPN’s domestic content platforms. Frank holds a JD from UVa and an MBA from MIT.

In this fascinating chat, Franks talks about some of his experiences at ESPN and YouTube, creating growth opportunities in the digital media marketplace. Frank also explains some of the current trends in the sports industry using his famous lily pond theory. You can find Frank on Twitter @Golding  

The Facts

The CUSP Show is a production by the faculty of Sports Management at Columbia University. You can get in touch with the program on Twitter @CU_SPS_Sports Our presenters are Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Ezra Kucharz joins Tom this week for a conversation on digital sports media. Ezra has more than 20-years’ experience creating, evolving, and managing a number of leading Internet properties.  He presently serves as a Special Advisor to the CEO of the CBS Corporation.  He served as President of CBS Local Digital Media.  In this role, Kucharz oversaw online and mobile business across CBS RADIO’s 117 stations nationwide, and more than two dozen CBS Television Stations. Kucharz has developed a vast platform of news, sports, music and entertainment web destinations, bringing together the most trusted brands in media.

Ezra talks about some of his experiences founding Total Sports, one of the first online digital sports media companies. He talks about some of the challenges of being a digital innovator in a traditionally analog industry. Tom and Ezra also talk about some of the current trends in digital sports media, including VR and the NFL ratings. You can find Ezra on Twitter @ekucharz

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Barry Neuberger joins Joe and Tom this week for a conversation on sponsorships in college athlethics.Barry has been working as Columbia’s first Associate Athletics Director for Sports Marketing since 2005.Barry has spent over thirty years in college sports marketing, with significant experience in athletics administration at numerous NCAA institutions. Prior to his arrival at Columbia, he also held two sports marketing positions in the private sector. As Vice President of Sales for Worldwide Marketing & Media Group, he secured sponsorship and clearances for live events and television programs, including the creation of Inside The Big East, a weekly magazine-style television show that aired in most major markets from coast to coast.

Barry talks about some of the challenges of setting up a successful sponsorship department for a college athletics department. He tells some incredible stories and shares some knowledge on how to create revenue in the sports industry. You can find Barry on Twitter @BarryNeuberger

The Facts

The CUSP Show is a production by the faculty of Sports Management at Columbia University. You can get in touch with the program on Twitter @CU_SPS_Sports Our presenters are Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Harrie Bakst joins Tom and Joe this week for a conversation on sports-philantrophy. Harrie is the founding partner of Weinstein Carnegie Philanthropic Group, one of the leading philanthropic advisory companies.  Bakst leads the sports side of the business and co-manages client relationships with James Blake, Cam Newton, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Save The Children, Sean Penn’s J/P Haitian Relief Organization, Revlon, among others.

Harrie talks about his own fight with cancer and how it sparked him to start his own company and how his company is trying to revolutionize the way (sports and entertainment) brands benefit from philanthropy. You can find Weinstein Carnegie on Twitter @WCPhilantrophy

The Facts

The CUSP Show is a production by the faculty of Sports Management at Columbia University. You can get in touch with the program on Twitter @CU_SPS_Sports Our presenters are Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Mandy Antoniacci, Inc. Magazine columnist and sports business analyst, joins hosts Joe and Tom this week to talk about identifying future trends in the sports industry.

Mandy gives her view on the rise of women in executive positions and the overall growth in attention given to women's sports.

She reveals how social media, including the visual medium of Instagram, has helped her promote her own personal brand.

And she gives her insider tips on the growing trend for wellness apps.

Follow Mandy on Twitter @MandyAntoniacci

The Facts

The CUSP Show is a production by the faculty of Sports Management at Columbia University. You can get in touch with the program on Twitter @CUSportsBiz.

Our presenters are Joe Favorito and Tom Richardson.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com