Dr. Lisa Campos is the VP and Athletic Director at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). UTSA just recently achieved Research One (R1) Carnegie classification for very high research activity. The school caught national attention this past year from football success and that is a big portion of this episode. Campos talks about playing home games off campus in the Alamo Dome and provides input on the structure of the 10-year contracts in college football. UTSA has also leveraged that football success to join the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in the latest round of conference realignment, which Campos shares her thoughts on the balance of football success and location in conference positioning. Campos has a background in student affairs and explains how she went from working in student affairs to working in college athletics and how she uses that background in her role as AD, including interacting with students on campus in that VP role. Campos also talks about her journey pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at UTEP. This episode is a nice blend of higher education and intercollegiate athletics as we talk about what Campos learned by being an employee and student in the UT system at another school (UTEP) and how that helped her in the transition to lead UTSA.

Editor Note: It turns out I tested positive for COVID-19 the night of this interview so you may notice losing voice or change in tone.

0:55 Institutional Profile

2:42 Growth of City Location Athletic Brands

5:30 UT System Experience Carryover from UTEP to UTSA

7:35 Student Affairs Background Before Athletics Administration

14:02 Creating a Great Experience for ALL Students as the Vice President

16:25 Doctorate Degree

20:15 Football Off Campus Success in Alamo Dome

23:55 10 Year Football Coaching Contract Trends

28:34 Changing to the American Athletic Conference (AAC)

29:40 Experiencing Conference Realignment as a Sitting AD

32:30 Institutional Task List for Preparing to Change Conferences