CEO of the Kraft Analytics Group (KAGR) and co-founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Jessica Gelman joins the show to talk about the growth and evolution of analytics in the sports business, on both the sporting and commercial side.  Gelman feels that the science of data analytics in sports is still in its very early stages of development and has only begun to scratch the surface of what it can add to the business of sports. Started as a one-day event in 2006 with only a keynote speaker, the conference is now sold out, offers dozens of panels about all aspects of the sports business, and encourages diversity, equity and inclusion through opportunities to showcase under represented populations.

DP & McGhee talk about all things Super Bowl, from ratings and the half time show, to their favorite (most and least) commercials.

Football may be over for now, but there will be plenty to talk about in the coming episodes.

DP & McGhee welcome Fordham University’s director of athletics, Edward Kull to the show. Ed talks about the challenges of running a program competing in a mid-major conference, how things like NIL have complicated an already complex job, and how programs like Fordham drive revenue, the lifeblood of college athletics.

We may be less than two weeks away from the Super Bowl, but the NASCAR season starts this weekend in Los Angeles, and F1 revs up in just over a month. So, DP and McGhee were excited to welcome Jonathan Gibson, EVP, Marketing and Business Development for the Penske Corporation to the #sportsbiz chat. Jonathan has had a long and storied career and he shared some of the wisdom he’s gained from working for the legendary Roger Penske. He also talked about some of the great things Penske has in store for IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our own DP shared some of his personal work story having just launched the new MoneyGram Haas F1 Team livery to a strong industry response. Tim and David also talked about Conference Championship ratings, AB’s advertising plans for Super Bowl LVII....which is not to be confused with LIV Golf, which makes it into yet another conversation on the show.

DP & McGhee launch a new segment, the Young Entrepreneur Series and they couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Daniel Hennes, co-founder and CEO of Engage. Daniel shares his journey of disrupting an industry that had been inefficient and often wrought with bad actors. Engage allows brands and athletes to connect creating opportunities for companies to utilize talent for appearances and speaking engagements.  Daniel’s maturity certainly belies his young age.

What would an episode of Wait…What? be without a discussion about LIV Golf and pickleball?  And both were legitimately in the news this past week for their respective media deals. Before signing off, David and Tim give their predictions for the upcoming AFC and NFC conference championships.

Wait…What? welcomes three leading educators from three of the most prestigious sport management programs in America. Lisa Delpy Neirotti of George Washington University, David Hedlund of St. John’s, and Will Norton of the Isenberg School at UMass join the podcast to talk about sport management as an academic discipline. The distinguished group talks about the importance of real-world experience to the educational journey, the changes they’ve seen in sport management and their respective paths to academia. While all three bring a unique perspective, they also share a lot of the same views on things like networking, hard work and flexibility.

DP & McGhee start the show by talking about something they haven’t really covered before, namely combat sports and the changes on the horizon at WWE, PFL, and potentially UFC.

DP & McGhee kick off Season 2 of the podcast talking about a host of topics. They open with a discussion about the College Football Playoffs and the Georgia Bulldog juggernaut.  After the dismantling of TCU, it would seem the expansion of the playoff field can’t come too soon. And keeping with the “kicking” theme, our hosts talk about the ongoing drama at US Soccer involving the US Men's National Team. They finish the soccer chat by paying tribute to Pelé, the GOAT. 

On a much happier note, David and Tim celebrate Damar Hamlin’s continued recovery from a nearly fatal incident just last week. The show ends with DP & McGhee’s prediction for the upcoming year. Listen throughout 2023 to see who gets it right and who misses the mark.

DP & McGhee head into the holidays with a look backward on an extraordinary first season of Wait…What. DP opens the show by putting a bow on FIFA World Cup, talking about the thrilling finals and the legacy Qatar hoped to create vs. the one it may be left with.  McGhee then talks about the NCAA’s announcement that Massachusetts governor, Charlie Baker, has been selected to replace outgoing president, Mark Emmert. After some quick hits, McGhee relates his story about breaking into the sports industry, which involves more than a little luck.

The hosts then weigh in on their choices for the biggest sports business stories of the year, and not surprisingly, it involves LIV Golf. Finally, DP & McGhee reel off the list of all the guests who have graciously joined the show over the past year. It truly has been an amazing first season on the #sportsbiz chat.

Happy holidays to all of our listeners!

Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member and ESPN analyst, Debbie Antonelli, joins the #sportsbiz chat to talk about the current college hoops season, NIL, Title IX, and the importance of putting the time in.  And if the NCAA ever calls, Debbie will be ready with her list of things she’d change in college athletics. After a several-week hiatus on the topic, DP & McGhee open this week's episode talking about LIV Golf and the seemingly ill-conceived plan to garner public support for the Saudi government. The hosts also talk about World Cup, including the tragic passing of Grant Wahl, and the drama surrounding Gio Reyna and his issues with coaches and teammates. To close out this fun episode, DP gives McGhee another racquet sport to scorn and ridicule.

DP & McGhee go without a safety net (and without guest) as they take on a variety of topics during this episode of "Wait…What?" The hosts talk at length about the new College Football Playoff format that is scheduled to start in 2024, a few years earlier than originally planned.  They discuss the ramifications of a 12-team CFP field and how conferences may alter the way they choose their champion. After some conversation about Coach Prime, Dr. Pepper and the spate of bowl games, David and Tim talk about the World Cup and Qatar’s desire to use its time in the limelight to launch a bid to host the Summer Olympic Games.

A different type of episode, to be sure, but hopefully one that’s entertaining and educational.

It’s the biggest event in global sports, so it’s no surprise that DP & McGhee covered the stories surrounding the US vs. Iran match in the FIFA World Cup. And because of our recording schedule, we didn’t have the result until we went back into the "studio" to interview our guest and record our closing segment. So, we were able to speak about the US moving on to the knockout stage. Not for the first time, and it almost certainly won’t be the last, the Washington Commanders made their way into the conversation. 

And in a first for Wait…What? the hosts welcomed a PhD., Dr. Jonathan Jensen (yeah, that Dr. J) of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who discussed his ROI model that helps properties allocate finite resources based on his data and insights that can tell a rights holder which sponsors are more (or less) likely to renew their agreements.