Athletic Director U

Name, Image, & Likeness With North Carolina’s May

North Carolina Director of Men's Basketball Operations Sean May sits down with INFLCR Founder & CEO Jim Cavale to discuss the Tar Heels adding INFLCR's NIL Suite, advocating for current student-athletes, the "Carolina Effect," support from administration in preparing for the NIL era and more.

Name, Image, & Likeness With Oklahoma State’s Gundy

Oklahoma State Head Football Coach Mike Gundy sits down with INFLCR Founder & CEO Jim Cavale to discuss why the Cowboys are adding INFLCR's NIL suite, principles for social media, how social media and NIL impact recruiting and more.

Expert’s Roundtable: Football Game Operations Amidst The Pandemic

With the collision of COVID-19 and the return of football, AthleticDirectorU chats with a number of facilities, events and operations leaders on changes to game day routines, real-time operational adjustments, communication, post-game wrap-up meetings, improvements moving forward and more.

College Athletics Social Media Rankings

Now more than ever, social media is instrumental towards achieving success in college athletics. Here are the programs that have excelled at leveraging social media to build their brands.

Introspective Leadership With Villanova’s Mark Jackson

Self-discovery and introspection is the topic of this video featuring Mark Jackson, Director of Athletics at Villanova. Jackson reviews the questions administrators should ask themselves as they work on self-awareness, as well as personal and professional growth.

Dynamic Leadership Podcast – VCU’s Mike Rhoades

VCU Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Mike Rhoades, joins Coach Bob Walsh on the Dynamic Leadership Podcast to discuss what Rhoades learned from his DIII coaching experience, becoming a head coach at 25, his leadership style and how it has developed throughout his career and more.

Maximizing Student Athlete Outcomes Should Be The Only Priority

When it comes to prioritizing what athletic directors do on a daily basis, the outcomes of our choices should always create a significant and measurable benefit for the student-athlete.

RisingADs Podcast: USF’s Kelly & Washington State’s Blair on Iger’s Ride of a Lifetime

South Florida AD Michael Kelly and Washington State Deputy AD/COO Bryan Blair review The Ride of a Lifetime by Disney Executive Chairman Robert Iger, the "Innovate Or Die" concept, communicating and implementing change, being innovative with the risk of failure, the decision-making process and more.

Hiring And Evaluating Talent: Florida State’s Fuchs and Northwestern’s Blais

Florida State Senior Associate AD/SWA Vanessa Fuchs and Northwestern Deputy AD/SWA Janna Blais discuss fit and culture's impact on the hiring process, finding a candidate who is bought into the department's culture, evaluating a hire, employee retention and much more.

Sports Creatives Podcast: Missouri’s Ali Fisher

Ali Fisher, Assistant AD for Creative Services for Missouri, joins Jay F. Hicks on the Sports Creatives Podcast. The pair discuss Fisher's career development and leadership style, creating elements that fit Missouri's history and culture, the Mizzou creative culture and much more.

Exploring Alternative Athletic Finance Options In A Post-COVID World

Amidst the financial strain on intercollegiate athletics as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Clemson's Soles, Cook and Vanderoef explore alternative finance options with the goal of controlling rising expenditures and mitigating budgetary strain.

Dynamic Leadership Podcast – Bryant’s Mike Pressler

Bryant Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach, Mike Pressler, joins Coach Bob Walsh on the Dynamic Leadership Podcast to discuss Pressler's leadership approach and evolution over his 35 years as a head coach, the importance of captains on his team, team building, preparing for and handling adversity, and more.

Leading With Purpose: Penn State’s Barbour

Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour sits down with AthleticDirectorU to discuss the purpose and "why" for leading and working in college athletics. Barbour also touches on helping people find their "why" and defining the organization's "why".

Name, Image, & Likeness With Marquette’s Wojciechowski

Marquette Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Wojciechowski sits down with INFLCR Founder & CEO Jim Cavale to discuss the reasoning for being the first college basketball partner to add the NIL Suite Data Services offering, the Marquette brand, how NIL is impacting recruiting, and leaning into NIL.

Expert’s Roundtable: Social Media and TikTok

With the looming TikTok ban, AthleticDirectorU chats with a number of social media and creative managers on a variety of topics, including lessons learned from TikTok, alternative platforms, adjusting to the constantly changing algorithms and more.

Priority Management: UConn’s Swinney & Pac-12’s Leighton

UConn Chief Operating Officer Adrianne Swinney and Pac-12 Chief Marketing Officer Danette Leighton discuss their approaches to priority management, work-life balance, delegation, communicating and setting goals, and much more.

Name, Image, & Likeness With West Virginia’s Brown

West Virginia Head Football Coach Neal Brown sits down with INFLCR Founder & CEO Jim Cavale to discuss WVU's partnership as the first football program to join the NIL Suite Data Services offering, his perspectives on branding, positioning the WVU brand, how NIL is impacting recruiting, and more.

Higher Ed Athletics Podcast: Ohio’s Julie Cromer

Ohio AD Julie Cromer joins the Higher Ed Athletics podcast to discuss planning for sports in the fall, her first 100 days and how that plan quickly shifted, how experiences early in her career helped shape her focus on evidence-based decision making as a leader and more.

Excelling In The Deputy AD Role: Georgia’s Brooks & Ball State’s Fields

Georgia Senior Deputy AD Josh Brooks and Ball State Deputy AD Haven Fields sit down to discuss transitioning to the Deputy AD role overseeing external operations, from their backgrounds and beginnings in internal operations, communicating your department's unique value proposition, and much more.

Coach Turnover And Its Impact on Student-Athletes And Team Dynamics

Texas A&M-Kingsville Assistant Professor Shipherd examines the effect of coach turnover on student-athletes and team dynamics through interviews and focus groups with student-athletes, coaches and administrators.

Leading From The Conference Office: Southland’s Burnett

Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett sits down to discuss the challenges facing leaders and how he is leading through them, communicating core values, inflection points during his career, and advice for the next generation of leaders.

Why Football Recruiting Rankings Matter

Do recruiting rankings matter in college football? 17 years of rankings are examined for every FBS program to determine how effective ratings are in predicting future team success.

Athletic Department Power Index: Horizon League

The AthleticDirectorU Athletic Department Power Index, powered by Athlete Viewpoint, continues with a look at the Horizon League. Dozens of sitting Athletic Directors and executive-level administrators who currently are, or could soon be, a Horizon League AD shared feedback.

How Schools Should Announce Their Decision To Discontinue Sports During The Pandemic

With over 40 sport programs being discontinued or eliminated, Arkansas professor Dittmore examines how schools are announcing these decisions through William Benoit’s typology of image restoration theory.

Organizational Leadership: USF AD Michael Kelly

USF Athletic Director Michael Kelly sits down with INFLCR Founder & CEO Jim Cavale to discuss Kelly's approach to building his team during his time as COO of the College Football Playoff and early into his tenure in Tampa, supporting initiatives related to social media, and more.

Dynamic Leadership Podcast – Cincinnati’s John Brannen

Cincinnati Head Men’s Basketball Coach, John Brannen, joins Coach Bob Walsh to discuss Brannen's unique experiences in taking over at Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, his approach to leadership, adapting his style to his personnel, creating buy-in among student-athletes, handling success and more.

Can Single-Sport Conferences Solve College Athletics’ Financial Challenge?

Arkansas professor Dittmore chats with WCHA President & Men's Commissioner Bill Robertson about the challenges and benefits of sport-specific conferences and their viability for Olympic sports in a post-COVID-19 world.

Navigating Your Career In College Athletics: Todd Turner and Brad Bates

Collegiate Sports Associates' Founder & President Todd Turner and VP of Consulting Brad Bates discuss their experiences and advice in advancing to become an Athletics Director. Turner and Bates chat about career advice, recommended skill sets, building relationships, flexibility and much more.

Mental Health Services in College Athletics: Baylor’s Marsh-Bell & LSU’s Poole

Baylor Assistant AD for Mental Health Services Dr. Monique Marsh-Bell and LSU Director of Student-Athlete Mental Health Dr. LaKeitha Poole join AthleticDirectorU to chat about the intricacies of mental health services provided to student-athletes.

Taking Action In Times Of Critical Change

AthleticDirectorU hosts a town hall with leaders from around the industry to discuss how administrators and coaches can work to enact change on their campuses. Moderated by Advent CEO John Roberson.

Sports Creatives Podcast: Learfield IMG College’s Jack Patterson

Learfield IMG College VP of Digital & Social Media, Multi-Media Rights Jack Patterson joins Jay F. Hicks to discuss how he and his team are working with departments to retain and grow revenues during these times and dig in on Social+ and the value they are creating for partners.

Beyond COVID-19: Opportunities For University Facility Projects

With COVID-19 creating a number of uncertainties, there is a silver lining: the positive bond market combined with an emerging competitive construction market. Nations Group examines why institutions should consider leveraging current market conditions to get the most for its investment.