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Insights From Two Decades In The Big Chair With Kansas State’s Gene Taylor

Guest Gene Taylor, Kansas State
16:14 min watch

Summary

In this final conversation from the 2024 NACDA Convention, Kansas State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor sits down with ADU’s Steph Garcia Cichosz to offer insight from his two decades serving as an AD at the FCS and FBS levels. Reflecting on the similarities between the two, Taylor notes that financials are the key differentiator, sharing that “as an athletic director at an FCS institution, you’re really aware of every dollar that is spent; I knew every pencil that was being purchased because our budgets were razor thin.” On the other hand, the strategic thinking and championship focus was the same between his time at North Dakota State and Kansas State.

Taylor shares the longterm vision that took him from an FCS big chair to an FBS Deputy AD role before he arrived in Manhattan as the AD again and shares key advice given to him by former Minnesota AD Joel Maturi: prioritize family, especially when children are younger and living at home.

One final piece of advice Taylor offers first-time ADs: practice patience, learn how to manage your emotions during high-pressure moments, and find ways to be accessible to all members of your team.

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).

  • - Your Head Baseball Coach praised you as the only AD to attend the Big 12 Conference tournament - tell me about how you allocate your time across your coaches, staff, programs.
  • - How do you maintain that level of accessibility and transparency while also getting work done?
  • - Was there a moment in your time as an AD where you were hesitant to give up control or delegate? How did you work through that?
  • - Is there really a difference in the mindset or the strengths of an FCS AD and an FBS AD?
  • - As we enter this post-House era, how can you think about the challenges for your FBS program from the perspective of your time at the FCS level?
  • - How will your specific experience as an FCS AD be an asset to Kansas State in this new era?
  • - You recently signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 academic year; how are you continuing to evaluate your skills and evolve when you're in a stable stage of your career?
  • - Let's say I'm a first-time Division I AD and we're having coffee together. What is the one most important thing you want me to know?
  • - There's a concept in which we overestimate what we can accomplish in a year but we underestimate what we can accomplish in 5-10 years; how have you strategically planned out both your professional and personal goals and trajectory throughout your career?
  • - How do you communicate that importance of taking family/personal time to your staff?
  • - How do you manage the overlap between your personal life and professional life as a public figure?
  • - How do you maintain your focus on the student-athlete experience when we're experiencing all this change on the policy and procedure side of the industry?

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