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@1QLeadership Question: How do schools provide fans and donors transportation to bowl games, NCAA tournaments, and other events?

Kyle McDonald, President of Sports & Entertainment Travel, LLC (SET), talks about providing experiences around athletic related events. While schools transport teams, coaches, and other related staff, may departments outsource the logistics and experiences of the outside constituency.

• Provide options for travel, lodging, entertainment, etc.
• Facilitate donor experiences related to giving societies
• Assist athletics department in identifying quality experiences

McDonald and his business partners started the company in 2014 after identifying a need in the college athletics industry. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: What are the elements of an effective student-athlete mental health program?

Dr. Stephany Coakley, Sr. Associate Athletics Director for Mental Health at Temple University, discusses the functions and processes in place that make up the TUWell program. She covers aspects of creating and maintaining an environment for student-athletes to feel comfortable using the services provided.

• Assess student-athletes every year of their career
• Educate coaches and administrators on how to identify possible crisis symptoms
• Manage the Student-Athlete transition process
  
  

Dr. Coakley created and implemented the program for Temple Athletics. For more information on her process see her article, If You Build It, They Will Come: Establishing a Student-Athlete Mental Health Program, on AthleticDirectorU.com. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: How does a coach know when to remove someone from the team?

Leanne Ulmer, Head Volleyball Coach at Carthage College, talks about her experiences leading the team for almost 25 years. She discusses working through athletics director changes, leading the team without a full-time assistant coach, deciding when to remove someone from the team, and celebrating other sports on campus while mentoring young coaches throughout the department.

• "If you don't wither and die, you'll learn from the experience."
• Anticipating which student-athletes will be leaders
• Being enrollment driven is a lot to manage with a small staff
• Being intentional with developing relationships with other coaches in the department

Coach Ulmer also talks a lot about her son, University of Oregon Volleyball Coach Matt Ulmer, and the personal and professional relationship they have as volleyball coaches. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: How do leadership development, personnel changes, and organizational behavior intersect?

Angie Torain, Director of Athletics & Recreation at University of Chicago, discusses her development as an executive, developing the leaders on her staff, and enhancing the organizational priorities within the department.

• Evaluate the environment, then ask for what you need
• Allow staff to make decisions
• Figure out how you can enhance the existing culture

Torain also covers aspects of fundraising, expanding facilities, and expanding her staff to provide better experiences for student-athletes. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Are mental health services provided to an institution's athletic alumni?

Ashton Henderson, Deputy Athletics Director at Michigan State, and Renaldo Hill, NFL/College football coach, discuss the transition away from playing sports as a competitor and the impact it can have on former athletes. Henderson describes a new resource at Michigan State for former student-athletes called Alumni STATE of Mind.

• Available to anyone who was a student-athlete at Michigan State
• 24-hour dedicated crisis lifeline available for MSU athletic alumni managed by The Hope Desk
• Discounted services provided anywhere in the country managed by Skywood Recovery
• For those without insurance, Fund Recovery will work with former student-athletes to ensure quality care despite any financial challenges

Both Henderson and Hill describe their respective transitions to their current professions. Hill talks about mentoring NFL and college football players and helping them focus on life away from Football, while Henderson covers providing services to current student-athletes and ensuring care is accessible after they finish playing. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: What is the role of an Athletic Certification Officer?

Carol Bonner, Associate Registrar for Athletic Certification and Eligibility at Texas Tech, explains her role on campus and how it supports the athletics by being housed outside of the department.

• Manage the process of determining eligibility for student-athletes
• The role is different on every college campus
• Decisions are very objective - no subjectivity

Bonner's office is also responsible for managing the research for the NCAA Graduation Success Rates and Academic Progress Rates at the school. She works with over 30 people throughout campus who contribute to the athletic certification at Texas Tech. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Can one brand or symbol represent all of campus, including athletics?

Jason Cook, VP for Marketing and Communications at Baylor University, shares insights on communicating with a specific objective. He also gives us a deep dive into his One Brand Approach to marketing for an institution of higher education.

• 'Communicating with a specific objective' is an overarching description that covers all branches of communications
• A college's athletics logo is usually its most recognizable symbol
• Avoid brand fragmentation amongst on-campus departments, individual sports teams, alumni organizations, etc.
• People don't graduate from specific colleges on campus, they graduate from the institution

Cook discusses how communicating with a specific objective helped the Heisman campaign for former Texas A&M quarterback, Johnny Manziel. He also gives his insight on using college athletics strategies to recruiting students who aren't athletes. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Can the Faculty Athletics Representative's (FAR) role overlap with their research and professorial responsibilities?

As a Faculty Athletics Representative at Texas Tech, Professor Brian Shannon is responsible for advocating for student-athlete welfare. While his primary teaching responsibility is contract law, he focuses his policy and research work on mental health law, an area he has been researching for a lifetime due to his family experience with mental illness.

Professor Shannon explains that mental illness patients often get caught in the criminal justice system without receiving treatment. He also emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between having a mental illness and dealing with mental health challenges. As mental health is a top issue faced by NCAA student-athletes, the NCAA Mental Health Best Practices are continuously updated to provide support. - One Question Leadership Podcat - Tai M. Brown