Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne kicks off season 4 of the Higher Ed Athletics podcast. Greg starts off talking about his experience growing up in Eugene, OR and other college towns as the son of an AD. He talks about what college sports was like from his perspective growing up and how that has changed from the many issues the industry is going through today. I ask him straight up whether he gets sick of people questioning his good intentions and stated passion for all of college athletics and not just football and basketball. We continue by talking about the Transformation Committee and the future responsibility for conference offices. Byrne talks about Commissioner Sankey’s leadership in the SEC and ends the conversation with advice on preparing to present to a Board of Trustees.

• 0:00 Introduction
• 0:43 What was it like going to High School in Eugene, OR while your dad was Oregon’s AD?
• 4:46 Athletic Director Career Report in Elementary School
• 7:48 Thoughts on Then & Now of college sports
• 13:35 Do you ever get sick of people not believing you care about anything other than Football and Basketball?
• 17:44 Is it a certainty at this point that conferences will take on more governance responsibility?
• 23:15 Commissioner Greg Sankey’s brilliant stewardship of the SEC
• 27:40 What Paul Finebaum has done for the SEC
• 31:40 The backstory of Mississippi State AD John Cohen
• 35:50 Thoughts on those wanting to be an AD or currently working in College Athletics
• 40:35 Preparing for a presentation to the Board of Trustees and tips on public speaking