Athletic Directors – Higher Ed Athletics

Montana State Athletic Director Leon Costello

Just how difficult is it to run a FCS athletic department right now? In what ways will the football national championship help Montana State with both fans and corporations? Those that watch Higher Ed Athletics know I think highly of Leon Costello, and this interview will show you why. We talk about fan support and…
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Scott Dolson

Athletic Director | Indiana University Bloomington Conference: Big TenHired: 7/1/2020Hometown: Michigan City, INAlma Mater: Indiana University BloomingtonDegree(s): Management Overview Dolson currently serves as the Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics at Indiana University, a role he has held since March 2020. Dolson signed a 3-year contract extension in May 2024. He serves on President Whitten’s leadership…
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AD Profile Template

Athletic Director | [University Name] Conference:Hired:Born:Hometown:Alma Mater:Graduate Degree(s): Overview [Name] currently serves as the athletic director at [University Name], a role he/she has held since [year]. Prior to becoming athletic director, [last name] served as [previous role] at [previous institution]. During his/her tenure leading the department, [last name] has focused on [facilities, fundraising, competitiveness, NIL…
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Akron Athletic Director Andrew Goodrich

Dr. Andrew Goodrich starts the conversation discussing how the similarities of being an FCS AD (previously at Gardner-Webb) outnumber the differences of being an FBS AD despite the incredibly low number of FBS ADs coming from that background. He then walks through the Akron AD search process being an active AD at the time. Goodrich…
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Tennessee Vols AD Danny White

Danny White joins me to talk alignment with Chancellor Plowman, including how they are both builders and change agents. The conversation first talks about his doctorate degree in higher education as the dissertation design is similar to mine. We then jump back into the concept of collective bargaining in college athletics. White explains his philosophy…
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NIU Huskies AD Sean Frazier

Sean Frazier joins to talk about Northern Illinois athletics and the future of the AD position in college athletics. Frazier starts the conversation explaining the strategy behind moving football to the Mountain West while keeping other sports regional with the Horizon League. Will they miss MACtion weeknight games? Sean expresses his concern about outsiders coming…
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CMU Chippewas AD Amy Folan

Amy Folan joins Higher Ed Athletics for a discussion about fundraising as well as her lessons learned and career journey from the Texas Longhorns to CMU. Folan shares her thought process behind the hiring of a new football coach this past offseason in Matt Drinkall who has now led the Chippewas to a bowl berth…
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Observing Toledo’s Bryan Blair on Football Game Day

In early November, I made the four-hour drive from Indianapolis up to Toledo to watch the Rockets take on Northern Illinois in a midweek MACtion showdown. The whole point of the trip was simple: follow Toledo athletic director Bryan Blair around on a game day and keep learning more about what the AD job really…
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South Dakota State Jackrabbits AD Justin Sell

Justin Sell’s AD tree includes Montana State’s Leon Costello, Indiana State’s Nathan Christensen, and Ohio’s Slade Larscheid. This conversation starts with Sell breaking down each of their journeys to the AD chair and what he saw in them. Sell goes into depth on how to run a head coach search and what he looks for…
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GCU’s VP of Athletics Jamie Boggs

Jamie Boggs returns to the HEA podcast and the conversation picks up where we left off four years ago. Grand Canyon University is a large private Christian University in Phoenix and they are known for their men’s basketball home environment as the Havocs. Those in the industry know GCU has joined the Mountain West and…
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Category: Athletic Directors