Category: Athletic Directors

I hit the road to Dayton to visit with Wright State AD Bob Grant. We hit several topics, beginning with what keeps him excited about WSU after all these years leading his alma mater. The conversation turns to how WSU continues to hit above its weight in a busy D1 state of Ohio. As a…

Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard is next up on Higher Ed Athletics to discuss a wide-range of topics. The conversation begins with his video communication strategy to fans, including one with President Wintersteen to calm the fan base after the shock of Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12. He discusses the planning process for…

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…

Randale Richmond is about to start his second year leading the Golden Flashes of Kent State University. This episode begins with the detailed story about how he researched the job and prepared for the interview. We talk about whether one year in if the job is what he expected it to be like. The conversation…

Michael Kelly from University of South Florida joined Higher Ed Athletics. The conversation begins with a question about whether giving levels and brand power at younger FBS institutions will ever catch up with the older institutions. Kelly shares the advantage that younger institutions like USF have right now in trying to be creative with decision-making.…

DeWayne Peevy became the Vice President and Athletic Director at DePaul University in the Fall of 2020 after serving in senior administration roles at the University of Kentucky. Peevy shares an institutional profile of DePaul and then we walk back the transition from a school like Kentucky to now leading DePaul and what he learned…

Dr. Lisa Campos is the VP and Athletic Director at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). UTSA just recently achieved Research One (R1) Carnegie classification for very high research activity. The school caught national attention this past year from football success and that is a big portion of this episode. Campos talks about playing…

Chris Clunie graduated from and played basketball at Davidson College. He starts the conversation off by sharing the thought process of taking the Athletic Director job after his initial resistance to the idea. Discussing his interview preparation, Clunie explains how he knew the place as an alum, but that he didn’t yet know the job…

Chrissi Rawak joined Higher Ed Athletics to talk about leading the Blue Hens and begins the conversation with an institutional profile. Rawak had several different roles in college athletics and shares what made her decide to pursue an AD position. Rawak talks about the decision to create a chief of staff position at Delaware and…