Category: Athletic Directors

Bryan Blair wants to be the absolute best AD in the industry and after this conversation you will probably agree that one day he will be described as one of the best. Blair is the Deputy AD/COO at Washington State and he joined the Higher Ed Athletics podcast to share his preparation to the role…

John Cunningham became the Athletic Director at University of Cincinnati in December 2019 and is now leading the department into the Big 12 Conference. Cunningham talks about his compliance background fundamentally preparing him to become an AD from working directly with coaches in all sports and understanding the ins-and-outs of legislation and changes the industry…

Janet Cone has been leading the UNC Asheville Bulldogs’ athletic department since 2004 and has impressively kept the small D1 liberal arts institution of the Big South financially in the black every year. In this conversation we focus on the challenges and opportunities with all the changes happening in college athletics today. UNC Asheville is…

Mario Moccia is an alumnus and former standout baseball player at New Mexico State where he now serves as Athletic Director. Moccia starts by sharing how he took a different path to the AD chair than former Mizzou colleagues Ross Bjork (Texas A&M AD) and Chris Del Conte (Texas AD) by heading to an FCS…

UNO Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Tim Duncan joined the Higher Ed Athletics podcast and started the conversation with an institutional profile. Duncan is well-known as a speaker throughout the industry but even he acknowledges this interview brought different questions than he typically is asked. Duncan talks not just about creating a strategic plan…

Arizona State University as an institution is known for innovation and doing things differently. As you’ll discover in this interview, the athletic department has embraced that culture of innovation under President Crow and Vice President/Athletic Director Ray Anderson. This episode is packed with campus collaborations, such as with the ASU Global Sport Institute, led by…

GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs joined the Higher Ed Athletics podcast and started the conversation with an institutional profile of Grand Canyon University. Known as a large online university, too, Boggs shares the incredible enrollment growth and buildings that have been built at GCU’s physical campus as a strategic initiative. Smith asks Boggs…

Nina King is entering her first year as Vice President and Athletic Director at Duke University after serving as a senior-level administrator for 13 years. After giving an institutional profile of Duke, King shares her thoughts on what it is like moving from a position of input to a position of decision-making. She shares her…

UNT Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker joined the Higher Ed Athletics podcast to discuss the 20-year Light the Tower athletic facilities master plan for the Mean Green and to share lessons learned from his career experiences. Baker become an administrator at the age of 26 as both a principal and athletic director…

The interview with Dr. Moore begins by explaining being a successful athlete and SAAC president at Missouri helped convince her to work in intercollegiate athletics. Moore explains what the differences are between working at a big school like UNC or Oklahoma, versus a Colgate. She explains the history behind the recent campus identity change with…