@1QLeadership Question: Are there measurable metrics beyond revenue that lead to championships in college athletics?

George Mason AD Marvin Lewis shares how he walked into a department hungry for leadership and, in three years, built a people-first, championship culture grounded in a clear strategic "playbook."

He breaks down the staff survey that set the tone, the shift from bad‑news‑only meetings to high‑energy all‑staffs, and a revised coach evaluation model that finally matches expectations to resources and values more than just wins and losses.

Lewis also explains how he uses a senior deputy AD/COO, quarterly "time and score" metrics, and a campus‑wide approach to strategic planning—plus his work on the NCAA Women's Basketball Committee and the Professional Patriots leadership program—to offer a ready-made blueprint for aspiring Division I ADs. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

In this special episode of 1Q, Tai M. Brown welcomes former pro runner and longtime interviewer Steph Garcia Cichosz as the new co-host of the One Question Leadership Podcast. Both reflect on what they learned from years of interviews on the AthleticDirectorU platform.

They discuss former Oklahoma AD, Joe Castiglione's "water the plant" analogy regarding developing staff, former Washington and current USC AD, Jen Cohen's focus on mentorship, and other insightful conversations that have influenced how they think about leadership.

They also introduce a new framework that will quietly guide future episodes, Forward Management. With segments based on creation, cultivation, and affirmation, listeners can zero in on how leaders build culture, sustain it, and celebrate the people inside it. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown - Steph Garcia Cichosz

@1QLeadership Question: Is compliance leadership superpower in college athletics?

This episode of the One Question Leadership Podcast follows Erin Adkins' journey from law school to becoming Executive Senior Associate AD for NIL Strategy and Initiatives at UCLA. It explores how compliance, instinct, and relationships prepare leaders to guide student‑athletes and coaches in an era of NIL, the transfer portal, and high‑stakes competitive success.

Path to college athletics

• Erin shares how growing up an Arizona fan, choosing law school, and trying both pro sports and college internships helped her realize that collegiate athletics was where she could directly impact the "product" every day.

Why a compliance background is a leadership superpower

• She explains how compliance touches every corner of an athletic department, giving future sport administrators a 360‑degree view of people, processes, and problems—and making it an ideal launchpad for leadership roles

Leading through relationships in the NIL and transfer‑portal era

• Adkins describes how intentional presence, quick responsiveness, and small daily interactions with coaches and student‑athletes build trust, which then underpins everything from navigating NIL to keeping elite teams—like UCLA baseball's veteran junior core—together and thriving

One Question Leaderhsip Podcast - Stephanie Garcia Cichosz - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: How does an alumnus-turned-athletic-director leverage personal history, modern college athletics trends, and deep relationships to transform a tradition-rich military institute without losing what makes it unique?

• Jamaal Walton, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at VMI, talks with Stephanie Garcia-Cichosz about how his path from student-athlete to athletic director at his alma mater shaped his leadership style and philosophy
• The discussion examines how he is modernizing VMI athletics through fundraising, marketing, NIL, and strategic planning while staying true to the institute's military-centered identity
• It also highlights the importance he places on relationships—with mentors, staff, cadet-athletes, and family—and how that focus guides major decisions like hiring coaches and opting into the House settlement - One Question Leadership Podcast - Stephanie Garcia-Cichosz - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: How can an athletics director build and sustain a championship‑level athletic department in the Great Plains?

Montana State Director of Athletics, Leon Costello, discusses presidential leadership transitions on campus, the strategic growth of the athletic department, and how aligned support for athletics drives institutional success.

Costello explains how strategic planning, investment in student‑athlete support staff, and revenue growth have fueled competitive success, culminating in a football national championship and a strong departmental culture.

He also reflects on coach retention, NIL and transfer‑portal dynamics, and how deep engagement with student‑athletes and coaches helps Montana State sustain a championship environment and long‑term leadership development. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: What matters most in how we develop student-athletes?

College football analyst Yogi Roth challenges administrators to see athletes not as transactions or brands, but as **human** stories whose mental skills and identity must be developed as intentionally as their physical talent. He argues that in today's NIL and transfer-portal era, alignment on "what matters most" from the president to the graduate assistant is the only sustainable way to support coaches, protect athletes' mental health, and keep sport rooted in purpose rather than purely in revenue.

- Mental performance is framed as a competitive advantage: Roth emphasizes visualization, self-talk, body language, and "competing in the absence of fear," urging programs to front-load mental skills support with licensed professionals just as aggressively as they invest in strength and conditioning.

- Athlete identity and NIL: The discussion warns that a hyper-transactional environment and NIL money amplify "athlete identity syndrome," and calls on coaches and departments to help athletes know their story, voice, and purpose beyond their sport and logo so the college experience sets up the next 40–60 years, not just the next season.

- Alignment and culture as AD work: Roth stresses that presidents, ADs, coaches, and staff must be able to answer the same "what matters most here?" question, and that administrators should structure resources, policies, and daily operations to mirror those priorities to create a sustainable alignment. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: How are athletic departments incorporating pro sports operating principles while protecting their school's institutional mission?

Ed Kull, VP & Director of Athletics at Saint John's University, discusses how the athletics department is adapting to a rapidly changing, more professionalized era of college sports, especially men's basketball. He talks about using a revenue-first, startup-style approach and how that model intersects with mission, academics, and student‑athlete welfare.

- Kull describes leading the department like a **startup**, emphasizing three parallel revenue streams: annual fund, capital projects, and new revenue-sharing obligations tied to the professionalization of college sports. He highlights resource constraints (small staff, no football, limited facilities) and how creativity in licensing, sponsorships, and partnerships is helping the department stay competitive.

- The conversation also explores how Kull's corporate and pro sports background (Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, NFL, private equity) shapes a professional sports model inside a Catholic, non-profit university.

- Kull stresses education on money management and life after sport, the need for legal and advisory structures, and his belief that academics and degree completio

@1QLeadership Question: How can university presidents creatively lead conference realignment while protecting academic priorities and strengthening institutional and league stability for the long term?

Dr. John R. Porter of Lindenwood University, and Dr. Yancy Freeman of University of Tennessee Martin, explore how university presidents balance athletics and academics. The two CEO's discuss leading through conference realignment challenges in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They also cover using creative, business-minded strategy to stabilize and grow their respective institutions.

Presidents' role in athletics

The guests explain that athletics is often the most visible and attention grabbing part of a university, driving applications, enrollment, school pride, donations, and media exposure, which forces presidents to devote significant time and strategic focus to sports. They emphasize that athletics must enhance the academic mission, not overshadow it, so they deliberately balance funding and messaging between academic priorities and athletic success.

Stabilizing the Ohio Valley Conference

When member schools left or considered leaving, the Board of Presidents responded with unusually candid, frequent conversations to reaffirm commitment, increase exit fees, and engage consultants to craft a long term strategy and structure for the conference. They describe this moment of "friction" as ultimately positive, creating tighter relationships among presidents, clearer shared vision, and a more intentional search for a new commissioner who can elevate the OVC.

Creativity, strategy, and leadership style

Dr. Porter applies business discipline and growth thinking—like building a multi-entity education system and treating Lindenwood as an enterprise—to drive execution, revenue growth, and investment capacity that can support both academics and athletics. Dr. Freeman focuses on strategic planning rooted in enrollment management and student experience, contributing an outcome-driven approach to conference strategy and to aligning athletics with campus-wide priorities.

-Tai M. Brown - One Question Leadership Podcast