College Athletics Past, Present and A Look To The Future…Three Listens, Three Perspectives…

As we head into Labor Day weekend and college athletics really kicks in, we offer up our three most recent podcasts with different views, opinions and perspectives on where we are, where we have been, and maybe where college at athletics is going. As always you can catch all our pods by subscribing here as well. Over 10 years and over 500 episodes that all hold value of our guests’ stories.

The Athlete Voice: First we welcomed Andrew Cooper, co-founder of the United College Athletes Association, to discuss his mission to unionize college athletes and why he believes collective bargaining, not federal legislation, is the only sustainable path forward for college sports. Cooper shares his origin story, from running track at Washington State and being elected president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, to the moment a PAC-12 meeting on mental health protections convinced him that real change would never come from within the existing system. He explains how the UCAA was founded, recently formalized as a labor union, and why women’s basketball at Oregon State became the starting point for the first-ever union petition filed on behalf of women’s college athletes. The conversation breaks down the NCAA’s lobbying campaign for an antitrust exemption, why the Protect College Sports Act faces bipartisan opposition from major sports unions, and what collective bargaining would actually look like in practice across different sports and divisions. Cooper also reflects on testifying before the House Judiciary Committee and what it was like to make the case for athlete rights in one of Washington’s most charged rooms. A very interesting discussion worth a listen here.

The Media Deep Think: Next we have a discussion last week with Chris Childers, host of Full Ride on Sirius XM College Sports Radio with Rick Neuheisel, and founder of Show Pony Media, to discuss the state of college athletics as football season kicks off, the growing momentum behind women’s sports, and what the future of independent sports media looks like. Childers breaks down why he believes the Protect College Sports Act will not pass, arguing that the Congressional Black Caucus opposition and the structural difficulty of getting 60 Senate votes make it a long shot regardless of the SEC’s lobbying push. He explains the power dynamics driving college football’s current chaos, with ESPN and Fox effectively controlling the agenda through their media deals with the SEC and Big Ten, and why without a true commissioner or revenue sharing model, the sport will continue operating in anarchy. The conversation shifts to the rise of women’s sports, with Childers sharing his passion for women’s soccer, volleyball, and flag football, and why he believes women’s flag football will become one of the next great international sports. Oh and also learn about the work he is doing to help find the next generation of broadcast voices, as well as his newly launched platform in and around European soccer and the MLS. Click and enjoy here.

 Hook EM Chris: Last but no way least is my discussion last week with  Chris Plonsky, currently Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief of Staff at the University of Texas. We talk about her remarkable career in college athletics and what it takes to build and sustain one of the country’s most successful athletic programs. Plonsky traces her path from Kent State and Iowa State through seven years at the Big East Conference, where she helped launch one of the first federated football conferences in the country, to her arrival at Texas in 1993, where she has spent nearly four decades helping transform the athletic department into a commercial powerhouse. She shares how Texas grew its licensing revenue from $600,000 to $13 million, how the department navigated the merger of its men’s and women’s programs without conflict, and why the careful, collaborative approach to institutional change made Texas ready for the SEC. The conversation also covers the human side of college athletics today – the transfer portal, NIL, and what Plonsky worries about when she sees young athletes jumping from program to program without building the networks, mentors, and identity that will carry them past their playing days. A fun and meaningful way to celebrate a career and a life well lived with an old friend who has seen most and done most in college athletics. Here ya go, learn away by clicking here.

Enjoy, share and suggest more guests!