College Athletics is a Decision Sport.
Higher Ed Athletics helps aspiring athletic directors get better by interviewing the top administrators in division one college athletics.
Scott Dolson started planning the department response to IU winning the national championship on the flight home from the game. He wanted this to be a sustainable situation at IU where they can live up to President Whitten's ambitious call to action to be excellent in everything. I made the short drive to Bloomington to sit down with Dolson and ask him questions about leadership, true presidential alignment, and a behind-the-scenes look of selecting Coach Cignetti and two men's basketball head coach searches. Dolson explains why he doesn't like to work with panickers and what it means to be a cabinet member in his opinion. Dolson shares how he learned to ask other people things he didn't know, a lesson he picked up from Bob Knight a long time ago when Dolson was a men's basketball student manager. Dolson wraps the conversation talking about the responsibility of an AD getting involved in governance at the conference level and participating in congressional conversations and the POTUS round table on saving college sports.
0:00 Introduction
1:05 Sustaining Next Level of Athletic Success
2:55 Dolson's Experience with President Whitten During College Athletics Chaos
7:01 Compartmentalizing Meeting Subjects and Staying Focused as an AD
9:57 Thought Process of Research for Position Profiles in Football and Men's Basketball Head Coach Searches
17:20 Continuity of the Senior Staff
22:20 Leadership Lesson Dolson Learned from Coach Bob Knight
26:01 Dolson's Advice on the Cabinet Position for ADs
30:43 ADs Going to Congressional Hearings and the White House Visit
AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com (https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com)
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8 Sept 2026
North Texas Athletic Director Jared Mosley
The latest edition of The Modern AD is available now: https://higheredathletics.com/themodernad/ (https://higheredathletics.com/themodernad/)
In my recent road trip to Texas, I knew I wanted to visit University of North Texas. I had interviewed Wren Baker several years ago and was familiar with UNT, but it's always better to see the growth of a place in person. The campus is beautiful and the athletic facilities are incredible. Mosley starts by providing great detail in his approach to coaching searches and what led to him hiring Neal Brown, including leaning on Baker and other ADs he regularly speaks with. I asked Mosley about his approach to communicating decisions with presidents and boards and how to prepare for a presentation. I then asked him to talk about UNT's approach to uniform patches and how the apparel contracts help or restrict the opportunities, and whether he thinks department-wide or sport-specific is the right approach for the Mean Green. We then focus back in on the AD position - asking Mosley why he selected Connor Smith as his COO, another former AD in the DFW area (Dallas Baptist). I looked to identify what specific ways the job itself is changing for Jared with all the chaos in college athletics. I try to offer him a hypothetical question at the end that he thinks is a thought activity that all ADs should be doing on their own. He didn't quite answer it, but he does offer great insight to the question.0:00 Intro and Stadium Video02:24 - Approach to Head Coaching Searches, Most Recently Football09:30 - Does being a former athlete in the sport change how you focus on the head coaching search?11:45 - How to prepare your communication and presentations with a president and board of trustees in college athletics chaos.20:08 - Uniform Patches Approach25:15 - Leadership Style After Transition as Internal AD Hire32:49 - Hiring COO Connor Smith35:26 - Evolving Role of the FBS AD Position42:11 - Hypothetical: Here's Your Budget - Outline Your Athletic DepartmentAD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.comPILYTIX is an A.I. technology company dedicated to solutions that generate revenue, save time, and reduce costs for universities and sports & entertainment organizations. More Money. Less Time. Lower Costs. Learn more: https://pilytix.ai/Onrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: https://onrise.care
25 Aug 2026
Tulsa Athletic Director Justin Moore
Another stop on the HEA Road Trip to Texas was a sit down with Tulsa AD Justin Moore. Justin is an AD that I don't see or hear do interviews too much so it was fun to ask him questions I had not heard him discuss: Going from huge Texas A&M to lead the smallest FBS institution. Football scheduling strategy to get OK State and Arkansas to come to Tulsa. Behind the men's basketball success to NIT championship. The future of March Madness. How they were able to bring back men's golf. How Joe Fields was ready so quick to be the AD at New Mexico State. Breaking down how to host a country concert at the football stadium.Sign up for an AD Chair Strategy Session with Travis: https://higheredathletics.com/strategysession/ (https://higheredathletics.com/strategysession/)
0:00 Quick Question
1:50 Introduction
2:47 Going from Huge Texas A&M to the Smallest FBS Institution
5:00 Counterbalancing Small Living Alumni Population
7:00 Tulsa King NIL Opportunities?
7:30 Men's Basketball Success - Roster Building & Retention
13:30 March Madness Expansion Impact On Scheduling
16:55 Football Scheduling - OK State Coming to Tulsa
21:15 Bringing Back Men's Golf and How It's Here to Stay
25:00 AD Tree: Joe Fields - AD at New Mexico State
28:10 Helping Joe Fields Build from Academics to Everything Else to Grow
33:07 Tulsa Hosted a Country Music Stadium Concert
42:29 Football Field Walk
AD Vantage empowers athletic directors with comprehensive staff data, performance analytics, and AI-powered candidate insights to make smarter hiring, compensation, and retention decisions in an era where every dollar counts. Learn more: https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com (https://www.athleticdirectorvantage.com)PILYTIX is an A.I. technology company dedicated to solutions that generate revenue, save time, and reduce costs for universities and sports & entertainment organizations. More Money. Less Time. Lower Costs. Learn more: https://pilytix.ai/ (https://pilytix.ai/)Onrise provides complete mental health Coverage for your Athletes. One call. Same-day setup. Your athletes get immediate access to peer support from retired pros, licensed clinicians, and 24/7 crisis care. Less than one in-house FTE. No hiring hassles. No initiative fatigue. Learn more: https://onrise.care (https://onrise.care)Game One is the apparel company that can outfit your teams in Adidas, Nike or Under Armour. Learn more: https://www.game-one.com/ (https://www.game-one.com/)
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13,428
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
14 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
10
Social presence
0
YouTube
72
Engagement
51
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