kristi dosh

For this episode, I'm joined by David Kaplan of The Hockey Guys,  a group of 10 NCAA hockey players who got their start on TikTok. The Hockey Guys have grown their reach to over 1.4 million followers and subscribers across multiple social media platforms.

I recently had David, along with two other members of The Hockey Guys, on my Game Face podcast, and we touched on a few things that warranted a deeper dive. In this episode we touch on:

• How they plan and create content as a group
• How their venture has evolved from a social media account into a thriving business
• The hands-on entrepreneurial experience the group is getting
• How they've tackled things like pricing and other negotiations
• The challenge of having international student athletes in the group and the solution they've found
• The opportunities for DIII student athletes
• How they found the right advisors and resources
• The reaction from their coaches, administrators and teammates
• What happens to The Hockey Guys after graduation
• ...and so much more!

 David serves as the CFO and Head of Consulting for THG Media, Inc. Since NIL legislation was passed, and with a background in Accounting and Finance, the majority of his work has happened behind the camera. David has been an integral part in corporate structuring as well as maximizing the revenue potential for The Hockey Guys. He plans on pursuing his CPA and was a former intern at a Big 4 Accounting Firm with an offer to rejoin the firm upon graduation.

You can follow The Hockey Guys on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and check out their podcast, No Bad Days.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

This episode, I'm joined by Wesley Haynes, President and Founder of The Brandr Group. His company has been on the leading edge when it comes to group licensing in the NIL era, signing nearly 20 schools to deals that allow their student athletes access to group licensing opportunities.

The Brandr Group currently has agreements with the following schools: UNC, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, App State, Indiana, Michigan State, UF, NC State, Villanova, Nebraska, Maryland, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Xavier, Purdue, and UGA.

Haynes and I discussed:

• How TBG's background in pro sports is helping them navigate NIL
• His meetings with the NCAA about group licensing
• How TBG's alumni programs opened the door for NIL work now
• Which student athletes are benefiting from group licensing
• What TBG's agreement with schools looks like
• The education is required to get student athletes on board
• What group licensing with student athletes looks like for brands
• The results for schools and student athletes that are working with TBG already
• Passive vs. active group rights

In the podcast, we teased some results from Ohio State and UNC, which you can read more about here.

You can follow TBG on Twitter or check out their website for more information.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I'm joined by Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas to chat about the MEAC's new partnership with Syracuse University and how his conference is approaching name, image and likeness for its student athletes.

Dr. Thomas is the third full-time commissioner of the conference and entered his 20th year this summer. He's retiring in December, but he's made some big moves for the conference ahead of his exit.

In this episode, we discussed:

• His approach to NIL at the conference level for MEAC student athletes
• What he thinks makes MEAC, and other HBCU, student athletes uniquely marketable
• How HBCUs will benefit from their student athletes landing NIL deals
• How the MEAC's partnership with Syracuse came to be
• What he hopes MEAC student athletes, staff and professors will get out of the partnership with Syracuse
• How partnerships like this one and the SWAC's with the Pac-12 can drive change

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

I'm joined on this episode by Trevor Bechtold, Director of Sports, Recreation + Entertainment at HOK. He's an architect who has worked on projects like the expansion to the Penn State University Lasch Building and Clemson University’s new Allen N. Reeves Football Complex.

After hearing the news that Clemson is developing a new student athlete branding institute as part of their Poe Indoor Practice Facility renovation, I asked Trevor if other athletic departments are starting to think about how to adapt facilities to assist student athletes with their NIL activities. He gave a resounding "yes," so I asked him to come on the podcast and tells us more about how he thinks facilities will be impacted by student athletes' new NIL rights.

In this episode, we chatted about:

• How athletic departments are starting to factor NIL into facilities planning
• The types of spaces, tech, graphics and other features that can enhance NIL opportunities for student athletes
• What features seem to be most popular right now in these discussions
• How spaces might be adapted with recruiting in mind
• How even departments with smaller budgets can take NIL into consideration

You can connect with Trevor on LinkedIn or by email.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I'm joined by Zach Beebe, the co-founder of NIL Management. Based in Columbus, Ohio, NIL Management has secured a steady stream of local deals for Ohio State student athletes, including cars for six football student athletes from one dealership.

After interviewing Zach for my piece on all of the car deals we've seen so far, I asked him to come on and talk more about the NIL economy in Columbus, Ohio. A few cities and schools have stood out to me while reporting on NIL, and Columbus and Ohio State are among them. Zach is at the epicenter of it all, so I wanted to learn more about how local businesses are embracing NIL and how it's benefitting Ohio State student athletes. 

We chatted about:

• The opportunities he's seen student athletes get the most excited about and the strategies they're building
• The reception around Columbus to the opportunity to work with student athletes
• How Zach got a local dealership to give cars to six different student athletes
• The comprehensive marketing plan he helped build with Coughlin Chevrolet
• How much content creation a marketing agency like his is having to do with student athletes to maximize deals
• How he thinks Ohio State has embraced NIL from an athletic department standpoint
• Opportunities for female student athletes

You can follow Zach on Instagram.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

This episode I am joined by Katie Davis, a CPA, Partner, and Collegiate Athletics Practice Leader at James Moore & Co., an accounting firm that works with collegiate athletics departments, athletic associations, booster clubs, and other higher education-related organizations nationwide.

Katie has dedicated her career to providing accounting and consulting services to universities and advocating for the financial voices in college athletics. She helps to educate the sports business industry on relevant issues that impact us now and in the future. I was previously on Katie's News & Brews podcast discussing the first day of NIL.

In this episode, Katie joins me to explain the tax implications and questions surrounding NIL activity by student athletes. Some of what we discuss includes:

• Tax liability for a student athlete who is a resident of a different state than the state where their university is located, plus what happens if their NIL activity takes place in another state (like a commercial shoot)
• How a student athlete reports the value of merchandise, products and travel vs. cash payments
• Whether things like iPads provided by athletic departments to student athletes are taxable
• Tax implications of car deals
• How much student athletes should set aside from NIL revenue for taxes
• How NIL might impact need-based aid or dependent status
• Expenses student athletes might be eligible to deduct in relation to their NIL activities
• Paying quarterly taxes vs. annual as as student athlete

You can follow Katie on Twitter and check out her podcast, News & Brews.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

I'm joined this week by Malik Jackson, an associate attorney at Smith Hulsey & Busey in Jacksonville, Florida who is a member of the firm's sports litigation department.

A former Princeton quarterback, middle school teacher and football coach, Jackson has taken a particular interest in how NIL impacts student athletes prior to their arrival on a college campus.

Although we used Florida's law as an example in some of this discussion, it has broad applicability based on where most states (except California) and their high school sports associations have come down on NIL thus far.

We discussed:

• Advice for the parents of elite high school student athletes
• How the advice might be different for high school basketball athletes versus other sports when it comes to NIL
• What questions high school student athletes and their parents should be asking relative to NIL during the recruiting process
• How the early NIL deals we've seen impact recruiting
• The complication of everyone not playing under the same rules right now for NIL
• What parents need to watch out for when it comes to NIL and their high school student athlete
• How parents might become the problem for some student athletes
• When student athletes should engage an attorney for NIL

Mentioned in this episode:

High school basketball student athlete Mikey Williams signing with Excel Sports Management

High school QB Quinn Ewers considering bypassing senior year of high school because of NIL

You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

I'm joined on this episode by Drew Butler, EVP of Collegiate at Icon Source, a platform where student athletes (and professional athletes) can connect with brands for partnerships. We recorded on the second day of this new NIL Era and talked all about how it's going so far.

One of our main focuses in this podcast is how female student athletes will fare in this new system. Drew talked about why some of the women are even more valuable in the marketplace than the male student athletes and what they're hearing from brands so far.

We also talked about why Icon Source was already in a great position to serve student athletes and why Drew wanted to join the company.

Drew is a former NFL punter for the Arizona Cardinals & Pittsburgh Steelers. While at UGA, Drew was twice First-Team Academic All-American. He is the host of the highly popular “Punt & Pass" podcast and additional shows.

Some trackers I mentioned that may be of interest:

State-by-State Legislation Tracker

School Policy Tracker

NIL Marketplace Tracker

You can follow IconSource on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

This episode, I'm joined by Justin Herzig, co-founder of Own the Moment NFT. He's schooling me on all things NFT, so if you barely understand what an NFT is, this episode is for you!

Justin gave me some great background on NFTs and then we dove into what they might look like in the college space. Here are some highlights from our talk:

• The definition of an NFT
• How NFT’s can be beneficial for all student athletes 
• The impact athletic departments can have on the value of an NFT
• How a player’s NFT can be beneficial in promoting their own content while also not creating tension within their teams.

Justin Herzig is the co-founder of Own the Moment NFT, a venture-backed content and analytics company that helps people invest and collect NFTs with confidence. He has been working in blockchain technology for the past seven years combined with a background in predictive sports analytics.

You can follow Justin on Twitter here and Own the Moment NFT here.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

I'm joined this week by Darren Heitner, a Florida attorney who helped draft and promote Florida's initial NIL legislation to talk about where we're at currently with NCAA, state and federal legislation.

As of the publication of this episode, five states have NIL laws that go into effect on July 1, 2021, with several other states still pushing to pass legislation with the same effective date. We talk about Florida nearly changing its effective date, why some states are still holding out and what the landscape will look like if the NCAA or Congress doesn't enact something for this school year.

Darren and I also discuss what we think the marketplace might look like as student athletes as the NIL era begins, how it might impact things like recruiting and more.

You can follow Darren on Twitter: @DarrenHeitner. 

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

I'm joined this episode by Eric Nichols, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Branding/Chief Marketing Officer at the University of South Carolina.

This spring, South Carolina announced it would be rolling back its season ticket prices to 2010 prices in an effort to motivate fans to purchase. Like most athletic departments, South Carolina had a difficult year financially in 2020, so it was a risky move.

Eric discusses  ​the​ ​methodology​ ​behind​ ​the​ ​decision​making​ ​process​, ​including​ ​the​ ​financial​ ​modeling,​ ​elasticity​ ​tools,​ ​and​ ​hedging​ ​opportunities.​ ​In​ ​addition,​ ​he shares what the​ ​response​ ​has​ ​been​ ​in​ ​the​ ​forms​ ​of​ ​KPIs,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​new​ ​leads,​ ​web​ ​chats,​ ​phone​ ​call​ ​logs,​ ​and​ ​sales​ ​trends.​ ​He also discussed​ ​how​ ​they ​will​ ​measure​ ​the​ ​success​ ​or​ ​failure​ ​of​ ​the​ ​strategy.​ ​

Listen in as Eric shares the behind the scenes of this interesting decision.

You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

Todd Berry, executive director of the American Football Coaches Foundation, joined the podcast to discuss the concerns football coaches across the country as name, image and likeness legislation is passed at the state level and proposed at the national level and within the NCAA.

There were a lot of interesting nuggets in this one, including:

• What recruits are already asking football coaches
• How boosters are getting involved in NIL and why it's concerning
• Why you can't talk about NIL without also talking about potential changes to the transfer rules
• How NIL rights may return college football to some of the behavior seen in the 1970s and 1980s
• How and why farm teams might emerge in college football
• The impact of NIL in the locker room
• ...and more!

Todd Berry coached college football for over 30 years including head coaching jobs at Illinois State, Army and Louisiana-Monroe. An Oklahoma native and graduate of Tulsa, Berry took over directorship of AFCF on March 1, 2016.

The American Football Coaches Foundation is the professional development arm of the American Football Coaches association providing professional development and educational resources and tools to football coaches from high school to all levels of college football.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

It's been seven months since Tim Russell, CEO of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, joined the podcast to talk about why tennis was being cut more than any other sport during the pandemic. It was my most-listened to episode of 2020, so I asked Tim if we could revisit the subject now that we've seen several more tennis programs eliminated.

The ITA is the governing body of college tennis, overseeing men's and women's varsity tennis at all levels -- NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College. In addition to providing resources to its members to help support programs, the ITA also put together opportunities while competition was halted in collegiate tennis.

Listen in to hear more about why tennis may be taking the brunt of the cuts, Tim's opposing argument and also great advice for coaches in any sport to be more proactive in demonstrating value to their administrations.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Health Index (a useful tool for coaches in any sport)
• Tim's response to AthleticDirectorU the role of Olympic sports on college campuses

You can follow the ITA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I'm joined by Samantha Arsenault Livingstone, an Olympic Gold Medalist,  high-performance consultant, speaker, educator and mental health advocate. 

Samantha was a member of the U.S. Swimming National Team, 1999 U.S. Pan Pacific Team and 2000 U.S. Olympic Team. As an 18-year-old, she stood atop the Olympic podium in Sydney, Australia after swimming the lead-off leg of the record-setting 4 x 200 Freestyle Relay. Post- Olympics, Samantha battled an eating disorder, depression and shoulder surgery. 

With the help of an amazing mentor, she rose from the rubble stronger, happier and healthier, ending her career as a 7 x NCAA All-American. To close out her career, Samantha led her teammates to the 2005 National Championship title as the co-captain of the Georgia Bulldogs.

At home in the classroom, Samantha spent six years teaching high school science and coaching swimming. She is the founder of Livingstone High Performance and the Whole Athlete Initiative (the WAI) providing pillars of support to athletes, coaches, parents and organizations to elevate mental health and improve performance. In addition to private and group coaching, Samantha consults with teams and organizations on athlete wellness initiatives, leadership, strategic planning, rising skills and developing high-performance cultures.

She is a certified instructor of Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) and a certified instructor of Mental Health First Aid. Samantha holds a master's degree in secondary science education from the University of Georgia. She lives in New England with her husband, Rob, and four daughters. 

In this episode, we discussed:

• How coaches and administrators can spot issues student athletes might have coming into their program from home or previous sports experience
• How administrators can set the tone for compliance for everything from practice limits to sexual abuse and communicate to student athletes that it matters
• Samantha's message for student athletes who fear coming forward about violations will lead to retaliation
• How coaches can create a culture where student athletes feel comfortable talking to them about issues
• The lack of mental health resources and education in intercollegiate athletics
• As a parent, how Samantha talks to her kids about what is and isn't appropriate behavior from their coaches

Samantha's website: www.samanthalivingstone.com
Follow Samantha on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

I'm joined today by Stephanie Stabulis of Social Creates Impact, who I've been partnering with on some educational programming for coaches, administrators and student athletes as we enter the NIL era.

Stephanie is a former award-winning, top influencer marketing agency executive passionate about bringing more training, resources and education to influencers and brands. She has designed campaign strategies for hundreds of brands from small-startups to dream clients like ESPN, OREO, Nickelodeon, Southwest Airlines, Macy's, Gilden Apparel, and Sour Patch Kids.

In this episode, I tapped into Stephanie's knowledge on a variety of topics related to how brands will likely work with student athletes once they're able to monetize their name, image and likeness, including:

• The difference between an influencer vs. ambassador vs. affiliate
• How much of a student athlete's content should be directly related their athletic performance
• What brand deals typically look like and the process behind them
• How brands find the people they want to work with
• The importance of having written agreements
• Some of the risks and pitfalls student athletes need to be aware of
• The opportunities for developing content creation skills that can take student athletes beyond graduation

You can connect with Stephanie on Instagram: @socialcreatesimpact.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Deborah Stroman, who is a professor at UNC and the founder and CEO of the Center of Sport Business and Analytics. Dr. Stroman was also the  first Black scholarship female student athlete at the University of Virginia, where she captained the basketball team in her senior year. She also became the first Black female coach at UNC when she served as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team.

In addition to her academic and Center responsibilities, Dr. Stroman is a radio personality for two radio stations and consults for the National Institutes of Health, sports teams, and sports-related organizations including the NCAA, College Football Playoff, and the Atlantic Coast Conference

We chat about her experiences as a Black student athlete and coach and how she draws on that experience with her new work with the Advancement of Blacks in Sports. We talk about the organization's mission and where the shortcomings are in sports when it comes to Blacks in leadership positions, both in college sports and professional sports.

This conversation was more like eavesdropping on our personal conversation than a typical episode, so we both get a little vulnerable and transparent about our work and what we can do to advance Blacks working in sports.

In this episode, I recommend the book The Go-Giver.

You can follow Dr. Stroman on Twitter: @drstroman.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I'm joined by Melissa Korn, a Wall Street Journal reporter who co-authored the newly released book Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & the Making of the College Admissions Scandal with her WSJ colleague Jennifer Levitz.

One morning in March 2019, many of America's rich and powerful woke to three hundred FBI agents at their doors. Among them were actress Felicity Huffman, designer Mossimo Giannulli, business executives and storied college coaches, with one thing in common: They'd all worked with Rick Singer. Sought after by wealthy parents as a college whisperer, Singer helped children nationwide secure spots at the schools of their dreams--for some, by any means necessary. When his scheme crumbled, more than 50 people would be criminally charged. 

In Unacceptable, veteran Wall Street Journal reporters Korn and Levitz trace the rise and ruin of the largest scam of its kind ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues. With unparalleled access to primary players in the case, they reveal how Singer cashed in on the ultimate status symbol: an acceptance letter at Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, or USC. They detail how the scheme exploited existing loopholes, with bribes and lies giving already privileged families an irresistible edge.

In this episode, Melissa and I talked about how this story unfolded and what college athletic administrators should be on the lookout for in the future to prevent this from happening again.

You can follow Melissa on Twitter @MelissaKorn. 

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

Prep QB coach Denny Thompson of 6Points joined the podcast to discuss the unintended consequences of the NCAA's decision to grant Division I fall student athletes an extra year of eligibility and an extra year to complete their eligibility.

Denny chatted with me for my Forbes piece on the issue hours after the decision was announced, so in this podcast we're diving deeper into why this isn't a win for many student athletes. We focused on football specifically, but much of what we discussed applies to all fall student athletes.

With depth charts blown and uncertainty around who will stay and who will go, and how athletic departments will fund expanded rosters, there are many questions and few answers. However, we explore of much of it as we can at this time and chew on lots of food for thought.

You can follow Denny on Twitter and 6Points on Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

What can history tell us about the ability of college football to weather a pandemic? Jeremy Swick, the historian and curator of the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame, joins me this week to chat about the 1918 Spanish Flu and how both it and World War I impacted college football.

What was it like with some teams playing and others not? What was college football like when it was all over? Jeremy walks me through all his knowledge on the subject and we talk about what this fall might--or might not--look like and how it might impact the long-term health of college football.

Jeremy is tasked with maintaining the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame’s extensive collection of artifacts, books, photographs, artwork and publications as the Historian and Curator Coordinator. He was instrumental in establishing, and now updating databases for various educational and historical artifacts and props. In addition, Jeremy curates all new exhibits at the Hall, including exhibits for marquee matchups, the rotating specialty exhibits and Black History Month.

You can follow Jeremy on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. You can follow the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as well.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

Scott Nestler, managing partner of SafeSeating Solutions, joined the podcast to talk about his new SaaS that was developed to help athletic departments plan for the return of fans to the stands for football, basketball, baseball and other sports.

Whenever fans are allowed in the stands again, stadiums and arenas will likely be operating at reduced capacity. So, how do you seat 30% capacity while following local guidelines and restrictions, keeping family units together and giving priority to certain groups? Simply input your stadium manifest and a list of groups you wish to seat and this software will spit out a proposed seating chart that takes into account the guidelines you want to follow.

Scott talked through how the software came to be, how it works and all the ways it can be used by facilities managers and venue directors. It's application goes beyond college athletics and could be used for professional athletics or for other venues such as theaters.

You can learn more about SafeSeating Solutions on their website and check out a demo or contact them with any questions. You can also follow them on Twitter @SafeSeating.

To keep up with the latest decisions on fall sports by FBS athletic departments, check out my tracker.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of my analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.

You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Need data and real-world experts to help you make decisions in your athletic department? Check out College Sports Solutions and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.