Trustees and Presidents: A Podcast for University Leaders On College Athletics

🏈 Is college athletics heading toward a financial collapse?University of Louisville President Dr. T. Gerard Bradley and Board Chair Dr. Larry Benz aren't just asking the question — they're sounding the alarm. 🚨Together with Athletic Director Josh Heird, they co-authored a white paper calling out what Larry Benz describes as "the theater of absurdity" — a system where schools are forced to keep spending just to stay competitive, even when that spending is completely unsustainable. 💸Their message is clear: Division I athletics needs a hard spending cap, better governance, and real legislative action — NOW. ⏳What happens if Congress doesn't act? Louisville is already running scenario planning and game theory to prepare for every outcome. But one thing they refuse to do? Pull money from scholarships, faculty, or research to fund the athletic arms race. 🎓With a 92% graduation rate and $1.3 billion contributed to the local economy, Louisville proves you can do athletics the RIGHT way — but even they can't outrun a broken system forever. 💪🎙️ This is a must-listen conversation for anyone in higher education, athletics administration, or governance.👉 Catch the full episode now and join the conversation about the future of college sports.#CollegeAthletics #HigherEducation #NIL #DivisionI #UniversityOfLouisville #CollegeSports #SportsBusiness #Athletics #Leadership #HigherEd

My guest has taken one of the most unconventional routes you’ll ever hear about on the way to a university presidency.Bill Johnson is the president of Youngstown State University (OH), capping a career that has spanned military service, business entrepreneurship, and over a decade in the U.S. Congress—a background that uniquely positions him to navigate the turbulence reshaping college sports and higher education. Bill has become one of the most outspoken voices in the country on some of the most controversial issues in NCAA Division I athletics: the impact of massive antitrust legal settlements on mid-major budgets, the explosion of NIL money, the constant churn of the transfer portal, and whether student-athletes should be treated as university employees.In this conversation, we dig into why he believes recent NCAA settlements unfairly punish mid-major programs like Youngstown State, why he’s calling on Congress to set guardrails around NIL and the transfer portal, and how his coalition of non–Power Four conferences is trying to rebalance NCAA governance. We’ll also talk about his evolving view on paying student-athletes, his warnings about turning college sports into a “sub-professional” market, and what he sees as the tipping point that could either save or break the current system.

College athletics is moving faster than campus governance—and trustees can’t afford to watch from the sidelines. Karen Weaver sits down with higher-ed governance experts Peter Eckel (UPenn) and Raquel Rall (UC Riverside) to unpack fiduciary duty, board education, and how to make mission-driven decisions amid NIL, revenue sharing, realignment, and rising financial risk.

From gambling busts to coaching chaos, discover why S&P Global analysts now spend more time talking about athletics than ever before—and what it means for your institution's financial future.In this eye-opening conversation, S&P Global rating analysts Beth Bishop and Ken Rodgers reveal how a single headline can trigger years of financial scrutiny, why your entire basketball team entering the transfer portal tanks your credit metrics, and how the House v. NCAA settlement is forcing universities to make billion-dollar bets on their athletic futures. Whether it's the reputational damage from a gambling scandal or the strategic gamble of jumping conferences, every headline now has a price tag—and someone's keeping score.

What do University Leaders need to know about the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961? Tulane law professor Gabe Feldman joins the conversation where he discusses this and other key legal issues for college sports to keep an eye on for 2026.Feldman explains that while the NFL has successfully pooled its television revenue, college sports have not been granted the same privileges. This legal framework limits the potential for universities to share broadcasting revenue, which could otherwise support rising expenses in college athletics. As the landscape of college sports continues to evolve rapidly, understanding the nuances of legal and financial challenges becomes increasingly essential for university leaders.

The “College Athletics” infrastructure is collapsing under the growing workloads of staff retrenchment and changing job descriptions. Whether its wins, squad sizes, in athlete medical care and/or for academic transfers coming in from the portal, the enterprise is under more pressure than ever.Kevin McClure, professor of Education Policy at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, just wrote a book called “The Caring University”. Concerned about the state of employment and employees who work on campus, Kevin emphasizes the persistent "churn and burn" mentality within institutions, (where employees are often undervalued) is vastly underdiscussed, particularly in athletics. He discusses examples of employees who leave higher education due to poor working conditions, highlighting the need for institutions to reassess their approach. Rather than merely replacing staff, universities should focus on improving job conditions and employee experiences to retain talent. Book: The Caring University, Reimagining the Higher Education Workplace After the Great Resignation out now. Find it here: https://drkevinrmcclure.com/book/

Dr. Luke Wood, Sacramento State's ninth president, is leading an ambitious FCS to FBS transition for the university's football program. He discusses his vision for elevating athletics as an economic development engine, bringing celebrity coaches like Mike Bibby and Shaquille O'Neal to campus, advocating for revenue share as racial justice, and his bold prediction that Sac State will become a flagship university within five years.