1. What have you been up to in your post-NCAA era? I've:
• Enjoyed more than a week in Hilton Head, visited my sister and brother-in-law for the first time, spent a few days with my best childhood friend and my godson (his son) after previously spending a couple hours with them in his first six years of life,
• Taken my mother to dinner every couple weeks (vs. once in the past three years aside from holidays),
• Made trips to Goodwill, my first visit to Costco, donated time at a local foodbank,
• Contacted a few people to connect, reconnect, apologize, to get it right
• Made it to every doctor known to mankind,
• Facilitated three teambuilding sessions with various corporations,
• Re-stuffed my sofa cushions,
... and I’ve slept, laughed, walked, read, smiled, watched, laughed some more, and reacquainted in three months more than I had in the previous 20 years. Combined. I realize now how far I had gotten away from what I enjoy. I've also been fortunate to be included in a few projects that contacted me. It's been interesting. Few people get the opportunity to work on something that is their life's goal, and I not only had that opportunity, but learned a great deal while also making some remarkable friendships along the way. I intend to enjoy a good part of the summer before taking a look at what’s next.
2. There appears to be a lot up in the air in collegiate athletics right now – conference realignment, football post season changes, pending and ongoing litigation, new contract negotiations, etc. Do you think the look of the space is going to drastically change in the next five to 10 years?
Five to 10 years? More like weeks. The environment is marked by continuous change, and to some extent, that’s not new. What feels new is the magnitude of economics, the power that comes with such shifts, and the clear challenge to best serve the intercollegiate athletics mission as change becomes the new norm.
Perhaps naïve, what may be overlooked in nearly all corners is a myriad of well-intentioned people trying to get it right. The issue comes down to how those intentions overlap, coincide, conflict or find free air.
Shocking! Like everything, it will come down to communication.
3. What does it mean when news accounts refer to 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier broadcast rights?
Generally, here’s the rule of thumb:
• First-tier rights are comprised of national broadcast rights of football and(or) basketball.
• Second-tier inventory is an identified collection of football and(or) basketball rights that are not selected by the First-tier rightsholder. In many cases, this is a more robust collection of games than many people might first contemplate.
• Third-tier inventory is comprised of any remaining inventory of football and(or) basketball from the First- and Second-tiers as well as rights to other sports as determined by the conference and its membership. Third-tier packages – past, present, and future – are varied depending on what rights have been “pooled” by the conference from its membership, the relevant audience for such content, and viable options for distributing the content.
Here, institutions have done everything from school-specific agreements to collectively offering the rights as a conference, to the oft-referenced evolutions of the conference and institutional networks. In the latest cycle of negotiations, we saw a variety of combinations and approaches, reflecting the ever growing sophistication of the media world, university and conference savvy. Ultimately, validation of the valuable following of college sports across the country.
4. What does the corporate world view as key benefits to associating with collegiate athletics programs?
The most obvious aspect is the outward, exciting quality of competition that draws interest from those who attended a school or who had/have a friend, the child of a friend, neighbor, relative, colleague attending a school, or who live in the general area of the institution.
Go deeper and there are stories behind nearly every student-athlete’s commitment to grow through the intercollegiate athletic experience in ways they might not otherwise have been able to experience if not for college sports.
Deeper still, the rich tradition of each institution and the underlying reality that the finest arts and sciences, the best and brightest research, new ideas and solutions emerge daily from our country’s colleges and universities.
Wrap these qualities together and the benefits of associating with intercollegiate athletics is beyond self-evident.
5. Live athletic events continue to be valuable properties, but how do you see the development of web-based viewing and apps supplementing or overtaking cable and satellite transmissions?
We will experience a phase for a period of time where this dynamic has to sort itself out, but history tells us it will – and fast.
Live athletic events are appointment viewing – some of the fewest remaining options in this regard given the iWorld of DVRs/TiVos, PDAs, virtual thingamajigs. The NCAA’s early efforts to put March Madness on Demand in market taught us that complementary experiences can happen as opposed to cannibalizing the same programming.
That holds true when there are multiple compelling competitions following a similar schedule (think Saturday conference football, etc.), but may not hold true when such options could take away a net number of eyes from broadcast programming.
Enter TV everywhere and an evolving economic model that when you buy the program at home, it is then available to you from any variety of agnostic platforms. Ultimately, the data-driven support of broadcast, the camera-view, and replay control (pending bandwidth challenges that will continue to be part of the puzzle for a while) equates to a valuable proposition to the average user.
College sports is an extraordinary option in this regard and will be in the future.
6. Describe the development of the NCAA’s temporary seating system that is now used at all Final Four sites?
For years, we studied the flow of fans in and around the buildings, as well as the preferences and priorities of NCAA membership at the Final Four. In sum and perhaps overly simplistic in description, using only half the stadium’s assets was challenging our ability to deliver a reliable experience to fans. Our layout from late 80s through 2008 was great, but generally eliminated half the seats, suites, restrooms, function areas, concession spaces and corridor “blow-off” space that would give the event more room to breathe. We were discussing this around 2000 when the Final Four was in Indianapolis – on both the host and NCAA side of the ledger.
In 2003, Mark Hollis at Michigan State masterminded “BasketBowl” in Ford Field for a game with Kentucky. Though the layout utilized most of the venue’s natural seating, it did validate a number of the benefits we believed could be realized with such a system.
From there, the study of various systems, potential construction options, and engineering discussions began in earnest.
In 2006, we began with mock-ups at Reliant Stadium in Houston. From there, various combinations of endzone configurations, seating elevation, and pitch options were studied. In 2008, we used the system for the first time at two of our regionals.
Feedback has been significantly positive and the NCAA continues to learn from every use.
7. Can you comment on the tension between maximizing revenue at an event like the Final Four vs. maintaining a sense of a collegiate event?
It is a delicate balance. For the basketball committee, the point of reference has always started at center court and worked in increasing 'orbits' from there. We concentrate on the best possible competition venue and experience for the student-athletes. We study carefully – having follow-up conversations with those who participated in the championship and adjust accordingly.
Especially with the new layout, the reality is the Final Four (and similar events) have upwards of 100,000 people connected to the event in town (either as area residents or visitors) and the importance of providing sanctioned activities – fan interactives, music festivals, educational activities, community outreach, etc. are vital showcases to tell more people who we are and what we do. Sensitivity regarding the “look and feel” of the event is crucial – as commercial integration must be executed thoughtfully. The entities which support the event and its operator (in the case of the Final Fours) the NCAA must have presence that reflects the continuous cooperative commitment to the relationship and mission shared among all parties.
8. How should a so-called nonrevenue sport on a campus attempt to maximize attention and value for its potential partners and fans?
First, pride in the competitive showcase is important. If those engaged in the sport directly don’t appear connected to and/or supportive of competition, it is hard to imagine how to attract potential partners and fans to engage as well.
Examining history of some of the most successful sports, it is the broad engagement and appearances of coaches and supporters -- dorm to dorm, fraternity and sorority house-to-house, connecting with prospective fans – over time had better results than anything.
Though hard to contain, it is important that impatience is kept to a minimum. Building a sport and the following of a team is most reliably a prolonged, steady journey. Commitment to growing over a number of seasons with sustained effort is key.
9. How do you stay so well-informed on athletics and business issues of the day?
Like the rest of the world, via the technological “shoe leather” probably serves best – the combination of in-person and phone conversations, key publications, social media and the like.
10. Knowing that you like to solve complicated problems facing intercollegiate athletics, especially related to basketball, what challenges do you plan to take on next?
Whatever challenge seems the most enjoyable, with people, structure and an organization to make the effort achievable. I suppose I’m more interested in the sincere impact of what’s next rather than the “wow” as a priority. I tend to think I’ll know it when it see it.
11. What are a couple of things that you helped to change for the better during your 12 years at the NCAA working in basketball and as Executive Vice President?
I always viewed myself as the professional greenskeeper on a good day. My job was to get the course ready to play each morning so the pros (my colleagues) could bring their “A” game and have the chance to excel everyday. From there, good things are bound to happen and some great people achieved remarkable breakthroughs in our work during the years I was fortunate enough to work at the NCAA. It was an honor to be on the team.
12. Describe an “I can’t believe this is happening” moment from your time running the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament that very few people would know about?
On the court, after the championship game, watching the winning team watch “One Shining Moment.” I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It is a feeling I will never forget.
13. Which NCAA DI Championship (other than basketball) has the most potential for growth amongst fans, television viewers, and spectators?
Take your pick – women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, lacrosse, soccer, FCS football, softball, baseball among others.
The NCAA is poised to evolve the championship model in a way that will bring more efficiency and attractiveness to host sites and ultimately, the experience of the student-athletes.
It is more a matter of how to package the championships going forward, which I think will be exciting to watch over the coming years.
14. You were integral in negotiating the 14-year, nearly $11 billion agreement with CBS and Turner Sports for the DI Men’s Basketball Tournament rights. Let’s pretend the leaders within DI FBS Football decided on a 16-team football playoff and you were tasked with negotiating the contract. What’s your guess as to the value of the media rights?
I’ve watched DLR Group's growth in vision over the past few years with your involvement, Drew. I think I’d encourage them to retain you to figure that one out! (Editor's Note: Greg did actually say this.)