Full Video Podcasts

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column (https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenweaver/2020/04/13/will-furloughs-and-pay-cuts-be-enough-to-save-athletics/#3fd4bceb388d) for Forbes about what lies ahead for athletics beyond the inevitable furloughs and layoffs. Today, I'll outline some of the strategies organizations should take to embrace the new normal, and not just fall victim to it. I'm also joined by Dr.…

This week has been stunning (https://www.startribune.com/walz-we-re-under-assault-from-outside-agitators/570892512/) . With the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, the city is in the national spotlight. Two days after he dies, University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel, with only an hour's notice to her Board of Regents…

Jordan Acker (https://regents.umich.edu/regents/jordan-b-acker/) , the first University of Michigan Regent who graduated from the University in the 21st century, is a ball of fire. Part of the Obama White House, and a part of former Homeland Security Director (https://www.dhs.gov/archive/person/janet-napolitano) and current University of California System President (https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-president-janet-napolitano-announces-decision-step-down-next-year) Janet Napolitano's homeland…

We talk a lot about healthcare these days, and how much we admire those who are on the frontlines in our hospitals and in nursing homes. But stop and think for a second about nurses—where do they get their training? What is happening to those institutions in the middle of…

TIME magazine named Cowen one of the nation’s Top 10 Best College Presidents and he was one of only four university leaders nationwide to receive the 2009 Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award. In 2010 Cowen was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the world’s most…

This week, we'll focus on two things: why college athletics should NOT start in Fall 2020 and a conversation with Henry Stoever (https://agb.org/news/press-releases/stoever/) , the President and CEO of the Association of Governing Boards in Washington, DC. Secondly, I wrote an article (https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenweaver/2020/05/06/without-a-vaccine-there-is-no-way-college-athletes-can-play-this-fall/#5716d9645e5c) titled "Without A Vaccine, There Is No…

I so pleased to welcome back to the podcast Scott Pattison (https://www.nga.org/news/scott-pattison-named-cq-rollcall-influencer/) , Senior Fellow at the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa and the former CEO of the National Governors Association, Scott and his colleagues have been actively engaged in understanding the difficulties that…

The last time Dr. Keith Hamilton (https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/keith-hamilton) and I saw each other, we went to an NBA basketball game a week before Christmas. The arena was sold out with fans excited to see Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia Sixers play the Washington Wizards. We are both sports fans, both former…

Everything you wanted to know about the latest NCAA updates on Names, Images and Likenesses from two perspectives--from a member of the NCAA working group, Jill Bodensteiner, Athletics Director at Saint Joseph's University, and a sobering letter sent days later to NCAA President Mark Emmert from United States Senators Chris…

This week, you'll hear my interview with KYW News Radio in Philadelphia, talking about a recent article (https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenweaver/2020/05/09/return-to-play-guidance-emerges-for-college-sports-colleges/#6ad76a9b1e9a) in Forbes.com. The American College Health Association published return to campus guidelines (https://www.acha.org/documents/resources/guidelines/ACHA_Considerations_for_Reopening_IHEs_in_the_COVID-19_Era_May2020.pdf) in May, including athletics. If you are a college president, trustee or athletics director, I encourage you to listen…

This week's podcast leads with a personal conversation with Charles Hallman, a Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder journalist. Having this conversation with Charles has been on my mind since the horrific video of George Floyd's death consumed the nation three weeks ago, Floyd's death has led to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, discussions about police…

Today we’re going to examine the fate of regional public institutions, particularly in the Upper Midwest and the Mid Atlantic regions. An overwhelming number of these institutions have robust athletics programs on their campuses in all NCAA divisions. The Brookings Institute recently assessed (https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200617_BrookingsMetro_Great-Lakes-RPUs_FULL-final.pdf) the economic, educational effects and overall…

This week is a time like no other-the Ivy League announced (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/sports/ncaafootball/ivy-league-fall-sports-football-coronavirus.html) the cancellation of Fall 2020 sports, Vanderbilt University, part of the powerful SEC football conference, announced (https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/vanderbilt-athletics/article/21139459/vanderbilt-purging-athletic-communications-dept) the near elimination of their athletic communications department, and Stanford University announced (https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/08/stanford-eliminates-11-varsity-sports/) the discontinuation of 11 Olympic sports. Prior to…

All anyone can think about right now is if/when college sports will be back. Will it be in the fall? Will football be back?. How about DIII schools? Presidents are overwhelmed with all of the what if scenarios, but Richard Giller (https://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/lawyers/richard-giller.html) , Partner and Insurance Recovery Lawyer in the…

In July 2020, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened (https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/protecting-the-integrity-of-college-athletics) a hearing called "Protecting the Integrity of College Athletics". Led by Senators Blumenthal, Graham and Booker, the Committee announced their intent to create a "College Athletes Bill of Rights" tied to a reform agenda with Names, Images and Likenesses legislation. The…

The number of college conferences that have suspended, modified or cancelled (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C9Dq-M4gzed298NitTWxuKUObQQFY8G9nxJ8d4xE5NU/edit#gid=0) Fall sports in mind numbing. Presidents and Commissioners have had to make tremendously difficult decisions--the cancelling of a fall season could mean those athletes don't return to campus. The Northeastern, MidAtlantic and Midwestern portions of the country are…

It's important to understand who is sitting at the table when it comes to critical institutional decisions. It's even more telling who is NOT sitting at the table. Today's conversation is focused on both the HOW and WHY of "return to campus" decisions that are made for Fall 2020. Presidents…

Division II and III athletic conferences have been discontinuing fall sports at a record pace this month. It is devastating for athletes, and for campus budgets. Many private colleges have built their enrollment strategies on having as many as 50% of the total student body comprised of athletes. In the…

In July, Stanford announced they were dropping 11 Olympic sports, going from 36 to 25 total sports. The Cardinal are the most successful overall Division I athletics program in the last 20 years, yet they have been struggling (https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenweaver/2020/07/09/stanford-dropping-11-sports-is-less-about-covid-19-and-more-about-declining-pac-12-network-revenues/) with keeping up financially with other Power 5 Conferences. The big…

To lighten it up a bit (and hopefully make you smile), I'm joined by my colleague Ross Aikins (https://www.gse.upenn.edu/academics/faculty-directory/aikins/) to do some sports bantering. Ross (who is a public health scholar who loves sports) and I (on a steep learning curve about public health issues) have created a highly sophisticated…

It seems like everyone is talking about money--the money made in college sports in general, and the money that may be lost as a result of this pandemic. With fall football being cancelled in both the Big Ten and the Pac-12, I reached out to Patrick Crakes (https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-crakes/) , currently…

"This may be the most significant development for athlete's economic rights in our lifetime"- Walt Harrison, former chair of the NCAA President's Council. Your athletic program is about to look very different. Simply put, some of your athletes on campus are about to elevate their brand (and their income) while…

Those who have been listening to the podcast for awhile now know that I have interviewed very few people who work inside an athletics department. I do this because there is a gap in our knowledge and understanding of all the different stakeholders whose work is impacted by athletics, and…

This conversation may surprise you. And it might give you insight into why some schools ARE playing sports this fall. Following weeks of announcements from conferences across the nation postponing fall competitions until next spring, the NCAA recently announced that they would not hold championships for Division II or Division…