Jamy Bechler

Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.

Episode 157: Chrissi Rawak, Delaware Athletic Director

 

Chrissi Rawak is Director of Athletics at the University of Delaware. Prior to her arrival at Delaware, she spent more than a decade at the University of Michigan where she served as the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director. She was also a varsity swimmer at Michigan.

Click here for Chrissi’s complete bio.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Working with the former Ford C.E.O.
  • Transitioning to Athletic Director
  • The student-athlete experience
  • Raising money for athletics
  • Delaware alum Joe Biden
  • … and so much more!!!

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Team-Building During Covid

“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.” (John Wooden)

Since March 2020, sports have been different. Covid-19 has made coaches and athletes adjust, adapt, and change the way they approach their sport. I have done countless zoom calls and consultations with teams on how to make the best of these unprecedented and challenging times we are all experiencing.

There is no doubt this pandemic has affected your team in some way – from games or the season being canceled, to quarantining and experiencing isolation, to wearing masks and staying six-feet away from teammates. No matter who you are, you’ve been affected in some way to some extreme.

Here are some ideas for making the best of a bad situation and trying to have a healthy and strong culture throughout this pandemic.

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Episode 095: Tim Hall, UMBC Athletic Director

Tim Hall is the Director of Athletics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He was also appointed President of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (ADA) in the summer of 2017 and has served as the chairman of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics. During the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the UMBC Retrievers Men’s Basketball team made history when they became the first ever No. 16 seed to beat the No. 1 seed when they beat Virginia by 20 points, 74-54. Tim has previously served as the Athletic Director at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.  Before heading up his own departments, he was the assistant A.D. at Eastern Kentucky University, Saint Xavier University, Youngstown State University, and Kent State University. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • The historic upset that the men’s basketball team had in the 2018 NCAA Tournament
  • Social media creativity of UMBC athletic communication staff during the tournament
  • Ways to build a mid-major athletic program
  • Hiring and keeping good team members
  • What makes UMBC so special

[Read more…]

Episode 069: NFHS Executive Director Bob Gardner

Bob Gardner has been the executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations since May of 2010. He will be retiring from this position in August of 2018 after nearly 50 years of serving in secondary education. Gardner was only the fifth full-time executive director for the NFHS since 1940.

During his 18 years on the NFHS staff in Indianapolis, participation in high school sports has increased by almost 400,000, including the expanded opportunity for students with disabilities in high school sports. Gardner has led the organization’s focus on risk minimization in high school sports, with particular emphasis on concussion awareness, and has brought a heightened national presence to the work of the NFHS and its member state associations.

In addition to the continual expansion of the NFHS Learning Center during his tenure, Gardner is credited with starting the NFHS Network, the first-of-its-kind digital coverage of high school sports with more than 25,000 events covered during the 2016-17 school year.

He spent his career in Indiana as a teacher and coach at three schools for eight years and as an athletic director. In 1978, Gardner became principal of Milan Junior-Senior High School, followed by a stint as superintendent of the Milan Community Schools.

After serving on the Indiana High School Athletic Association board of directors during his time at Milan, Gardner joined the IHSAA staff in 1985 as assistant commissioner. He served 10 years in that role prior to becoming commissioner in 1995.

Gardner joined the NFHS staff in 2000 as chief operating officer and served in that position for 10 years prior to becoming executive director. During this time, he chaired the NFHS Rules Review Committee and was responsible for day-to-day operations of the organization. He has served on the board of directors for USA Football, USA Basketball and the Indiana Sports Corp. He is a member of the Indiana High School Wrestling Hall of Fame.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • His career serving student-athletes
  • The movie Hoosiers and the real-life story
  • The future of High School sports

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Episode 052: Tim Selgo, 3x National A.D. of the Year

Tim Selgo is the author of the book “Anchor Up: Competitive Greatness the Grand Valley Way”.  He was the athletic director at Grand Valley State University for 20 years. During that time, the Lakers won the Director’s Cup as the top collegiate athletic department an astounding 10 times. Lakers teams won 18 national championships. He was named the national A.D. of the Year three times. He is now teaching part-time at Davenport University and is a Senior Consultant with Athletics Staffing and Consultants.

In addition, GVSU won 18 straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Presidents’ Cup titles as the top athletic program in the 16-team GLIAC. The Lakers’ 23 all-time Presidents’ Cup titles top all GLIAC institutions. Grand Valley State, which won 45 GLIAC titles prior to Tim’s arrival, has won 174 GLIAC titles since he was appointed Athletic Director in 1996.

A well respected leader in college athletics throughout his career, Tim served on the NCAA DII Management Council for four years (2007-11), including serving as Chair of the Management Council in 2009. A term on the NCAA DII Management Council is the highest position is DII athletics. He was named the NACDA Division II AD of the Year for the Central Region (2012-13), while also being named the Division II Central Region Astroturf AD of the Year (2006-07). He was also honored as the Central Region AD of the Year in 2002-03. In addition, Tim was President of NACDA for the 2015-16 year. Before getting into administration, Tim served as the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Toledo for three years.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • The “secret sauce” of building culture
  • Working with great coaches like Nick Saban, Brian Kelly, and Gary Pinkel
  • His new book and why all business leaders need to read it
  • How to surround yourself with the right people

[Read more…]

Episode 010: St. John’s University Athletic Director Anton Goff

Anton Goff is the Director of Athletics at traditional Big East power St. John’s University. He has also been the athletic director at Hartford University and Bowie State. Throughout his career, he also worked with the University of Maryland, Michigan State University, and Kent State University.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • Dealing with star employees
  • The pressures of being in a high-profile job
  • Growing up with a mother that was a pioneer in college athletics
  • How he treats all of his coaches and student-athletes
  • What he looks for when building a team around him

[Read more…]

Episode 028: San Jacinto College Dean of Liberal Arts Shawn Silman

Shawn Silman is the Dean of Liberal Arts at San Jacinto College, which is located in Houston, Texas. Prior to becoming the Dean in 2011, he served for 6 years as San Jacinto’s Athletic Director and 11 years as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at San Jacinto.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • What exactly a Dean of Liberal Arts does on a daily basis
  • Why he got out of coaching and went into the academic side
  • The great flood of 2017 and how it affected Houston and San Jacinto’s students
  • How he made the transition from athletics to academics in an educational setting

[Read more…]

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