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The top ten most-clicked jobs of the week...
#10: Boise State: Assistant Director for Sports Communications
#9: South Carolina: Executive Assistant to the CEO
#8: Vanderbilt: Director of Facilities
#7: Kansas: Director of Compliance/Assistant AD for Compliance
#6: Butler: Assistant AD for Development
#5: Auburn: Assistant/Associate Director for Athletic Communications
#4: SMU: Associate AD for Development (Director of Strategic Development)
#3: SMU: Assistant AD for Revenue Generation
#2: Campbell: Director of Athletics
#1: Ohio State: Associate VP & Chief Commercial Officer/Chief Revenue Officer
#10: USA Today's Mitchell Northam suggests Duke AD Nina King could be in the mix to replace WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who is retiring at the end of the calendar year. (link)
#9: Texas unveiled its new $80M football practice facility, the Frank and Wofford Denius Football Training Complex, to the media. Check it out. (link, link)
#8: The NCAA welcomes former Charlotte AD Mike Hill as its new VP of Men's Basketball, where he will oversee the Division I, II and III Men's Basketball Championships and the NIT. (link)
#7: Who is “Miss Kathy?” Memphis AD Ed Scott calls her “a unicorn” and Tigers Football HC Charles Huff awarded her his game ball after UM’s recent win over UNLV, a moment from a raucous postgame locker room celebration immortalized in a viral video. ESPN College GameDay analyst Pat McAfee even gave her a shutout on the August 31 episode of the show. Miss Kathy is Deputy AD for Regulatory Affairs/SWA Kathy Sulentic, who’s been “thrust into the spotlight, hers one of many wagons hitched to Memphis football’s fast-rising star.”
➤ As football administrator, Sulentic oversees the day-to-day operation of the program on behalf of Scott. Huff calls her “the conduit” between him and the athletic department’s administration, adding that there hasn’t been a single fire Sulentic hasn’t been able to help him extinguish.
➤ Explaining his reasoning for presenting Sulentic with a game ball, Huff said her response every time he calls, no matter how upset he is, has been, “‘Coach, I’m on it.’” Huff adds: “She’s a godsend. She’s got the right demeanor. She understands football. She understands a locker room environment. She understands these kids.”
➤ Sulentic says she tries her best not to concern herself with the significance of her status, instead preferring to focus on the work. “I feel like the best advertisement for women in sports is to just go out and do your job and kick ass. And then, when there are women around who need a hand up, you grab it and help them up.” (link)
#5: The tension between LSU and the SEC extends beyond recent roster disputes to reveal a fundamental shift in the university’s leadership dynamic, according to ESPN’s Dan Wetzel, who posits that league administrators fear the athletic department is ideologically governed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry rather than President Wade Rousse or AD Verge Ausberry, thereby introducing political motives that favor public conflict over conference compromise. As LSU continually tests league boundaries under Football HC Lane Kiffin and Men’s Basketball HC Will Wade, SEC leaders question whether campus administrators hold any real authority over their programs, and Wetzel writes: “The chief concern is that the collegiality and common values of veteran campus leaders are not shared by politicians who can get more benefit out of conflict than compromise. ... Whipping up outrage is a lot more effective politically than promising to work with the ‘other side.’ As such, it is believed the motivations of Landry and others are different from the motivations of a typical school president or AD.” A league administrator puts it like this: “It’s impossible to deal with LSU right now. They are unserious.” (link)
#4: ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit’s dog, Peter, continues to grow in popularity. The ‘Peter Fan Club’ store has officially opened. This pop-up style set up sells Peter-themed apparel and will follow the College GameDay crew across the country this season. Check out the Baton Rouge version. (link)
#3: Following a heartbreaking last second loss for Western Michigan at Michigan, the Big Ten explained and confirmed the official’s call of one second remaining on the clock after a hail mary before the Wolverines subsequently prevailed. MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher in response: “I commend Western Michigan for the outstanding effort and a well-played game, and I offer my congratulations to Michigan. I also appreciate the collaborative efforts of the Big Ten office and its prompt response in reviewing the play and providing the requested clarification.” (link)
#2: Well it was an amazing idea and scene as one of the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge contests was completed successfully with Kentucky defeating Penn State in the first outdoor volleyball match at Wrigley Field, but the second tilt, between Nebraska and Missouri, was suspended after just 18 points due to humidity on the court. Nebraska Volleyball HC Dani Busboom Kelly: “This was amazing. I applaud the effort. But there’s a reason why our sport is indoor. ... There’s a lot of amazing indoor arenas or football fields indoor or baseball fields that have domes. I think there’s some opportunities to do some incredible things for volleyball. I do not think outdoor is what we should be doing.” Take a look at the moisture visible on the court. (link, link)
#1: Take a look at how historic Wrigley Field has been readied for high-profile women’s volleyball matches between Nebraska & Missouri, as well as Kentucky & Penn State. Pretty amazing. (link, link, link)
