23 episodes

The LEAD1 Angle will provide informative and engaging content to the LEAD1 membership and college sports community on issues in college sports that warrant more discussion. Our audience will hear diverse perspectives on these key topics from some of the most knowledgeable professionals in our industry.

The LEAD1 Angle with Tom McMillen LEAD1 Association

    • Sports
    • 5.0 • 4 Ratings

The LEAD1 Angle will provide informative and engaging content to the LEAD1 membership and college sports community on issues in college sports that warrant more discussion. Our audience will hear diverse perspectives on these key topics from some of the most knowledgeable professionals in our industry.

    Episode 23 - Special Guest, Jim Cavale, Founder & Chairman of Athletes.org (AO)

    Episode 23 - Special Guest, Jim Cavale, Founder & Chairman of Athletes.org (AO)

    Special Guest, Jim Cavale, Founder & Chairman of Athletes.org

    • 32 min
    Ep 22: Joe Moglia, Coastal Carolina

    Ep 22: Joe Moglia, Coastal Carolina

    On Tuesday, LEAD1 Association (“LEAD1”) released its 22nd episode of the “LEAD1 Angle with Tom McMillen,” where LEAD1 President and CEO, Tom McMillen, interviewed Joe Moglia, chair of athletics at Coastal Carolina, and the former head football coach at the school, as well as former chairman of the board at TD Ameritrade. 
    Moglia believes that college sports should be run more “like a business,” and that the industry has lost one of its core principles of “commitment.” On that front, Moglia would modify college sports in some of the following ways.
    First, Moglia believes that coaches in college football should serve out the duration of their contracts. Unlike the NFL, which has an Anti-Tampering policy, which prevents coaches from leaving their current teams, college football coaches often leave their schools for other opportunities during the term of their contracts. The new school, often with more resources, will “buyout,” the coaches’ contract at his former school. “In the NFL and in the business world, you have to live up to the contract,” said Moglia. “We have buyouts.”
    Moglia also believes that the NCAA’s former transfer rule should be reinstituted or at least that student-athletes should be required to stay at their institutions for a minimum of one year upon signing a letter of intent. 
    Second, Moglia would empower an “Executive Committee” for college sports with total autonomy to govern the enterprise. To eliminate conflicts of interest, the Committee members would not be affiliated with a school or conference and would ideally have a business background. Such Committee members could be voted in and out by the membership. In that vein, Moglia believes that FBS football splitting from the NCAA “would be a good first step,” but that such executive leadership team would still be needed. 
    Third, Moglia believes that the Power Five schools should band together on television contracts thereby creating “super leagues,” for more leverage in negotiations with media networks. The Power Five, for example, could be broken down into multiple groups, with the top tier group negotiating on behalf of college sports. This would “maximize [industry] potential,” and could happen after some of the upcoming grants of rights from schools to conferences expire.

    • 31 min
    Ep 21: Martin Lycka, Entain

    Ep 21: Martin Lycka, Entain

    On Tuesday, LEAD1 Association (“LEAD1”) released its 21st episode of the “LEAD1 Angle with Tom McMillen,” where LEAD1 President and CEO, Tom McMillen, interviewed Martin Lycka, Senior Vice President for American Regulatory Affairs & Responsible Gambling at Entain, a leading global sports betting, gaming, and interactive entertainment group, which operates in the U.S. through BetMGM, jointly owned with MGM Resorts International.
     
    In the U.S. today, betting on college sports is legal in more than 30 states and growing rapidly. As such, the U.S. is the only country in the world with substantial legalized sports betting on college campuses. With such activity, comes increased significant potential liabilities for colleges and universities. Other recent changes in college sports such as the NCAA relaxing its NIL rules, also underscore some of the new ways that sports betting may exist on college campuses. For these reasons, McMillen wanted to chat with Lycka to discuss some of these potential risks. Here are some of the important takeaways from the podcast episode:
     
    There are new risks associated with the intersection between NIL and legalized sports betting. While most state NIL laws and institutional policies on NIL prohibit college athlete NIL deals with sports betting entities, some states and institutions allow for this. According to Lycka, because of the communal nature of college campuses, information that may be relevant to betting could spread “like wildfire.” College students may even unwittingly share information, like seeing an injured player walk around campus, and text that information to their friends. In addition, “fringe players,” may be tempted to share inside information related to their team if they are attracting significantly fewer NIL opportunities than their star teammates. The pervasiveness of sports betting advertisements could also lead to risks. The NCAA Division I Interpretations Committee recently provided guidance that schools and conferences can sign deals with data companies that sell that information to sportsbooks. The Mid Atlantic Conference recently announced such an agreement with Genius Sports, and athletics departments, such as LSU and Maryland, both recently agreed to partnerships with sportsbooks. More and more college sports entities will likely follow suit. Accordingly, if sports betting becomes more of an accepted normality, the possibility for a scandal(s) may increase. There are also concerns that in-play betting, or prop bets, could lead to irresponsible betting.Lycka believes that certain safeguards can mitigate these risks, including: (1) providing education on college campuses about responsible betting and explaining how betting works (which could reduce some of the temptations to bet and/or get involved in illicit betting activities); (2) constantly monitoring games through sophisticated sports integrity teams who can red flag suspicious behavior, and (3) enforcing rules that prohibit minors from betting. 
    More in the podcast episode can be found on sports wagering implications for college sports, including on esports betting.
     

    • 29 min
    Ep. 20: Mike Schabel, Kiswe Mobile

    Ep. 20: Mike Schabel, Kiswe Mobile

    On Tuesday, LEAD1 Association (“LEAD1”) released its 20th episode of the “LEAD1 Angle with Tom McMillen,” where LEAD1 President and CEO, Tom McMillen, interviewed Mike Schabel, CEO at Kiswe, a global technology company that empowers new digital at-home experiences for fans. McMillen wanted to share with his athletics departments a novel and modern approach to reach all fans more effectively. As such, here are some of the important takeaways from the interview:
    While the linear/traditional cable television world is here to stay, cable subscribers have decreased year by year so there exists a significant population of “cord cutters” not currently engaged with content. These cord cutters are not addressed in the traditional cable model, and as such, do not have access to cable or sports packages. While the pie is growing for cable packages in college sports, an opportunity exists to connect with this cord cutting population, a typically younger audience, and get them engaged with content.To get more cord cutters viewing content, Kiswe has adopted a “pay-per-view” model that offers consumers an opportunity to purchase content when they want. This web-based digital viewing experience, which can be viewed on any electronic device, allows consumers to buy their viewing experiences, but also provides an opportunity for them to engage with the content. Think of it like “what we do in boxing,” or “buying tickets for a game,” said Schabel. Plus, the pay-per-view experiences allows fans to contribute and interact from home.Accordingly, Schabel offers the following advice for athletics departments:“If they [fan(s)] have an interest in your content, they should have an ability to watch it from any device or platform,” said Schabel.“Lean into alternative monetization opportunities,” such as selling tickets, experiences, and merchandise while consumers are engaged with your content.“Lean into data,” so that you can “understand how deeply involved consumers are,” [with your content]. This provides a “rich story” about the consumer.Consider creating “pay-per-view” experiences at your institution by understanding where “unsold rights are sitting.”In short, linear distribution of content will continue, but institutions can consider adding a mixture of personalized experiences and more choices for fans, particularly to capture the cord cutters still cheering from home.

    • 29 min
    Ep. 19: U.S. Representative David Kustoff (TN-08)

    Ep. 19: U.S. Representative David Kustoff (TN-08)

    On Tuesday, LEAD1 Association (LEAD1) released its 19th episode of the “LEAD1 Angle with Tom McMillen,” where LEAD1 President and CEO, Tom McMillen, interviewed Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN), who recently introduced the “NCAA Accountability Act of 2021” in the House of Representatives in late 2021. Kustoff’s bill would make the NCAA enforcement process more closely resemble the U.S. legal system, while providing Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight into college sports. The timing of the episode is relevant as just prior to Kustoff releasing his bill, LEAD1 submitted its recommendations, endorsed by 75 LEAD1 athletics directors, to the NCAA to improve the NCAA infractions system. Here are some of the important takeaways from the interview: 
    Kustoff’s bill includes explicit due process requirements that would more closely align NCAA enforcement proceedings with the traditional U.S. legal system. NCAA v. Tarkanian, a 1988 U.S. Supreme Court decision, ruled that the NCAA is not a “state actor” subject to federal due process requirements. Because of this decision, the NCAA is not required to implement such due process standards as a governmental entity. Accordingly, Kustoff’s bill would implement certain due process standards on the NCAA including a two-year statute of limitations for bringing about allegations of infractions on institutions (including notice requirements), time limits on adjudicating cases, mandatory arbitration in certain circumstances, and DOJ supervisory authority over the NCAA.NCAA member institutions could compel entry into arbitration. The NCAA currently plays the role of “investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner,” said Kustoff. Under Kustoff’s bill, if there were a dispute regarding the NCAA’s punishment of a member institution, the member institution could compel entry into arbitration. Such arbitration would help make the current system more “independent” (away from the NCAA) and resolve disputes in a timely manner. The arbitration would be conducted by a three-person panel with the NCAA and member institution each appointing one arbitrator of their respective choosing and the third arbitrator would be appointed in agreement by the two arbitrators appointed by each party. Institutions, athletes, fans, and legislatures would all have “more faith” in such system, said Kustoff. Kustoff views improving the NCAA infractions system as a bipartisan issue. Although there are difficulties in passing anything in the Congress, Kustoff views his bill as one where Republicans and Democrats align. The Congressman anticipates that the bill may pass the House Committee on Education and Labor by the end of the year, with a companion bill coming soon in the Senate.  Questions, however, remain about what role outside entities should play in securing fair and effective “law” enforcement by a private organization. In fact, the issue of outside entities providing oversight over the NCAA is not a new one. In the early 1990s, McMillen introduced legislation in the Congress that would have required the NCAA to provide “more” due process in all enforcement proceedings. But perhaps the NCAA infractions system has reached a tipping point with stakeholders more and more frustrated about some of the issues addressed in Kustoff’s bill.More in the recording can be found on the intersection between the NCAA, the Congress and due process considerations.

    • 28 min
    Ep. 18: Oliver Luck, Former Athletics Director (WVU) & NCAA Executive

    Ep. 18: Oliver Luck, Former Athletics Director (WVU) & NCAA Executive

    On Tuesday, LEAD1 Association (LEAD1) released its 18th episode of the “LEAD1 Angle with Tom McMillen,” where LEAD1 President and CEO, Tom McMillen, interviewed former West Virginia University (WVU) Director of Athletics, and NCAA Executive, Oliver Luck, about some of the latest name, image, and likeness (NIL) trends and other relevant college sports regulatory issues. The interview is particularly timely as Luck recently announced the creation of “Country Roads Trust,” an independent company set up to obtain contributions to create NIL opportunities for WVU college athletes. Here are some of the important takeaways from the episode:
    “Outside” NIL collectives are dominating the NIL headlines, but questions remain as to whether NIL facilitation should fall under direct institutional control. Because of various state laws and institutional policies prohibiting athletics departments from arranging or facilitating NIL agreements, NIL collectives have surfaced, whereby resources from businesses, boosters, fans, and donors are pooled together to create NIL opportunities for college athletes. According to Luck, on collectives, the essential regulatory consideration is whether outside third parties, such as collectives, should control NIL opportunities for college athletes or whether these collectives should fall under the jurisdiction of athletics departments, so that they can have more oversight of NIL. Under the latter scenario, however, legal questions remain as to whether any institutional affiliation with a collective would trigger Title IX scrutiny, given potential involvement of the institution. As the NCAA transforms itself, “pay for play” will be harder to define and enforce in the future. The NCAA’s Interim NIL Policy prohibits pay for play and improper recruiting inducements. According to Luck, while “pay for performance” and “recruiting inducements” can be policed to some extent, “pay for play” is much harder to regulate given that the term is ill-defined, and all athletes can now monetize their NIL. “It’s going to be hard for the NCAA to get the horse back into the barn in any meaningful way,” said Luck. While the new NCAA Constitution states that institutions may not compensate athletes for “participating in a sport,” according to McMillen, as the Constitution is currently written, a third party or even a conference could decide to be more “open” to pay for play. According to McMillen, the more disconnected that intercollegiate athletics is from higher education, the more interest that it may create for the Congress to get involved in regulating college sports.NIL and the transfer portal are “perfectly synced.” Because athletes in all sports can transfer immediately, there are now three “moments” of athlete retention that institutions must focus on including (1) the recruitment of athletes from high school; (2) keeping athletes on campus; and (3) monitoring the transfer portal. The new transfer environment has essentially created “free agency” in college sports with very limited restrictions. According to Luck, this environment “perfectly syncs” with the new NIL universe as college athletes can base their transfer decisions, at least to some degree, on NIL opportunities. Given the devolution of the NCAA, Luck is “not optimistic” that a national college sports enterprise can be effectively run at the conference level. According to Luck, the lack of consensus on College Football Playoff (CFP) expansion may be emblematic of the ability for various conferences to effectively work together. It is worth noting that Luck is open to the concept of a separate governing structure for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football.More in the recording can be found regarding McMillen and Luck’s discussion on the current college sports regulatory landscape.

    • 35 min

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