@1QLeadership Question: How can an athletics director build and sustain a championship‑level athletic department in the Great Plains?

Montana State Director of Athletics, Leon Costello, discusses presidential leadership transitions on campus, the strategic growth of the athletic department, and how aligned support for athletics drives institutional success.

Costello explains how strategic planning, investment in student‑athlete support staff, and revenue growth have fueled competitive success, culminating in a football national championship and a strong departmental culture.

He also reflects on coach retention, NIL and transfer‑portal dynamics, and how deep engagement with student‑athletes and coaches helps Montana State sustain a championship environment and long‑term leadership development. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: What matters most in how we develop student-athletes?

College football analyst Yogi Roth challenges administrators to see athletes not as transactions or brands, but as **human** stories whose mental skills and identity must be developed as intentionally as their physical talent. He argues that in today's NIL and transfer-portal era, alignment on "what matters most" from the president to the graduate assistant is the only sustainable way to support coaches, protect athletes' mental health, and keep sport rooted in purpose rather than purely in revenue.

- Mental performance is framed as a competitive advantage: Roth emphasizes visualization, self-talk, body language, and "competing in the absence of fear," urging programs to front-load mental skills support with licensed professionals just as aggressively as they invest in strength and conditioning.

- Athlete identity and NIL: The discussion warns that a hyper-transactional environment and NIL money amplify "athlete identity syndrome," and calls on coaches and departments to help athletes know their story, voice, and purpose beyond their sport and logo so the college experience sets up the next 40–60 years, not just the next season.

- Alignment and culture as AD work: Roth stresses that presidents, ADs, coaches, and staff must be able to answer the same "what matters most here?" question, and that administrators should structure resources, policies, and daily operations to mirror those priorities to create a sustainable alignment. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: How are athletic departments incorporating pro sports operating principles while protecting their school's institutional mission?

Ed Kull, VP & Director of Athletics at Saint John's University, discusses how the athletics department is adapting to a rapidly changing, more professionalized era of college sports, especially men's basketball. He talks about using a revenue-first, startup-style approach and how that model intersects with mission, academics, and student‑athlete welfare.

- Kull describes leading the department like a **startup**, emphasizing three parallel revenue streams: annual fund, capital projects, and new revenue-sharing obligations tied to the professionalization of college sports. He highlights resource constraints (small staff, no football, limited facilities) and how creativity in licensing, sponsorships, and partnerships is helping the department stay competitive.

- The conversation also explores how Kull's corporate and pro sports background (Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, NFL, private equity) shapes a professional sports model inside a Catholic, non-profit university.

- Kull stresses education on money management and life after sport, the need for legal and advisory structures, and his belief that academics and degree completio