On the Contacts Coaching podcast, longtime Jesuit High School (Sacramento) history teacher and cross country coach Walt Lange recounts how getting cut from freshman baseball led him to running, being recruited by UCLA, and then coaching after training on his own at Loyola University of Los Angeles. He describes early coaching at St. Bernard’s near Playa del Rey, a move to Sacramento (including a brief stint as a stockbroker), and joining Jesuit in 1970, where he has coached cross country for 56 years and previously served about 20 years as head track coach. Lang credits assistant coaches, the American River Parkway training environment, and tools like Strava, and explains how Jesuit uses VDOT-based training groups and recognition to scale workouts for all levels. He discusses shifts from high-mileage eras to modern threshold/tempo approaches, the role of confidence and health, Tahoe summer camp, and balancing multi-sport participation, ending with the importance of an understanding spouse.

00:00 Meet Coach Walt Lange

00:41 From Baseball Cut to Runner

02:14 College Running and Early Coaching

05:54 Move to Jesuit and Early Success

09:16 56 Years of Coaching Longevity

10:09 Assistant Coaches and Team Roles

14:30 Strava and the Internet Era

18:28 VDOT Groups and Recognition

20:50 Tahoe Camp and Team Size

25:54 Coaching Every Ability Level

28:52 Hundred Mile Weeks

30:58 Tempo Training Explained

33:09 Threshold Versus Intervals

35:13 Cross Country Confidence

39:05 Motivating Young Runners

42:41 Year Round Training

49:25 Blueprint And Sundays

51:33 Late Bloomers Story

54:32 Coaching Wisdom Finale

https://sites.google.com/view/jesuitdistance/home

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRPvxaGrR4gIcFaBXAZRwjw1eCiHUFYFMDL-grwavt0zlKXGmhhpM4yPLS9ScarhskXS3apXk3VmEEI/pub

https://www.youtube.com/JesuitTrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCVnMvq3nx8&list=PLKYXiqAHWASjAZyQlIUBUq7JVd0QYU-FL

In this episode of the Contacts Coaching podcast, Athletic Director Chris Stevens from Emmanuel High School returns to discuss his journey and the key elements of managing a high school sports program. Stevens, a 30-year veteran football coach now in his fourth year as an athletic director, was recently honored with the Rookie of the Year award by the Central Section. He shares his experiences transitioning from public to private education, the importance of budgeting and fundraising, managing family involvement in school sports, and creating memorable experiences for student-athletes. Stevens provides invaluable insights into how to balance the logistical and emotional demands of the job while fostering a supportive environment for athletes and coaches. Tune in for a comprehensive look at the world of high school athletic administration and gain practical advice for navigating this challenging yet rewarding field.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome Back

00:34 Chris Stevens' Major Award

02:49 Journey to Becoming Athletic Director

04:43 Public vs. Private School Administration

15:05 Balancing Family and Career

20:53 Fundraising and Development in Schools

31:01 Finding the Perfect Tournament

31:28 Prepackaged Deals vs. DIY Trips

32:52 Creating Memorable Experiences

34:35 Innovative Team Bonding Ideas

39:02 Senior Night Celebrations

49:22 Managing Budgets in Private Schools

57:11 Fundraising Strategies and Challenges

01:03:20 Closing Thoughts and Networking

In a special Contacts Coaching podcast episode, Stevenson alumna Danielle Koval—Director of Compliance for Financial Aid and revenue sharing at the University of Oklahoma—shares her path from being a swimmer and water polo player at Stevenson to swimming at Fresno State, working in student-athlete academic services, moving to UNLV, and then joining OU after taking a financial aid role just before COVID. She compares working environments across Fresno State, UNLV, and a Power Four brand like Oklahoma, emphasizing the scale of budgets, the weight of a global brand, and the constant pace of compliance changes driven by lawsuits and reactive policy shifts. The conversation explains how college athletics finances work, why most sports operate at a loss, and how football revenue and attendance underwrite broader departmental resources. Koval details how athletic scholarships and financial aid function across headcount and equivalency sports, why FAFSA and campus/college-level scholarships matter, and how tuition waivers and programs like the Western Undergraduate Exchange reduce costs. She breaks down the shift from NCAA scholarship limits to roster caps under the new landscape, including how schools decide whether to fully fund expanded rosters and how new scholarships can count against the revenue-sharing cap. The episode also covers OU’s revenue-sharing approach (six sports), Title IX defensibility pressures, preferred walk-on dynamics under roster caps, the increased role of agents in everyday issues, and how contracts are renegotiated annually amid early signing day and the transfer portal. Koval discusses the challenges of paying athletes while preparing them for life after sports, including OU’s financial literacy programming, and closes with a personal reflection on changing her mindset from perfectionism to giving herself grace as circumstances shift.

00:00 Welcome & Meet Danielle Koval (OU Compliance + Financial Aid/Rev Share)

00:33 Danielle’s Athlete-to-Administrator Journey: Fresno State → UNLV → Oklahoma

05:31 Leveling Up: What Changes from Mid-Major to Power Program?

08:34 The OU Brand & Culture of Excellence Across Sports

11:23 Money Talks: Football Revenue, Facilities, and Funding Other Sports

12:51 Is College Athletics Sustainable? NIL ‘Funny Money’ to Revenue Share

17:26 Scholarships 101: Headcount vs Equivalency (and Why ‘Full Ride’ Is Rare)

20:46 New Era: Roster Caps, Scholarship Flexibility, and the 20.5M ‘Salary Cap’

24:30 Financial Aid Hacks: FAFSA, Department Scholarships, WUE, and Tuition Waivers

30:10 Reallocating Aid: When Top Students ‘Free Up’ Scholarships for Other Sports

31:41 The Scholarship Funding Crunch: Revenue Sports vs. Everyone Else

32:24 Tuition Waivers & Campus Support: How Schools Make Full Funding Work

34:33 OU’s Self-Sustaining Model and the ‘Front Porch’ Value of Athletics

36:13 Roster Caps vs. Scholarship Limits: Why Walk-Ons Are Disappearing

37:53 Revenue Share at OU: The 6 Sports in the Pool (and Why Gymnastics)

39:36 Preferred Walk-Ons, Practice Bodies, and Stretching the Rev-Share Dollar

41:35 Inside Football Rev-Share Tiers: Contracts, Cutoffs, and Annual Renegotiations

46:03 Culture & Pay Equity: Avoiding Locker-Room Blowups in the NIL Era

47:43 Transfer Portal Reality Check: The Grass Isn’t Greener (and Many Don’t Land)

48:52 Recruiting Goes Pro: Agents, Negotiations, and the New GM Job

50:25 Preparing Athletes for Money & Life After Sport: Literacy, Taxes, Careers

55:15 Closing Reflection: Changing Your Mind, Letting Go of Perfection