On this week’s episode of the Hustler Sports 30, Simon Gibbs, Alyssa Muir, Betsy Goodfriend and Justin Hershey talk with Vanderbilt’s two newest hires in the athletic department.
Dr. Kristene Kelly arrived in Nashville from Dartmouth, and her career has spanned all three division in college athletics. She serves as the deputy athletic director of internal affairs at Vanderbilt.
Tommy McClelland was most recently the athletic director at Louisiana Tech, and his first AD job was at McNeese State when he was just 26 years old. McClelland serves as the deputy athletic director for external affairs and revenue generation.
https://soundcloud.com/vandyradio/the-hustler-sports-30-tommy-mcclelland-and-kristene-kelly
1:15 – Simon kicks off the interview by asking both Dr. Kelly and McClelland why they chose to come to Vanderbilt.
5:07 – Simon asks McClelland about his facilities projects at Louisiana Tech and how similar projects might be structured at Vanderbilt.
7:42 – Betsy inquires about Dr. Kelly’s role supporting student athletes’ health and wellness and how that has changed during the pandemic.
10:15 – Alyssa directs a question to McClelland about the challenge of engaging fans during a time when they may not be able to attend games.
12:50 – Simon checks in with Dr. Kelly about the athletic department’s new initiatives with regards to Title IX.
15:03 – Justin asks McClelland about how he plans to engage former student-athletes who have felt isolated from the athletic department in recent years.
18:14 – Betsy mentions the vast size of Dartmouth’s athletic programs and questions Dr. Kelly about how she will take lessons from Dartmouth to support a much-smaller number of student-athletes at Vanderbilt.
20:01 – Justin inquires about McClelland’s relationship with football offensive coordinator Todd Fitch, who joined Vanderbilt from Louisiana Tech this past winter.
21:34 – Alyssa and Dr. Kelly discuss the challenges of working in athletics at institutions that are academic-first like Dartmouth and Vanderbilt.
23:18 – Justin asks both our guests about their relationships with Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.
27:49 – Simon wraps up our interview asking Dr. Kelly and McClelland about their goals during their Vanderbilt tenures.
33:45 – The crew wraps up by talking about each of our takeaways from the interview.
38:47 – It’s roundtable time! The team gives quick score predictions for this weekend’s soccer and football matchups.
