The Hustler Sports 30 on VandyRadio: Interviewing Dr. Kristene Kelly and Tommy McClelland
The Hustler Sports 30 crew interviews Vanderbilt’s deputy ADs for internal and external affairs, respectively.
Vanderbilt Stadium awaits the arrival of students for the football team’s game vs. LSU on October 3, 2020. (Hustler Multimedia/Hunter Long)
October 29, 2020
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.
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.
Simon Gibbs (‘21) is the Sports Editor of the Vanderbilt Hustler. He has been on staff since the first semester of his freshman year, previously serving as a Staff Writer, Senior Writer and Deputy Sports Editor. Simon is also the host of VU Sports Wired on Vanderbilt Video Productions and The Hustler Sports 30 on VandyRadio.
Simon has attended several events as credentialed media, including the 2019 NFL Draft, 2019 College Baseball World Series and the 2019 SEC Tournament. Outside of his Commodore...
Betsy Goodfriend ('21) is a deputy sports editor for the Vanderbilt Hustler. She is majoring in Human and Organizational Development with a minor in Business. In her free time, she enjoys online shopping, creating to-do lists, and watching football even if she has no interest in either team playing. She can be reached at [email protected]
Alyssa Muir ('21) is a Deputy Sports Editor for the Vanderbilt Hustler. She has been on the staff since her freshman year. Alyssa is majoring in Economics with minors in Business and Sociology. When she has free time, she can usually be found binge-watching Grey's Anatomy or rooting on her hometown teams, the Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Lightning.
For tips and comments, feel free to reach out to:
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Justin Hershey ('22) is the Lead Sports Analyst for the Vanderbilt Hustler. He has been on staff since freshman year, formerly serving as a Staff Writer and Deputy Sports Editor. He is majoring in Human and Organizational Development with minors in Business and Economics. In addition to writing, he serves as a co-host on VU Sports Wired, a Vanderbilt sports talk show, and The Hustler Sports 30, a Vanderbilt sports podcast on VandyRadio.
If he is not watching Commodore sports, you may find Justin...
Hunter Long (’21) is from Austin, TX and is double majoring in Molecular Biology and Medicine, Health, and Society. He is an avid lover of film photography, good music, and all things coffee. He can be reached at [email protected]
