SPEAKER_00 0:04

You're listening to the Hanging with the AD podcast, where we break down hot topics in athletic administration and lessons learned through leadership. Now here are your hosts, Josh Matthews and Don Baker.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

All right, welcome back to a special edition of the Hanging with the AD podcast. I know we have been absent for a little while.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

We've been a little sabbatical.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

We have talked about this on the podcast before, but taking a page from our podcast mentor, Mike Lynch, that you we have been put in spaces and places for a reason. And feel like that is kind of led us to this brief break, but we're getting ready to come back. Josh, I'm gonna give you the floor for a minute uh so that you can speak to that.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Yeah, I think the break was kind of my fault, Don. Um I got a little just I got a little distracted uh at the end of January 2026 here. Uh received a phone call from a friend, a common friend of ours, a national level athletic director, former president of the NIAA board. Uh he was uh he had he was in his first year at the first academy in Orlando, Florida. He had retired from public school um athletic administration after 38 years, which is crazy, right? But uh in his retirement, he got asked to come be the senior director of athletics at the first academy here in Orlando. And he gave me a call in October, or excuse me, in January. And um, as you can see, if you're watching, the logo is different on my shirt. So, yes, that distraction turned into a move from the Matthews family. And um it was uh it was a big decision, and but uh the we felt like the Lord orchestrated it and had things had plans for us here. So now we are now in Orlando, Florida. And the uh the separation between you and I started during COVID when we started this podcast. We thought we were gonna do it together, and COVID had different plans for that. So typically we were what about six miles apart from Marietta and Marietta, but now we are 450 miles apart uh still doing the podcast. Uh, but yeah, it did create a distraction in the spring, along with a really incredible spring sports season at Pope High School that we were very blessed to uh experience on our way out. Um the the Greyhounds won a director's cup and all three boys, girls, and overall. So we were very busy uh with our hands full there at Pope, but also juggling a uh a location change decisions. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Good deal. So glad that you have gotten your feet up under you. I kept everybody that I bump into. Yeah, hey, are y'all still gonna do the podcast? Are you still gonna do the podcast? Everybody keeps asking that. My response this was the same. We do it via Zoom. So it really doesn't matter where we are, we can still do it. Uh, and so we are super excited about kicking off this next season uh with a really, really special guest. I'll let you speak to that. I'm really fired up about uh who's who's gonna kick us off.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Yeah, so you know, for some insider baseball here, I we we all well, you and I have different roles on the podcast, even though we interview both of our both the guests or the guests together, uh we have different roles. And one of my roles has been um to book the guest. And I thought I couldn't get guests booked because you and I were busy planning a conference for GADA, and then we got really busy with uh with athletics at Pope. And I thought, man, as soon as we moved to Orlando in this new role, we'll start booking guests again. And I uh had to learn a new role. So the pivot there. Yeah, exactly. So it kept getting kicked down the road, but I think we have now settled, or at least uh I have settled to a point to where now you and I can get in a better rhythm. And uh we are blessed to have several people lined up to finish out this 2026 season, which is uh what, our sixth season, which is awesome. Um, so we uh we're gonna start getting back more in the routine, hopefully. Uh, and at least that's what it looks like based on our calendar and our uh our rhythms of life now. But uh yeah, we're excited. We're gonna kind of kick off this second half of 2026 with uh the director of athletics at the college level, uh, vice president uh and intercollegiate athletic director at Kent State University, Randell Richmond, phenomenal leader that you connected with, and we have now had a conversation with for the podcast. We can't wait to share this. I can't wait to listen to it again because he got into leadership like no one we've heard in a long time. So it was a phenomenal interview that we are excited about. I think everyone's gonna get better, and you're gonna see a level of excellence at uh for our collegiate athletic director that uh is just outstanding. So we can't wait to uh share Randell Richmond's conversation with you coming up here soon. Uh, but first we wanted to say, hey, we haven't given up, but we did have a little sabbatical, a little halftime uh during 2026 because of some uh some moving parts. And a lot of it was because of the Matthews family. But if you're in Orlando, uh we have an extra bedroom. Give us a call, maybe uh connect with us if we're you know, if we've connected with you, uh Orlando's a great place we're learning, and we look forward to seeing you down the road on the podcast, but maybe in person here in Orlando as well. And as always, we want to thank you for uh investing your time and energy with Don and I and hanging with the ADs on this podcast, something we love to do, and we hope you'll continue to get benefit and value from the conversations that we have with our guests. So thanks for spending time. Thanks for hanging with the ADs today, and we look forward to you listening uh to our guest coming up in the rest of this season and beyond. So thanks again for listening. We appreciate you. Good luck in your season as you uh go into this endeavor of athletic administration or wherever you lead.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

See you soon, everybody.