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3 guys Before The Game - President Michael Benson and Wren Baker Visit (Episode 650) · 3 Guys Before The Game

• 0:11
  Speaker 1: This is unprecedented, six hundred and fifty shows, and never ever, ever, ever, ever,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: have we had five people on set at the same time.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Fole up before the game.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Five before the.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Game, I have some bad news.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: What's what's the bad news?
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: Five Guys is already trademarked and known by another another operation.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: You got to monetize.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: That, all right, So we're renaming it three Guys plus
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: two on this six hundred and fifty episode of Three
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Guys Before the Game. It's brought to us by Go March.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Get yourself a Gomart rewards card immediately begins saving on
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  Speaker 1: food and fuel. By lou Wendell Marine Sales in Saint Albans.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: They well, they sell family fun. Visit lou Wendelmarne Sales
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: dot com. Ren in fact, just took a Lou Wendell
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: pontoon up the Mondriver to get here. Amazing. My Tutors
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Biscuit World, Start your day the homemade way with a
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Tutor's biscuit. By Comac's Business Systems, keeping West Virginia's business
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• 1:08
  Speaker 1: by Jan Dill's attorneys at Law. They won't take no
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: for an answer. Absolutely will not do it, and by
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Conley's CPA group providing value beyond numbers. Let's jump in.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: As I said, this is the very first time that
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: we've had five people at the same time. We're delighted,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: we're honored to be joined in studio by new WVU
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: president Michael Benson joins us as we are just a
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: day away, a couple days away from the start of
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: the school year here on campus, so why not talk
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: before things get a little busy, and also joining us
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: for the seventy third time in three guys, this street
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: just broke Garrett Greene, director, the vice president and the
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: athletic director of West Virginia University, Mister Ren Baker.
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: Is this like, sorry not live? I am a four timer?
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: Can I get a four timer's jacket?
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: I thank you?
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: There is something that you think he has moved into
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: first place and guests, I think that didn't Nate?
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Nate.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, noh, well no, Nate's kind of co host.
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: Nate was co hosting.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: It's not running it.
• 2:10
  Speaker 5: I'm coming for you, man.
• 2:12
  Speaker 6: I don't know if I get inbody to back mister Brett,
• 2:14
  Speaker 6: I hope you want to come back.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's probably not broke. True.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Ward, before we start talking about cool or he or
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: being I take that back, that's true.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: No, we're we're yeah, we're fine.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: We're good. We're good. It's good to have you here.
• 2:26
  Speaker 5: Thank you.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: You're busy. Uh last night you were busy, both of you, guys.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: This was crazy. Like I turned on YouTube last night
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: on the youtubes, turned onto youtubes last night and just
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: not YouTube TV, but YouTube and there was a live
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: up live and they had outline of state of West
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Virginia and the event was taking place at the stadium
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: where you bring all the freshmen in. And right when
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: I turned it on is when everyone was in the
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: state and they were singing country roads and there was
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: fifteen hundred people watching that thing, and I were like, wow,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: kind of neat. So there's your first introduction into the kickoff,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: so speak the kickoff at the school just kind of hey,
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: wasn't it It was.
• 3:06
  Speaker 7: That's the first time I've heard the Pride of West
• 3:08
  Speaker 7: Virginia play in person. I've heard them on TV broadcast
• 3:11
  Speaker 7: on YouTube, but they were even more impressive. And I
• 3:14
  Speaker 7: love a good drum line. And they came out of
• 3:16
  Speaker 7: that end zone and it.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Was pretty cool.
• 3:18
  Speaker 7: And then yeah, that's nearly forty five one hundred students
• 3:21
  Speaker 7: that were inside the outline of the state. So it's
• 3:23
  Speaker 7: one of our biggest freshman classes. You certainly hope they'll
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: they'll retain and persist. Sure, so we'll have that number
• 3:29
  Speaker 7: here pretty soon. But I believe we've staunched finally that
• 3:31
  Speaker 7: persistent decline that we've had the last several years. So
• 3:34
  Speaker 7: it was really fun to see them out there and
• 3:36
  Speaker 7: they rinking back me up. They were very well behaved
• 3:39
  Speaker 7: in between kind of the directors we gave them, but
• 3:41
  Speaker 7: they sat there until this time to come on the field.
• 3:43
  Speaker 7: But Caleb or Mountaineer led every kay, led cheers and
• 3:49
  Speaker 7: taught them a few things. We did Let's go Mountaineers
• 3:51
  Speaker 7: probably fifteen sixteen times, didn't we.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh they got a lot of Let's go Mountaineer.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah they did, and it was a big one though, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: And every speaker encouraged them to go to Glass and
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: I encourage them to go to High Street, so.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: Oh man, not run on point in there at some point. Yeah, well,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you know it's all covered, that's not the
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: other speaker. WELLID go to class as well.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so you mentioned forty five potential, approximately forty five hundred.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: So I would assume one of the biggest things for
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: you to accomplish, like year one, day one, you want retention, right,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: that's the biggest thing. What's the key to successful retention
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: of students.
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: I think it's the first year.
• 4:28
  Speaker 7: And that's the reason we have a freshman residency requirement,
• 4:30
  Speaker 7: because you want students to have this immediate tie to campus.
• 4:34
  Speaker 7: They meet the roommates, they feel a part of a community. Right,
• 4:38
  Speaker 7: And then of course academic classes launch on Wednesday, but
• 4:41
  Speaker 7: all the lead up to it, all the kind of
• 4:43
  Speaker 7: pre semester, the orientation.
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  Speaker 5: Tonight's the concert tomorrow night.
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  Speaker 7: It will be our first ever movie night for the
• 4:50
  Speaker 7: entire community to watch Thunderbolts in the stadium. But once
• 4:55
  Speaker 7: they have those really good orientation sessions, to kind of
• 4:58
  Speaker 7: hunker down, do well those first few weeks. Because I
• 5:01
  Speaker 7: told this group last night, it is really difficult to
• 5:04
  Speaker 7: dig out of a bad first year message hole, and
• 5:08
  Speaker 7: your GPA cannot just bounce back. So we are really
• 5:12
  Speaker 7: focused in on persistence toward that graduation rate, which is
• 5:15
  Speaker 7: the ultimate Brahmer.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, Adventure West Virginia when they take those kids out
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: before they enroll here. That thing's invaluable.
• 5:23
  Speaker 7: I went up to the Coopers run we have an
• 5:25
  Speaker 7: outdoor education center and met them. I mean, and these
• 5:28
  Speaker 7: are freshmen from all over that make ties three weeks
• 5:31
  Speaker 7: before school starts, and they had come that day from
• 5:34
  Speaker 7: Whitewater rafting up in Ohio Pile. And that's yet another
• 5:40
  Speaker 7: thing that we do extraordinarily.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, my two boys did that and they were
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: born and raised here. But like that was a changer
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: for them. Yeah, Like immediately they're going, let me ask
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: you this, what have you heard about Kerchiable since you've
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: been geez, have you heard? I mean, he'll fire off
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: a missile or two? Are you ready?
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: I hope so.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: I didn't know.
• 5:56
  Speaker 7: He broke the news of my appointment and scooped several people,
• 6:01
  Speaker 7: be Audy, the one you.
• 6:03
  Speaker 6: Know, as we stay in West Virginia's president, even a
• 6:05
  Speaker 6: blind hog friends in a corps.
• 6:07
  Speaker 5: Now and then now.
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  Speaker 7: Your reputation preceidd you Hoppy and as a family of journalists,
• 6:12
  Speaker 7: I have enormous.
• 6:13
  Speaker 5: Respect for the work you all do. I mean that.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: It's Ben. I look forward to getting to know you better.
• 6:18
  Speaker 6: Well, your brother, your late brother, who passed recently, was
• 6:20
  Speaker 6: a we were talking before the show, a poetry prize
• 6:23
  Speaker 6: winning cartoonist. Was not only five times and won a
• 6:25
  Speaker 6: pulletry prize. So we appreciate your respect for the journalism.
• 6:29
  Speaker 6: So thank you very much.
• 6:30
  Speaker 7: And my son rerister Politico. Oh that's right, Yeah, my
• 6:33
  Speaker 7: daughter is a TV reporter.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: How about that. So you're in this business, you're in
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: this world.
• 6:39
  Speaker 7: Well, I was surrounded by I mean Steve growing up.
• 6:41
  Speaker 7: He'd draw everything. We'd sit down and watch cartoons and
• 6:43
  Speaker 7: he could sketch anything, and then to twin that with
• 6:46
  Speaker 7: a really a cerbic wit and kind of this razor
• 6:49
  Speaker 7: sharp knife that he would use up people.
• 6:52
  Speaker 5: Was really a talent.
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  Speaker 7: And I missed those cartoons because back of the day,
• 6:55
  Speaker 7: you know, Jeffitely an ally oliphant, Uh, you know, Mike Peters,
• 6:59
  Speaker 7: people went to the toilet page before they read the newspaper.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: Tell me to tell these folks the story about the
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: picture that your brother brother was a cartoonis stays Hobby
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: just said, the John Denver cartoon that he made and
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: how it kind of came full circle.
• 7:13
  Speaker 7: So when John Denver died in nineteen ninety seven, Steve
• 7:15
  Speaker 7: loved his music. My brother and he did this this
• 7:18
  Speaker 7: image of John Denver walking down the tree Line Street.
• 7:21
  Speaker 7: It said take me home, Country Road. And Steve never
• 7:26
  Speaker 7: gave away originals. Once in a while he'd frame a
• 7:28
  Speaker 7: few and they'd put him on the wall. He had
• 7:30
  Speaker 7: three in his home. And when I went down for
• 7:32
  Speaker 7: the funeral service, I mentioned to his wife, Claire Man,
• 7:36
  Speaker 7: that's so neat, and she had decided before I got
• 7:39
  Speaker 7: there that she.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: Was going to give it to me, and I didn't
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  Speaker 2: know that.
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  Speaker 7: And it means a great deal because now there's a
• 7:44
  Speaker 7: piece of Steve in my office.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:45
  Speaker 7: Absolutely, and it's a beautiful rendition. Y'all are welcome to
• 7:49
  Speaker 7: come over and see it because it's pretty neat.
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  Speaker 1: That's super neat. Mister director of Athletics, you've been busy
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: big twelve meetings recently. School you're getting ready to begin
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: what is the in a perfect world, you've been around
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: a long time. In a perfect world, how does the
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: marriage of administration and athletics work?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think for an athletic director and really anybody
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: in our department, you want to understand what the mission
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: of the institution is, and then you're really working to
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: advance that mission and the integrity of the institution, and
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: you know, that's one of the things. So we just
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: came from I'm actually taking a little recess. We're having
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: an all day strategic planning process today with our senior
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: leadership team and athletics, and President Benson spent an hour
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: with us this morning. We thought that was really important
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: that they understand is he on boards, what he is
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: seeing is the mission of the institution, and so that
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: we can plug into that. But I've said this before,
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: intercollegiate athletics is not the most important thing that happens
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: on a campus by long stretch, but it is the
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: most visible thing. And we are the primary marketing and
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: visibility on arm of the institution and in the state
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: of West Virginia, probably the primary marketing and visibility vehicle
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: for the entire state. And so it's our job to
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: go out there in terms of wins losses, but also
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: in terms of the way that we represent and carry
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: ourselves to represent the values, the mission.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: Integrity of the institution as well as the state.
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: Let's flip that around for you, President Benson, how do
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: you view your role as president as it relates to athletics.
• 9:29
  Speaker 7: Nsent very well. It may not be the most important,
• 9:32
  Speaker 7: certainly the most visible. If I were to go out
• 9:34
  Speaker 7: and kind of curate the newspaper articles about the university,
• 9:37
  Speaker 7: probably north of seventy eight percent would be about athletics.
• 9:41
  Speaker 7: So number one, it's really important that it's done well.
• 9:43
  Speaker 7: As I told the group today, in all the talk
• 9:46
  Speaker 7: of nil and revshare and payroll for a football team
• 9:50
  Speaker 7: versus just unheard of, we've lost sight of that kind
• 9:54
  Speaker 7: of the acronym used APR Academic progress rate. And I
• 10:00
  Speaker 7: our student athletes, and I love how they compete and
• 10:02
  Speaker 7: represent us so well, but our job is to get
• 10:05
  Speaker 7: them in education and get them graduated. So working hand
• 10:08
  Speaker 7: in hand with men and his staff, his coaches, all
• 10:11
  Speaker 7: of his advisors, you know, the counselors he has in
• 10:15
  Speaker 7: athletics is absolutely critical, critical, and I.
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: Love when on Saturdays as much as anybody.
• 10:21
  Speaker 7: But we have to not lose our laser focus on
• 10:24
  Speaker 7: why we're here, and that's to get these young people
• 10:26
  Speaker 7: in education.
• 10:27
  Speaker 6: Let me mispressent, let me follow up on that, because,
• 10:29
  Speaker 6: as you've concurred with, Rahn Wren said, athletes not the
• 10:32
  Speaker 6: most important thing, but the most visible. And I would
• 10:34
  Speaker 6: agree with that, I think everybody would. But at the
• 10:36
  Speaker 6: same time, with the dramatic changes that have taken place,
• 10:40
  Speaker 6: take the term student athlete, which is tossed around and
• 10:43
  Speaker 6: I would argue is almost obsolete. Now would you agree
• 10:46
  Speaker 6: that the student and the athlete that the vide is
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: greater now than it's ever been, And if in fact
• 10:53
  Speaker 6: it is, what does that mean for the mission of
• 10:56
  Speaker 6: the university, which is primary to educate people? Because now
• 10:59
  Speaker 6: you almost have a professional model with these athletes.
• 11:03
  Speaker 7: Nothing you said is anything I disagree with. I will
• 11:06
  Speaker 7: tell you this. I've heard the argument that like, if
• 11:09
  Speaker 7: I want to be a professional musician, I can go
• 11:11
  Speaker 7: to the university and study music, So the same should
• 11:13
  Speaker 7: be for someone who wants to study football or basketball
• 11:17
  Speaker 7: or swimming or whatever. That divide, that chasm is growing.
• 11:21
  Speaker 7: I think we have to make sure we emphasize it.
• 11:24
  Speaker 7: And yes, the professional model probably is coming for particularly
• 11:27
  Speaker 7: for football. And ree can speak more to that because
• 11:30
  Speaker 7: I know the athlete drivers of the Big twelve and
• 11:32
  Speaker 7: the presidence and chancellors talk about all the time, and
• 11:34
  Speaker 7: that in the next thousand days I think are.
• 11:37
  Speaker 5: Really going to be critical.
• 11:38
  Speaker 7: Why as to where that divide If it happens that.
• 11:41
  Speaker 5: Breaking is away if you will, of the two conferences.
• 11:44
  Speaker 7: If that comes, you know where's West Virginia in the
• 11:47
  Speaker 7: in the calculus.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: So just to follow up on that and back to that,
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: I ecademic sight.
• 11:52
  Speaker 6: So how concerned are you as an academic but also
• 11:54
  Speaker 6: a fan and an athlete former athlete Marathon Runner? I
• 11:57
  Speaker 6: believe yes, sir, So how concerned are you you that that?
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: Again?
• 12:01
  Speaker 6: These athletes are probably getting at that when you think
• 12:03
  Speaker 6: football and basketball are getting farther away farther away.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: First of all, do you see how serious he gets
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: when he gets this the legal pad out and I
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: warned you about them.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: When he props it up on the computer, that's when
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: you know.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: It's like in pro wrestling, like they let the easier
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: guys start to match, and then and then the and
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: then the real all you kick in the comes in
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: and he gets.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: Tagged out and ended up go up.
• 12:24
  Speaker 6: Everybody just the president has a journalism background. He knows
• 12:26
  Speaker 6: there's going to be tough questions. And all I do
• 12:29
  Speaker 6: is ask questions everybody else wants to know. That's all
• 12:31
  Speaker 6: I do.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: Just one more before he gets back to answer this question,
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: I have not watched how many episodes? Six fifty today,
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: So I haven't watched six hundred and fifty. I've caught
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: parts and pieces of a few. Has ever has ever
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: worn a tie before?
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: I thinks it's unprecedented, he's sucking up to.
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: Well, it's certain since retirement, ren since retirement, it's the
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: first time he's wont to tie. I'll say that that's for.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: Sure, very serious, very studious.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: The economic express' that's trying to he's the only guy
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: that retired that works more now that he's retired.
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I.
• 13:07
  Speaker 6: Semi retired, and it's a wonderful formula. I work more
• 13:10
  Speaker 6: and get paid less.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: So it's it.
• 13:12
  Speaker 6: But anyway, but I'm sorry, I I well, I just
• 13:18
  Speaker 6: I think I think I kind of restated the original question.
• 13:20
  Speaker 6: Is that I think it's fair to say that that
• 13:22
  Speaker 6: athletes football and basketball and women's basketball, maybe not women's
• 13:25
  Speaker 6: but other primary sports are getting farther away from the
• 13:29
  Speaker 6: academic mission, which you guys talk about all the time.
• 13:32
  Speaker 6: And is it going to continue to get just farther
• 13:34
  Speaker 6: away until there really is just only a tangential connection
• 13:37
  Speaker 6: between the two.
• 13:38
  Speaker 7: Well, I cannot divine the future, but I think that
• 13:41
  Speaker 7: divide is going to widen. I will also say that
• 13:44
  Speaker 7: oftentimes your best student athletes are those ones in Olympic sports.
• 13:48
  Speaker 7: Tenants is all gymnastics, cross country. Uh, and that will
• 13:52
  Speaker 7: probably that Rob will probably continue as well.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: Okay, all right, just a thought, Wren, you want to
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: weigh in on them.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, I've said this before. Does it look different? Yeah,
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: it looks different, but not only look, No, it is different.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: It is different.
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: It is I mean, and and you see rich. You
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: know when coach Rod talks in his press conference, these
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: guys are getting paid now money and free ice creams.
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: Apparently I've not got the ice.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Cream, so you were not all in on the machine.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: They generally is that without you knowing?
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: I told him.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: I think I think it's a little scandalist that I
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: believe he ordered the ice cream machine and then chastises
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: the players.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: But I think that was a set up. Probably.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: I think he put this ice cream machine in here.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: I need something to rail on. But no, it is different.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: But I I believe that that tethering the education should
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: and hopefully will continue to exist. I think that's an
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: important piece, important component, and so there's no question we're
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: going to become more professionalized, and that gap is going
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: to widen some What I hope doesn't happen is that
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: it gets severed because I think that that that tie
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: to education is still really important and really critical, and
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: I think it's critical to people at home. I think people,
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: I think alumni want to know that the young men
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: young women that are in the program are representing not
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: just their sport but their institution. And then they're going
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: to class in the same buildings they went to class in.
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: They're staying in the same dorms there. You know, they
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: want to feel a connection. That connection is different than
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: it used to be. We don't have near as many
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: for three, four or five years like we used to,
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: but but hopefully that tether stays there.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: Well when you think about the big picture, like I
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: always big advocate of use the system rather than let
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: the system use you. Like if you're a student athlete
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: right now and you can come in and you can
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: make a little bit in rev share whatever that number
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: may be, at the same time get an education, right
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: you talk about beating and winning the system. It's it's
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: it's it's phenomenal. To your point, you know, no one's
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: going crazy. In the past A student on a music
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: scholarship here at WV you could be at the CAC
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: and practice whatever an instrument is, and on Fridays and
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: Saturdays they could go be in a band and they
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: could make money playing in a band and no one
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: would stop them. You couldn't do that if you were
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: a student athlete because of the NCAA rules we're just
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: getting I mean, there's no harm in it, but people,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I think because of this, the way that we grew
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: up and knew the system, people are having some issues
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: and struggling with it. I personally don't it makes all
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: the sense in the world to me, it really does.
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: I have a counter to that, but we can move on.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: Why do you have a what.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: You have a counter to that? What do you mean?
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: What do you mean to say?
• 16:36
  Speaker 6: Just that I would argue that I don't want to
• 16:39
  Speaker 6: exclude these guys and you and I argue, I'm just
• 16:41
  Speaker 6: going to say that if you have a student who
• 16:43
  Speaker 6: is here studying music on a weekend they playing a band,
• 16:45
  Speaker 6: I would argue that they are primarily here for the
• 16:49
  Speaker 6: music education. And I would argue that many of the students,
• 16:53
  Speaker 6: many of the athletes today at the college level, on
• 16:57
  Speaker 6: like football and big time basketball are going from school
• 17:01
  Speaker 6: to school to school, which is their right now, and
• 17:03
  Speaker 6: they get paid for it, and there is not an
• 17:05
  Speaker 6: academic component. They're not transferring for academic reasons. They're transferring
• 17:10
  Speaker 6: financial and financial reasons.
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: So I would I think there's some Yes, there's definitely
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: for popular a strong percentage of the revenue sports that
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: is true, but it's still incumbent upon us. I mean,
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: they're making the money from a rev share standpoint for
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: a very finite, very short amount of time.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: And so here's where I go back to how important
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: it is to remain tethered education. First of all.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: In the non revenue sports, I think for the most
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: part they are still transferring in. But for most of
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: those young men and women, they are not going to
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: play pro sports. They're not going to make money beyond
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: their collegiate eligibility for sports, and so it is important
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: that they have Plan B. Whether they're thinking of out
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: it or they want it or not. I think it's
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: important and incumbing up on us to make sure that
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: they have it.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: I'm putting my legal pad down.
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: Guys can get a little softer older, Okay, this can
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: be both of you at separate times. Do you feel
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: we're in a better spot in college athletics over the
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: last year than where we were three four years ago?
• 18:21
  Speaker 5: I'll go first.
• 18:22
  Speaker 7: It depends how you to find better. It certainly has
• 18:25
  Speaker 7: more opportunities for student athletes to make money, to have
• 18:28
  Speaker 7: their name, image of likeness kind of splattered everywhere. The
• 18:32
  Speaker 7: educational opportunities are always there. So it seems like college
• 18:37
  Speaker 7: sports has this. People have this insatiable desire to consume
• 18:41
  Speaker 7: collegiate athletics and so that every year it seems like
• 18:44
  Speaker 7: that increases. So that what does that mean? That means
• 18:47
  Speaker 7: greater exposure for university, potentially greater enrollment. So I would
• 18:51
  Speaker 7: argue from our perspective now, Coastal Carolina University going to
• 18:54
  Speaker 7: the World Series this year in June one of two
• 18:57
  Speaker 7: schools left in the finals. That was unbelievable, a new
• 19:00
  Speaker 7: for us. Someday, W I promise we'll be there and
• 19:03
  Speaker 7: I can't wait until Mountaineer Nation takes over Omaha, Nebraska.
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that will be fun.
• 19:08
  Speaker 7: So there is a kind of collateral benefit that comes
• 19:10
  Speaker 7: to institution when your teams do well. And I would
• 19:13
  Speaker 7: argue that given media the way people consume meetia now
• 19:16
  Speaker 7: your school could be everywhere.
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: I mean it.
• 19:18
  Speaker 7: Can, and people know more about you and your product
• 19:21
  Speaker 7: and your programs, and that's a good thing.
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: Agree, how about rent from the standpoint of the recent guardrails.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: That have been put in place, Yeah, you know, I
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: think we've taken a step forward, but it's a journey
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: that's certainly not complete and is going to face a
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: litany of challenges. I suspect I use this reference a lot.
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: If you start falling down a staircase, before you get
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: up climb back up the stairs, you want to make
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: sure you're through falling. I don't know that we're through falling,
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: and so I'm hesitant to say we're in a better place.
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: But I do think that the settlement is a is
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: a good first step. We just need to not fall
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: down some more steps on our on our climb back
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: up the staircase.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: I do believe.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: There's more attention being paid to this on a national level,
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: certainly in DC, you know, and and but we're going
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: to have to have uh still, I think some more.
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: There's gonna be some more storms on the horizon that
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: we're gonna have to fight through before we get to
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: a system that sustainable long term.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I want to touch on that in a second.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: In other words, what I'm want to say is where
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: is West Virginia in regard to being competitive going forward?
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: I want to talk about these leagues that are in
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: this tug of power. We'll talk about that in a second.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: With the Mountaineer season about to start, Go Mart wants
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: you to register and try to walk in win the
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Mountaineer Man Trip. Aren's done the Man Trip. Before you
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: can go to a Gomart, scan the QR code, put
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: your name in there, and you could be selected to
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: walk into the stadium with the Mountaineers when they make
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: their way in. Got to do that pretty.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: Soon, real quick.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: First game's coming, So go inside of a Gomart and
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: scan the QR code three guys before the game is
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: also brought to us by Jan Dial's attorneys at law.
• 21:08
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• 21:11
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• 21:32
  Speaker 1: take no for an answer. Over the weekend, pretty wild,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: and you guys have probably heard the mumb lea. But
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: like Big ten comes out and says, forget about twelve
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: or sixteen teams in the college football flaf. Let's go
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: two dozen or let's go twenty eight four yeah, hundreds,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: twelve yeah, So everybody, So everyone is kind of like saying, Okay,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: we're pulling the taffy here, which way is this thing
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: going to go? You made a good point earlier. The
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: only thing we care about going four it is West
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Virginia University's viability in this world of collegiate athletics today.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: It's power for who knows what what we'll call in
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: the future. I ran in, mister president, what are we doing?
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: How are you making sure the WV is in the
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: party the next time this thing gets shuffled up?
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: I think from a first high level, the the board,
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: the president in our and our athletic de partner working
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: in concert in unison, and that alignment is is really
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: critical and it's the best anywhere I've ever been, and.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: It's it's the best that since.
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: I've been here, everybody understanding that you know there's likely
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: some kind of changes on the horizon, and what can
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: we do to.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: Best position ourselves.
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: Unfortunately, you know, there's not an exact rubric right there
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: at Metric where you can just look at and Okay,
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: we checked this box, we checked that box.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: But I've said this before. We have a lot of
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: things that work into our favor.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: Very strong brand, do very good, viewership, do very good
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: from a licensing marketing standpoint. We've got to continue to
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: grow revenues and improve our budget, and we need to
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: make sure that we're seeing as a valuable chip in
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: the game. And so I like where our position is.
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: I like our positioning within the Big twelve, and I
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: like our positioning amongst Power Conference schools. But I do
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: think as we head into twenty nine thirty thirty one
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: that we're going to see some changes. What those are,
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: I don't know. Our senior staff had a chance to
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: ask me questions earlier, and somebody asked me this, and
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: I said, no offense to you guys. If I had
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: the answer, I'd go consult with three or four schools.
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: Make about a half million dollars each and spend the
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: rest of the day side by side, and they're krabbie
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: fishing somewhere.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: And so you know, I don't know the exact formula
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: and exact answer.
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: What I do know is we've got to put ourselves
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: in the best position that we can for the state
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: and the university.
• 24:01
  Speaker 6: Do either of you, and miss President go to you.
• 24:02
  Speaker 6: But what we do know, or what seems obvious, is
• 24:06
  Speaker 6: that the leadership in the schools in the big ten
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: in the SEC don't care. That's fair to say they
• 24:12
  Speaker 6: don't care about everybody else, or that too pejorative.
• 24:17
  Speaker 7: I can't speak for them, and I know many of
• 24:19
  Speaker 7: the presidents, okay, but it's true that they're very insolent
• 24:22
  Speaker 7: when it comes to what's best for our conference. And
• 24:24
  Speaker 7: my association was best for our schools. So the proposal
• 24:27
  Speaker 7: attorney's talking about it was guaranteed spots for those conferences.
• 24:31
  Speaker 7: I think five spots for the age Yeah, I have
• 24:34
  Speaker 7: five to five and this am at large. So they're
• 24:37
  Speaker 7: banking on a whole bunch a large And when you
• 24:38
  Speaker 7: have a conference of what fourteen sixty and eighteen teams,
• 24:41
  Speaker 7: you have a bunch of your teams in the playoffs,
• 24:44
  Speaker 7: So yeah, they are looking at for themselves.
• 24:47
  Speaker 5: I would concur with what Ren said.
• 24:49
  Speaker 7: We are aligned at the university, with our board, with
• 24:52
  Speaker 7: our administration, with Ren and his team, and the Big Twelve.
• 24:55
  Speaker 7: I mean, the Big twelve. Is it a pretty good
• 24:58
  Speaker 7: spot right now? I would argue that competitive, we're up there.
• 25:01
  Speaker 7: We have to do better in football this year, but
• 25:04
  Speaker 7: look at baseball last year, look at women's basketball, men's basketball.
• 25:08
  Speaker 7: I'm really I'm very optimist. I'm very saying what about
• 25:11
  Speaker 7: the future, But.
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: Been on that same question.
• 25:14
  Speaker 6: I mean, you know, these guys, I just can't imagine
• 25:17
  Speaker 6: that the leadership of the SEC and the Big Ten
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: sit around go, Okay, we could do this, but what's
• 25:21
  Speaker 6: in the best interest of college football as a whole?
• 25:24
  Speaker 6: I don't see them saying that, do you.
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: I think there's some individuals who do care about the
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: greater good. But but I but I think as a whole,
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: You're probably correct, and that competitiveness goes beyond just one
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: conference to the next. They try to cannibalize and eat
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: each other too, and it's I mean I.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: Said this before.
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: I think you know the difference between our system and
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: the pros is is there's a lot of incentive in
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: the pros to grow for the greater good. We're kind
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: of all pirate ships sailing under our own flag, just
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: trying to just trying to find another ship to raid.
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: And so you know, that's that's just the reality of
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: the system that we're in. I'm not too panicked right
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: now about this proposal. It has not been socialized with
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: anybody outside of the Big Ten.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: I think that's happening right now.
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: I don't know for sure because I'm not in the
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: Big Ten, but I think you have a network that's
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: that's the primary partner for the Big Ten, that doesn't
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: really have a piece of CFP. And you know, our
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: primary partner, even though we have a secondary partner in Fox,
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: but our our primary partner does.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: Have CFP rights.
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: That's the SEC's partner. And so my guess is having
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: these aqs, as I've said on this show before, presents
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: an opportunity to create your own playing game, and and
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: your network that you have a tie too, is going
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: to have access to to those games. So my guess
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: is that's part of this continued conversation around the aqs.
• 26:59
  Speaker 3: I'm not yet seen how that would work to have
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: an opinion. You know, we should be having conversations in
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: our in our conference with amongst our our our colleagues
• 27:09
  Speaker 3: here over the next few days to socialize it and
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: get a sense.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: So so that's real information.
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: When you guys saw that break, that was news to
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: everybody I think in the Big twelve, and so I
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: hadn't really had a chance to dig into the details
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: to have an opinion yet. But listen, we know that
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: postseason college football is very very valuable inventory, uh, and
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: people want to try to get a hold of it,
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: both networks and also conferences.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: Because that's that's who benefits from the from the networks viewership.
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: Speaking of valuable postseasons, let's talk hoops a little bit.
• 27:44
  Speaker 4: Where'd you love for hoops come from?
• 27:47
  Speaker 7: Oh, I've well, football was kind of my first love
• 27:50
  Speaker 7: until I broke my leg prison really in Texas and
• 27:53
  Speaker 7: then gravitated basketball. But as a BYU fan, watched to
• 27:57
  Speaker 7: Danny Ainge and you know that lay up against not
• 27:59
  Speaker 7: today even though I went to both schools.
• 28:02
  Speaker 5: The Irish will never forgive them for that.
• 28:04
  Speaker 7: And then I just you know in Utah how Rod
• 28:06
  Speaker 7: Huntley was the voice of Utah Jazz and when I
• 28:08
  Speaker 7: was a kid going up in high school.
• 28:10
  Speaker 5: I mean, everybody knew how Rod.
• 28:11
  Speaker 7: And I've watched the documentary and the kind of the
• 28:14
  Speaker 7: interesting parallels of the kind of two different lives and
• 28:17
  Speaker 7: two different popular Yeah, exactly, the kind of came together
• 28:20
  Speaker 7: at the end there. But the Jazz would stock him alone.
• 28:23
  Speaker 7: I mean, how can you not love that team? And
• 28:27
  Speaker 7: then when I played at BYU, they were actually pretty
• 28:29
  Speaker 7: good that one year I played on the JB team
• 28:31
  Speaker 7: and until Tony watching Tim Hardaway during the Whack Tournament,
• 28:36
  Speaker 7: I mean, that was a brand of basketball nobody ever
• 28:37
  Speaker 7: seen before.
• 28:38
  Speaker 5: And so I love watching basketball.
• 28:41
  Speaker 7: I think the NBA has way too many games, but
• 28:43
  Speaker 7: I would argue March Madness and I love both season.
• 28:47
  Speaker 7: But College World Series and March Madness have that same
• 28:49
  Speaker 7: kind of kind of bracket and the kind of pace
• 28:52
  Speaker 7: to it, and I absolutely love both of them.
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: You know, there's a great hot Rod Hunley story that
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: Matt welsto when they did this at you here they go.
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: They might have been at Jeans with hot right Iff.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: Selected No, I think it was at the bar at
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: the Marrio.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Oh is that where it was?
• 29:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah?
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: It was bart to Marrio, Yeah, Yeah, And so I
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: so hot Rod was was you know, we brought him
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: in to honor him, and so he was on our
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: tab and so he asked Matt Wells, he said, Hey,
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: I just want to be clear.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: My tab tonight is on the athletic Department. Is that right? Man?
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: It's like, yeah, we got you covered whatever you need.
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: And he stands up in the bar and says, I'm
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: gonna buy everybody around the drinks here.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: Legendary.
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: There's lots of hot Rod stories around US wide, around
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: lesber Towns and.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: A week ago.
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: That's been one of my favorite discoveries is here in
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: the hot Rod stories.
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: Quite the character.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: Mister president. When you you've begun your fifty five county tour,
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: you knew about West Virginia, you know, from a peripheral
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: standpoint before you got here. What intrigued you about this
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: opportunity to be the president?
• 30:03
  Speaker 7: Number one, it's a relatively small state with a relatively
• 30:06
  Speaker 7: small population. So when you have a flagship R one
• 30:11
  Speaker 7: Langering institution that's the only one of it's kind of
• 30:13
  Speaker 7: in the stale, you can really make a difference. And
• 30:16
  Speaker 7: the university continues to make a difference. So what I
• 30:19
  Speaker 7: saw during our first swing when we started up north
• 30:21
  Speaker 7: in Hancock and made our march south, I said it
• 30:25
  Speaker 7: was like Shrman's marsh the sea, but we didn't.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: Burn anything, not even couches, So yeah.
• 30:31
  Speaker 5: We I was just.
• 30:35
  Speaker 7: I was so taken by every community where we went,
• 30:38
  Speaker 7: the pride that people have in their university, and that
• 30:41
  Speaker 7: really isn't that that only is not intriguing. It's incredibly inspiring.
• 30:45
  Speaker 7: And it's also a little daunting when you can see
• 30:47
  Speaker 7: the responsibility that I have as the face. The university
• 30:50
  Speaker 7: doesn't belong to this, The university belongs to people to state,
• 30:53
  Speaker 7: but I feel this tremendous responsibility to make sure they're
• 30:56
  Speaker 7: proud of it, that we, through our extension services, offer
• 31:00
  Speaker 7: every single opportunity to every person that wants it. Through
• 31:03
  Speaker 7: those services, you see the w Medicine flying WV on
• 31:07
  Speaker 7: the side of all those hospitals, and the people that
• 31:10
  Speaker 7: have confidence in the care they're getting if they're in
• 31:13
  Speaker 7: Ripley or if in they're Beckley, or they're.
• 31:16
  Speaker 5: On the Panandle.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: And I'm starting to learn.
• 31:18
  Speaker 7: The geography and we're twenty out of fifty five and
• 31:21
  Speaker 7: I can't wait to get on the road again and
• 31:23
  Speaker 7: get to the rest of the counties.
• 31:24
  Speaker 5: But people love this place and that's not lost on me.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so it is so true. So the last time
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: we talked fifty five kuinds you'll find that flying WV
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: in all fifty five guys. And you've been in other states,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: and you know when you go ninety minutes or two
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: hours outside of the where the campus is, is like,
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: you're not an impact. There's not a factor. It's not
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: not in people's mind. This is the difference. That's what
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: makes us place so unique.
• 31:47
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I remember the governor of the Kentucky had the jacket,
• 31:50
  Speaker 7: you know, one side blew. Once I read Phyllis George's
• 31:54
  Speaker 7: husband John Y Brown.
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: Why Brown?
• 31:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah, money in Kentucky fried chicken.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: He took the buffalo braves and moved them to San Diego.
• 32:01
  Speaker 5: Has still never never forgave him for that. But anyway,
• 32:04
  Speaker 5: I didn't tell you have feelings about that.
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, all due respect to San Diego.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: Bum me out here.
• 32:08
  Speaker 7: So I mean in Kentucky, was Louisville or or Kentucky.
• 32:12
  Speaker 7: In South Carolina was Clemson, USC right here as West Virginia.
• 32:16
  Speaker 5: Hill And I love that, yeah, absolutely.
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: So as you've as you've traveled and met folks, and
• 32:24
  Speaker 6: obviously you've learned that be careful what you say, because
• 32:27
  Speaker 6: everybody knows somebody in the next County's only one degree
• 32:31
  Speaker 6: of separation, so you figured figure that out. Somebody once
• 32:34
  Speaker 6: told me in an official university, and I hope that
• 32:36
  Speaker 6: you follow this. It's more of a statement of question
• 32:38
  Speaker 6: that if you're a high school graduate in West Virginia
• 32:41
  Speaker 6: and you want to come to WVU, that this university
• 32:45
  Speaker 6: should find a way for that to happen, because there's
• 32:49
  Speaker 6: a larger mission here. It's not just about making the money.
• 32:51
  Speaker 6: I mean, idea have butchery can I get that, But this,
• 32:54
  Speaker 6: this university is so important. There's still many first time
• 32:59
  Speaker 6: students who are first time of their family going to
• 33:01
  Speaker 6: college for generation.
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
• 33:03
  Speaker 6: So it's real important that the university helps find a
• 33:06
  Speaker 6: way for that student to go here.
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: And some frankly, some.
• 33:11
  Speaker 6: State schools have gotten away from that across the country,
• 33:14
  Speaker 6: and I think that West Virginia stays true to that mission.
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: So that's an observation more than anything else.
• 33:18
  Speaker 7: No, and I can I wholeheartly agree if a student
• 33:22
  Speaker 7: from a West Virginia high school once they come to
• 33:25
  Speaker 7: w they are prepared academically, or even if they need
• 33:28
  Speaker 7: kind of a little time to get their academic sea
• 33:30
  Speaker 7: legs done on them. You know, some places have bridge
• 33:32
  Speaker 7: programs they let people kind of admitted provisionally so they
• 33:36
  Speaker 7: can kind of get used to it. But I do
• 33:38
  Speaker 7: not want to deny access to education to anybody from
• 33:41
  Speaker 7: West Virginia.
• 33:42
  Speaker 5: This is their school now.
• 33:43
  Speaker 7: That said, to give you a kind of perspective, the
• 33:46
  Speaker 7: state of Pennsylvania last year graduated one hundred and sixteen
• 33:48
  Speaker 7: thousand high school kids. We graduated almost sixteen thousand, So
• 33:54
  Speaker 7: just by sheer volume, we're surrounded by states that have
• 33:57
  Speaker 7: a lot more kids, many of whom are going to
• 33:59
  Speaker 7: find their way here. But I do not want to
• 34:01
  Speaker 7: give up seats to West Virginia kids that want to
• 34:03
  Speaker 7: come here.
• 34:04
  Speaker 6: Well, and that's you mentioned that that that's the famous
• 34:06
  Speaker 6: demographic cliff too. I mean, you know, you say the
• 34:08
  Speaker 6: enrollment's pretty good for this freshman class. I heard Seanna
• 34:11
  Speaker 6: Johnson on the radio the other day talk about I
• 34:13
  Speaker 6: think it's like forty four hundred or something, almost forty five,
• 34:16
  Speaker 6: forty five hundred, and you got to find a way.
• 34:18
  Speaker 6: The big thing there. I think you can get them
• 34:20
  Speaker 6: to come here. But retention is huge, and at first
• 34:22
  Speaker 6: semester is very tough on some of these kids.
• 34:25
  Speaker 7: Away from home, no experience really in terms of maybe
• 34:28
  Speaker 7: time management or finances. Right, we're getting around with a roommate,
• 34:31
  Speaker 7: so they were used to their own room at home
• 34:33
  Speaker 7: or living with their family or friends.
• 34:35
  Speaker 5: So it is there's a big.
• 34:36
  Speaker 7: Adjustment, and you spend so much time and effort getting
• 34:39
  Speaker 7: the kids through the door, students through that door. You've
• 34:41
  Speaker 7: got to keep them here because it's like, you know,
• 34:44
  Speaker 7: it's starting a degree and not finishing it. There's no
• 34:47
  Speaker 7: there's yes, there's the value in the education, but the
• 34:49
  Speaker 7: value is in that diploma, sure, and being a graduate.
• 34:52
  Speaker 7: And that's our ultimate barometer, is that graduation.
• 34:54
  Speaker 4: Right Okay, n that's way up the list in athletics
• 34:57
  Speaker 4: right now too. Retention all right, We talked so much
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: about the ni all part of it, but retention of
• 35:01
  Speaker 4: those athletes to try and calm some of the waters
• 35:04
  Speaker 4: of the transfer portal's got to be way up the
• 35:06
  Speaker 4: athletics wish list as well, for sure.
• 35:08
  Speaker 3: I mean you you know, this year in football, for instance,
• 35:11
  Speaker 3: people like people ask me, how are we going to be?
• 35:13
  Speaker 3: I said, well, I think we're athletic. I think we're quick.
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: I think I think we're going to play hard and
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: have an edge about us. But we have seventy five
• 35:20
  Speaker 3: new players. I mean we picked up too last week.
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: I think, so.
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: You know, like I'm another school, I mean, it's amazing.
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: And so I do think as we get again, as
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: we normalize and we settle into this new era with
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: revshare and and all of that, I think it is
• 35:39
  Speaker 3: really important that that retention piece is there and we're
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: never going to go back to where it is. But
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: I think the schools who can keep their nucleus of
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: talent in place are going to have an advantage for sure,
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: like anything else, right, And also coaches, honestly that can adapt,
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: and we talked about this in the Basketball search adapt
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: Teaching culture quicker. A lot of coaches who traditionally have
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: done well have done really good job of taking their freshmen,
• 36:05
  Speaker 3: developing them and as they become juniors and seniors and
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: the leaders on the team who are ambassadors and carry
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: out the culture. Right now, you don't have very many
• 36:12
  Speaker 3: fourth and fifth year players to teach the young guys,
• 36:15
  Speaker 3: and so it's really more incumbent upon the coaches to
• 36:19
  Speaker 3: teach that culture quicker.
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you could submit make a pretty strong case.
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: And this goes back to a point that Hopey made
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: earlier about like are we better? Are we worse? Or
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: like where are we at? Like this is we're in
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: right now, this moment. This is unprecedented. This isn't going
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: to happen again. I mean, we're not. This is the
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: second year in a row that men's basketball does not
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: return a single point. The last time it happened prior
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: to to last year, when it happens nineteen forty four
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: after the war, It's not going to happen again. You're
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: gonna at least get threes and fours and five guys staying.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: And then football, Why are there seventy plus new players?
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: There was a coaching change.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: And the portal is still the portal, and there's going
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: to be more restrictions. I think this is unprecedented. I
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: truly do. This won't happen again. And the thing that
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: excites me is because rules have changed, basketball has been
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: able to already practice like real practices. And if you
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: had to start October the fifteenth like it was, I'm
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: sure when you played like it would be way too
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: late to get those guys together. But basketball is going
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: to be just fine this year and then going down
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: the road and Rich is rich. Rich is going to win.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: It's just a matter of when he's going to win.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: Like this, things set Baseball set, women's basketball is set.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: Men and women's soccer are set like rifle national champion.
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: Like this is good for as crazy as it is,
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: it's still very good. Right, you got two first year,
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: which is in your two main revenue sports. Most times
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: you are going like you going like here.
• 37:43
  Speaker 4: Well, pre portal, you would not have been able to
• 37:45
  Speaker 4: know how the success basketball had like three.
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: And four years behind.
• 37:48
  Speaker 3: And you want to be able to walk on tryouts,
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: like as as students file in after after Sunday night lights,
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: you'd probably be have an open gym trying.
• 37:56
  Speaker 4: To set the instant tran for portal of putting somebody
• 38:01
  Speaker 4: in a week after they were in high school. If
• 38:03
  Speaker 4: we can take advantage that, we'll do one of those.
• 38:05
  Speaker 4: So if that comes along somewhere along, I will take
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: that to retention important he carries that's important.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: He carries a burden. Let me just give it a little
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: background because in West Virginia, West Virginia, when it comes
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: to sports, everyone has the memory of an elephant. Never
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: forget we had to fight nineteen ninety two against Syracuse.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: You'd walk down the street today and people were still upset.
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: But so here's what happened. So is Kansas gets Sylvia
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: de Sosa eligible. He's playing high school basketball in December.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: In December, and in January, like four days later, he's
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: playing for Kansas. We make it to the Big twelve
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: championship game that year mark he double doubles against US,
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: and then afterwards he's ruled ineligible. We would have had
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: a Big twelve conference champion.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: So he has a So we played the tournament championship.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: He wants to hang a banner.
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: I want to hang a banner. If you haven't prayed,
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: I want to hang it.
• 38:54
  Speaker 4: We should should go back and apparade, hang the banner,
• 38:57
  Speaker 4: get rings whole thing.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: What's uh?
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: We digress in the office.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: You're a water guy. Drink Okay, that's great. You know
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: why Comac's business systems right now refreshing upgrade just what
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: they're doing. They have the answer the I twelve water cooler.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: Sleek design meets cutting edge technology, separate water delivery hot
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: or cold, forty four pounds of ice plus eight pounds
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: of additional story tomorrow. Ren's hydrating right now, he's drinking water.
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: We we think that, hey, Komax put an I twelve
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: in Stewart Hall, that would be just fantastic. And then
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: if you really want to get into the water. Lou
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: Wendel Marine Sales largest pontoon boat dealer in the state
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: of West Virginia. Family owned for four decades. They sell
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: Avalon pontoon votes made one hundred percent here in the
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: United States of America in Avalon Michigan forty years. Check
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: them out at Lou Wendelmarne Sales dot com. What go ahead, no, betser,
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: you have some face cream you'd like to sell?
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: No right out?
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: A good sponsor here.
• 39:55
  Speaker 6: Since we have both these guys here, ask them an
• 39:57
  Speaker 6: awkward question. What do you expect your all's relationship to
• 40:01
  Speaker 6: be in the long term? By that, I mean Wren.
• 40:05
  Speaker 6: If there's something going on in the athletic department, you
• 40:08
  Speaker 6: think or to call Mike they're cool him in on that,
• 40:12
  Speaker 6: and mister president, if you see something in sports like
• 40:14
  Speaker 6: this team is not doing, are you gonna you're gonna
• 40:17
  Speaker 6: ring up?
• 40:17
  Speaker 5: Wren?
• 40:17
  Speaker 6: And go what's going on there? I mean, how do
• 40:19
  Speaker 6: you anticipate this relationship going forward?
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: Mister president. Let me start with you and then we'll
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: go to Wren.
• 40:25
  Speaker 7: First off, I really like Wren. I mean I just like, wow,
• 40:28
  Speaker 7: there's okay, well, there's that's that's a small great.
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: You don't like me, I like you. Gosh.
• 40:33
  Speaker 7: He's got a wonderful reputation. He's chair of the athletic
• 40:36
  Speaker 7: directors in the Big twelve. People know him, they respect him,
• 40:39
  Speaker 7: and I put myself in that category. The relationship that
• 40:42
  Speaker 7: we develop is going to be really important. I'm very
• 40:46
  Speaker 7: encouraged the way it started. It's progressing now. There was
• 40:49
  Speaker 7: an issue that came up before I started where I
• 40:51
  Speaker 7: wanted to have a conversation with one of our head coaches,
• 40:54
  Speaker 7: but out of currazy because I've always done this, I
• 40:56
  Speaker 7: never talked to head coaches unless I tell Run first,
• 40:59
  Speaker 7: because those are his coaches. Yes, they coached the university,
• 41:02
  Speaker 7: but their direct reporting line is to Wren. So that
• 41:06
  Speaker 7: relationship between us and openness and the fact that I'm
• 41:10
  Speaker 7: here to support him and the staff. I told him today,
• 41:12
  Speaker 7: I want to see every one of those people be
• 41:15
  Speaker 7: successful because by association it makes the university successful. And
• 41:19
  Speaker 7: I'm really encouraged about where we're headed. And Wren's this
• 41:22
  Speaker 7: top door Wren.
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: I mean, the relationship is going to be whatever he
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: tells me, it's going to be. He's the boss over there.
• 41:29
  Speaker 3: No, Listen, I was fortunate to be able to be
• 41:33
  Speaker 3: a part of the process, and not a not a
• 41:37
  Speaker 3: huge influential part, but a small part of the process
• 41:40
  Speaker 3: of the presidential search, and so was able to do
• 41:43
  Speaker 3: research on President Benson and everybody just that's worked around
• 41:47
  Speaker 3: him with him for him just loves loves, not just
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: not just the leader he is, but the person he is.
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: And so we developed a great relationship. And Listen, I
• 41:58
  Speaker 3: don't view myself is the czar of athletics. It's the
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: people's program. Much like Mike said to you, this the
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: people's university. I'm a caretaker of the people's athletic program.
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: Man.
• 42:10
  Speaker 3: I'm trying to do the best job that I can
• 42:13
  Speaker 3: to advise the president and the board on where we're at, where.
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: We can go, what it's going to take to get
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: to those places.
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: But I think my relationship with him is one that
• 42:24
  Speaker 3: just is going to be a constant and fluid communication
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: so that he doesn't get surprised by anything and that
• 42:31
  Speaker 3: we're aligned as we deal with issues and problems and
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: potential opportunities.
• 42:36
  Speaker 2: Just a quick follow upon it.
• 42:37
  Speaker 6: As President Ren has put forward a very aggressive approach
• 42:41
  Speaker 6: to try to keep the athletic Department solvent and relevant
• 42:46
  Speaker 6: in this new environment, talking about upgrades to the Collis Cum,
• 42:50
  Speaker 6: upgrades to the stadium, naming rights, all kinds of things.
• 42:55
  Speaker 6: There's about a dozen things he's put forward. Are you
• 42:58
  Speaker 6: familiar with all those things? And if you signed off
• 43:00
  Speaker 6: on all the things that Wren wants to.
• 43:02
  Speaker 7: Do, well, some of them were signed off before I
• 43:04
  Speaker 7: got here because they were already in motion.
• 43:07
  Speaker 2: But we will be have everage. I'm sorry, Just stay on, mic, Yeah.
• 43:09
  Speaker 7: Yeah, And everything that you're talking about, yes, has to
• 43:13
  Speaker 7: go through all the proper approval processes, so Board of
• 43:16
  Speaker 7: Governors we certainly have to be able to afford everything.
• 43:19
  Speaker 7: But there is nothing that Wren has talked about that
• 43:22
  Speaker 7: I don't support one hundred and ten percent, because, yes,
• 43:25
  Speaker 7: their some of our facilities are beautiful, many of them,
• 43:28
  Speaker 7: most of them are Some do need upgrades and they
• 43:30
  Speaker 7: need a little bit of a facelift. And I have
• 43:32
  Speaker 7: full confidence in rent and staff that they'll do it.
• 43:34
  Speaker 7: They'll do it in the budget, and we'll do it
• 43:36
  Speaker 7: on time.
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: Along that line, and I'll just we'll end this on this.
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: You guys have been in this business a long time.
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: When a president and an athletic director don't get along, man,
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: is that a mess. You get these you get these
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: power plays, you get people on boards. We see it
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: all the time at other schools. That's a mess. I
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: mean when boards try to take too much power, they
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: try to pull it from the ad. The president sometimes
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: gets involved. That can be ugly. And it's good to
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: hear that you guys are singing Kumba yah and it
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: will and it will continue to do that.
• 44:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Listen, Mike already knows this. Within the things that
• 44:13
  Speaker 3: we've talked about. I'm not one to share when I
• 44:17
  Speaker 3: feel passionate or withhold when I feel passionately about something.
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: It's just not in my DNA.
• 44:23
  Speaker 3: But but I think as long as you communicate respectfully
• 44:26
  Speaker 3: and I can accept that there are decisions that are
• 44:29
  Speaker 3: not mine to make, that there that there are decisions
• 44:33
  Speaker 3: or even decisions that are that are above my head,
• 44:35
  Speaker 3: whether that's his or the boards or whoever, I respect
• 44:39
  Speaker 3: chain of command. And what I want is a chance
• 44:42
  Speaker 3: to to uh speak on issues that I feel passionately
• 44:46
  Speaker 3: about and and make make an opinion known. But I
• 44:49
  Speaker 3: also I think it's communications of two way street. I
• 44:52
  Speaker 3: want his thoughts on those same issues. He has a
• 44:55
  Speaker 3: different viewpoint, different experiences than I do, and and the
• 44:58
  Speaker 3: same with our board.
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: We've got some.
• 45:01
  Speaker 3: Very very capable and very accomplished board members in fields
• 45:06
  Speaker 3: that are different than where Mike and have come from.
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: You arrive at the best decision when you have a
• 45:13
  Speaker 3: shared communication process, and so I think that's incumbent on
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: every participant to actively try to make that happen.
• 45:22
  Speaker 7: Thirty second story. I brought my family here for the
• 45:25
  Speaker 7: first time that Easter weekend. The kids hadn't been here before,
• 45:28
  Speaker 7: so trumantinum Talmage and one of our meetings was with
• 45:31
  Speaker 7: Wren in his office and he had us and Stitches
• 45:35
  Speaker 7: for about thirty minutes. And after we're out in the
• 45:37
  Speaker 7: hall walking back to our call and I said, I
• 45:40
  Speaker 7: said to the kids, I said, what do you think
• 45:41
  Speaker 7: they go?
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: Man?
• 45:43
  Speaker 5: Rent is really cool.
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: I mean, we really like.
• 45:45
  Speaker 5: Him, and you know, you can fool a lot of people,
• 45:47
  Speaker 5: but kids are hard to impress.
• 45:48
  Speaker 7: Yeah, they are an eighteen, seventeen and fourteen year old,
• 45:51
  Speaker 7: so he won them over.
• 45:53
  Speaker 5: He did well done right, I'm a.
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: Kid at heart.
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: Now he's cool. I mean, got the whole sneaker. You
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: got the whole sneaker thing going like that. He is
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: so cool by that way.
• 46:01
  Speaker 2: Good quarters up today, Thank you by you.
• 46:03
  Speaker 4: Oh yeah, how's that teal turquoise where we land on
• 46:07
  Speaker 4: there like.
• 46:09
  Speaker 2: A shade of light, Yeah.
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: Turkchoisely, a bluish, bluish shade.
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: It looks good, like that does look good? Yeah? Yeah,
• 46:16
  Speaker 2: And you wore something last night that's got like this
• 46:18
  Speaker 2: is the Daniels always actually here. I know Daniels is
• 46:20
  Speaker 2: a friend of the program.
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: Sure, you wore something last night that's got like the
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: French fashion people like going up and down today trying
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: to find it right what it was?
• 46:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I had on a sweatshirt. So here's the thing.
• 46:31
  Speaker 3: Everybody assumes that I have a stock of everything I
• 46:34
  Speaker 3: wear in the office.
• 46:35
  Speaker 2: I got it for free. I spend an inordinate amount
• 46:38
  Speaker 2: of money on the year, like.
• 46:39
  Speaker 3: I do get free stuff. And if it's got a
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: swoosh on it, chance, I got that free. But if
• 46:44
  Speaker 3: it doesn't have a swoosh on it. I paid for it.
• 46:45
  Speaker 3: So I wore a sweatshirt last night, little crew neck
• 46:48
  Speaker 3: out to uh one not lights. Yeah, and uh, you
• 46:52
  Speaker 3: know it's a little cool last night.
• 46:53
  Speaker 2: Human.
• 46:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's hot during the day, but we had a
• 46:55
  Speaker 3: storm blow through a little cooler temperatures mid mid sixties
• 46:59
  Speaker 3: and I had like thirty people asked me where to
• 47:01
  Speaker 3: buy it or where to get it, and I was like,
• 47:03
  Speaker 3: I don't even know where I bought this, So I
• 47:05
  Speaker 3: had to go and see where I bought it from.
• 47:06
  Speaker 2: I tweeted that out. If you want to see the shirt,
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: you want to get a leak. I won't.
• 47:10
  Speaker 3: I won't sit on this program because I don't think
• 47:12
  Speaker 3: it's you know, a paying sponsor. Uh but uh yeah,
• 47:15
  Speaker 3: so I I do.
• 47:17
  Speaker 2: I'm working on a career as an influencer. Is this
• 47:19
  Speaker 2: athletic director thing that we're now career?
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: You know you're an influence. Didn't you stay at tourism
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: this summer? I mean, my gosh, you got people running
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: from all over the country to come to West Virginia.
• 47:27
  Speaker 2: Didn't think of some of that stuff from Devi's yard sale.
• 47:31
  Speaker 2: Hoppy man, why do you got to do like this? Guy.
• 47:35
  Speaker 3: You know, I walked in today in one of your
• 47:37
  Speaker 3: interns was at the store where I told people jumping
• 47:40
  Speaker 3: out yeah his mother Jack, His mother was at the
• 47:42
  Speaker 3: store where you can buy this shirt and said, hey,
• 47:46
  Speaker 3: your tweet has them on fire. They're sending out boxes
• 47:48
  Speaker 3: left and right.
• 47:49
  Speaker 2: So I'll be looking for the four influences on this program.
• 47:52
  Speaker 2: So well.
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: For Borg, speaking of that, are you are you you
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: eat biscuits?
• 47:56
  Speaker 5: Yes?
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: You heard you heard of the tutors business.
• 47:58
  Speaker 7: I have all we're talking the other day about it.
• 47:59
  Speaker 7: Is one enough for two?
• 48:01
  Speaker 2: Thank you? Very good?
• 48:02
  Speaker 5: Right off?
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: Hillary, good by the way, Since like you're a three
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: tutor biscuit, I think he's a one, I'm gonna keep
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: him at one because he's this is in good shape.
• 48:10
  Speaker 4: Former runner yoga into Yoga.
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: Shout saying, troll is what he has.
• 48:14
  Speaker 7: He starts his day off at Orange Steers two thousand
• 48:16
  Speaker 7: meters benchmark row today. Oh REALLYX minison and fifty three seconds.
• 48:22
  Speaker 2: You know what I do?
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: You know what Hoppy just did? He went four hundred
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: and seven miles across the state. I want a bike?
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: Is that that bike?
• 48:28
  Speaker 2: Right? All right?
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: My word?
• 48:29
  Speaker 6: I've heard all about that, right right, Yeah, it was, I.
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: Mean at his age, it was.
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: It was absolutely terrible. Yeah, it was enough, it was wonderful.
• 48:39
  Speaker 2: It was terrible. Now what did you what did you
• 48:40
  Speaker 2: say you did today? Eric? What is it? He's running?
• 48:44
  Speaker 2: You know? Train me.
• 48:45
  Speaker 5: I don't do because my knee surgery.
• 48:47
  Speaker 7: Elliptical and body weight exercises and weights and then rowing
• 48:51
  Speaker 7: growing is very exercise.
• 48:53
  Speaker 3: You had me in conversation talking about tutors. I was
• 48:56
  Speaker 3: laying we need Yeah, hey.
• 48:58
  Speaker 2: They took a bad turn. They're rowing, they're rowing.
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: Let's uh, let's show those three new sauces that they're
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: today vieting versus fall tutors. So when you do go in,
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: mister President, you can go the new Honey Saracha, the
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: Carolina Gold or the Sweet Teriaki or the original. So
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: those three new flavors, awesome sauce tutors, Biscuit World, check
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: them out. Uh, they're available this coming fall now fall
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: just uh now they're up now probably go now right now,
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: they're now, they're now, they're now go get them as listened.
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: Before we let you go, we have gifts because it's warming. Yeah.
• 49:32
  Speaker 2: No, did I get to reach reach in there and
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: get Renty, rent you know they've ran in the limit
• 49:37
  Speaker 2: there before you get go ahead, just got rid other president,
• 49:41
  Speaker 2: So bag of coffee.
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: That's our coffee game day grind like the Mountaineer roasting.
• 49:45
  Speaker 5: It looks like a snack of something.
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: Now that now let me no, no, no, no, no, no no
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: no so that now, let me tell you something about this.
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: All the businesses that we promote, our West Virginia businesses,
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: we try to stop, help slow. That popcorn is literally
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: grown in the Eastern Panhandle, and that company is in
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: the Eastern Panhandle, and that stuff is called Mountaineer munch.
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: You're gonna love it.
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: You're a treat guy.
• 50:06
  Speaker 5: Yes, oh yeah, yeah, eminem is in here, so you
• 50:08
  Speaker 5: had that that Yeah.
• 50:09
  Speaker 3: That popcorn grown here, much like the strawberries at the
• 50:12
  Speaker 3: Strawberry Festival and be canned.
• 50:14
  Speaker 7: Why, surely I did go to the state fair last week,
• 50:17
  Speaker 7: by the way, how you would you think?
• 50:18
  Speaker 5: I loved it.
• 50:18
  Speaker 7: I hadn't been a state fair for a while, and
• 50:20
  Speaker 7: it was so well done and it's manageable. I mean
• 50:23
  Speaker 7: you walk everywhere, and we were hosted by the Farm
• 50:25
  Speaker 7: Bureau and we saw some show, some of the show animals. Yeah,
• 50:29
  Speaker 7: I didn't have a chance to ride in the ferris wheeling,
• 50:31
  Speaker 7: which I really wanted to do.
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: You would have Oh yeah, Baker girls. Baker Girls got
• 50:35
  Speaker 2: the ferris wheel in they did the ferris wheel. Yeah,
• 50:37
  Speaker 2: State Fair. Oh yeah, oh yeah you were they were there?
• 50:40
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah?
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: Did you did you have one of these centimon rolls?
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: Did you see how much that won big went?
• 50:45
  Speaker 2: Now? I had two corn dogs? Did you say, one
• 50:47
  Speaker 2: regular and one foot long? Oh my gosh, can we
• 50:51
  Speaker 2: gotta go back around the way.
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: Did you see how much that one pig went?
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: Four seven roll? The line was too long?
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: The pig was incredible? You so much? The pig went
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: for last week. Okay, I'm gonna tell you this pig,
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: hang on, hang on, hang this week.
• 51:03
  Speaker 2: That pig's available at tutors business.
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, it's okay. Look
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: look like what so the kid?
• 51:12
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: We can say this because it's not a university show.
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: There's a young man that verbaled in baseball to us
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: the picture. He's an underclassman now, but he also he's
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: the best state prospect in state. He had his his pig.
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: It was two hundred and fifty two pounds and it
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: went for twenty dollars a pound. That thing sold for
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: five thousand and forty dollars for that hog. And there
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: he is at the state fair carrying it with that pig,
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: and he's one of our pictures and they're going to
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: be He's a rising high school kid.
• 51:41
  Speaker 2: I think that saws school really there the night of
• 51:45
  Speaker 2: zach Top concert. Sure? Did I say that? Right? No, Brad,
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: you don't know a kid win.
• 51:51
  Speaker 5: I'm out in near resition anyway.
• 51:53
  Speaker 2: Not Moran.
• 51:54
  Speaker 3: This young man and introduced himself to me and we
• 51:56
  Speaker 3: and we took a picture together, So I didn't He
• 51:58
  Speaker 3: did not bring up didn't bring up his pig.
• 52:00
  Speaker 2: No, he just brought up the baseball part of it. Yeah.
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you're gonna be a good one.
• 52:03
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: Now the last thing. There's a micro bakery here in
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: in Morgantown called Grateful Bread like Grateful Dead. She makes
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: sour toe treats that are absolutely they should be illegal.
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: They're so dog gone. Look at this thing. There's scones
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: in there, there's chocolate chip cookie.
• 52:20
  Speaker 2: Wait wait, wait, we got we're having all kinds run over.
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: We're gonna turnover sis, hobby. Can you get it back
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: over there? What happened. What happened?
• 52:27
  Speaker 4: The box was broken inside?
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: Okay, just push the big Hey, mister president, just great,
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: you're a major issy here.
• 52:34
  Speaker 2: Oh geez hey, look we got stuff falling there.
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: Are you gonna handle it?
• 52:38
  Speaker 5: Like there was a lot of background.
• 52:40
  Speaker 2: The page's being compromised. We're gonna have to just to
• 52:42
  Speaker 2: eat this now.
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: Like those are really good. You'll enjoy those. Uh, you've
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: got some folks from the Stewarts bread grateful bread, good name,
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: she's really fantastic to sour dough stuff. It's really really good.
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: You don't like those two?
• 52:56
  Speaker 2: You know, Dustin took that back to football and they
• 52:58
  Speaker 2: were bragging on it. Oh did you bring some by?
• 53:00
  Speaker 3: Well I don't know how much of what you gave
• 53:02
  Speaker 3: me me brought in, but there was some You just
• 53:05
  Speaker 3: can't get.
• 53:06
  Speaker 2: To our house. That's the thing.
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: Listen, Well, look, I know you need to run because
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: it's like busy, busy time for you. Can't thank you
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: enough for spending some time with us. And we look
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: forward and we encourage folks to get to know you
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: as they make their way up here to the stadium
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: and for basketball, it goes by so dog going quick
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: as you know, just it goes. Soccer is already underway.
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: Women's soccer, Men's soccer starts on Thursday, and we're like,
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: next week all be here for you know it, volleyball.
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: Next week is game week. Ye wait to see this
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: thing pretty good.
• 53:37
  Speaker 7: Well, if people I'm out and about and people see me,
• 53:40
  Speaker 7: please stop, I will stop them introduce themselves. I hope
• 53:43
  Speaker 7: I'm approachable. I think I am. But I'm so eager
• 53:48
  Speaker 7: to meet as many people as possible. And thank you
• 53:50
  Speaker 7: again for the opportunity to be here, but thank you
• 53:52
  Speaker 7: for the chance to be at West Virginia University.
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, it's our pleasure. Start the band, let's get the
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: music going. It's time to go away. Three guys before
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: the Game, episode six fifty, the first ever with five
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: cats at the same time. Three plus two is three
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: plus two. We don't want to infringe on anyone's rights.
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: Three guys brought to us by Gomart. Get that Gomart
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: rewards card, immediately begins saving on food and fueled, and
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: sign up for the Mountaineer Man trip. Lou Wendell Marine
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: Sales and Saint Albans. They sell family fun. Visit lou
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: Wendel Marine Sales dot Com. I think every James Bond
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: movie that has had a scene with a pontoon, the
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: pontoon has been provided by Lou Wendell.
• 54:27
  Speaker 4: We're trying to get that con not confirmed as of
• 54:29
  Speaker 4: its still looking at We're hanging on it.
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: Three guys brought to us by Tutor's Biscuit World Starts
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: your Day, the Homemade Wade check out the three new
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: sauces Comac's business Systems keeping West Virginia's business data safe,
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: secure and efficient for twenty five years, and Great Water
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: And by Jan Dill's attorneys at Law.
• 54:44
  Speaker 2: They have take no for an arena soever circumstance where
• 54:47
  Speaker 2: they take no for an answer. Never no. She does
• 54:50
  Speaker 2: not ban no for an answer. She will not.
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: She's tough. She tough shenangled me. She's representing you when
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: it comes to VA benefits, social Security benefits. No, she
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: just tells a goo government like, Hi, what are not
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: doing that out here? Yeah?
• 55:02
  Speaker 3: I feel like he was looking at you when he
• 55:03
  Speaker 3: talked about Social Security.
• 55:05
  Speaker 2: VI I am. I am a proud recipient of Social Security.
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: There you go, you made it.
• 55:10
  Speaker 2: We're out.
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: Thanks for being with us. Three guys before the game.
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: See you h