Episode 1: Amateur Hour

The NCAA has four letters, three divisions, a thousand schools, and half a million student-athletes. It’s a lot. Too much, some say. 

 

For as long as most of us have been alive, the organization’s been running the world of college sports. But that world is going through some changes right now. 

 

More than ever, the ground is shifting beneath this pillar of bureaucracy. And, to their credit, the NCAA is starting to shift with it. 

 

It’s a funny time to be covering college sports. “May you live in interesting times,” right? Well. Here we are. 

 

This is The Option, from Cross Streets Media. For the next six episodes, we’ll try and explain these times, and what might be coming next. So sit down, stay a while. 

 

Guests featured (in order):

• Jay Bilas: College Basketball Analyst, ESPN
• Jeffrey Kessler: Lead Attorney, NCAA v. Alston
• Andy Zimbalist: President, Drake Group
• Charles Grantham: Fmr. Executive Vice President, NBA Players’ Union
• Cody McDavis: Fmr. College Basketball Player, Univ. of Northern Colorado
• Bubba Cunningham: Director of Athletics, UNC Chapel Hill
• Jennifer Heppel: Commissioner, Patriot League
• Blake Lawrence: CEO, Opendorse
• Stewart Mandel: Editor-in Chief, College Football, The Athletic
• Jason Gay: Sports and Humor Columnist, Wall Street Journal
  

Host: Michael Hendricks
Producers: Joe Engelbrekt & Dean Metherell
Cover Art: Sam Ball