Category Archives: College personnel

What Do P4 Front Offices Look Like? Setting the Table

30 Friday Oct 2026

Posted by in Scouts, NIL, Transfer portal, College personnel

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Today in the Friday Wrap (register here), we conduct a long-awaited deep dive into Power 4 front offices. It’s something I’ve wondered about for a long time, and it mirrors our actual breakdown of NFL front offices, which will come later this fall (here’s last year’s if you’re interested in geeking out).

Anywhere, here’s our big board if you want to see what we found out (sorry, pay link). Before you dig into tonight’s Wrap (which comes out at 7:30 p.m. EDT), in which we make our observations and insights about the current state of football front offices, I wanted to set the table a little.

  • Lots of teams have scouting analysts and scouting assistants that they list on the team’s website. However, we didn’t count those positions as true executive-level positions. We only counted GMs/AGMs, directors and coordinators.
  • Though we didn’t actually count the number of chiefs of staff, that position seems to be far more necessary than GM these days. Obviously, some of those chiefs of staff are doing some amount of evaluation and scouting, though it’s nearly impossible to guess which do and how much.
  • Though it seems like every program has a general manager these days, at least at the P4 level, that’s not true. Not even close. We only counted 59, and that’s with eight school officials that seemed to act as GMs even if they didn’t hold the actual title. Where we had to guess, we did it based on our conversations with NIL agents and other college staffers during our ratings posts in the Wrap and on ITL.
  • When it comes to scouting, some schools cleave up their departments based on offensive and defensive evaluation. Others do it based on the portal vs. high school personnel. I don’t know which way is right, and if there’s a majority on how most do it, I didn’t see it.
  • Analytics is a hot topic, especially on the NFL side, but on the college side, it’s still not a primary focus. There are a handful of schools that have analytics staffers, but for the most part, that seems to be farmed out to the various software services that are such a big part of how colleges work.
  • Incidentally, a conversation I had with a P4 GM last week led me to believe that more and more teams (about 12, by my count) are looking to build their own proprietary tech structures that give them even better access to the information they have, which might mean they start to move away from subscription services. But that’s a conversation for another day.
  • Even fewer schools have staffers assigned to artificial intelligence, though I expect that to change. USC, of course, is the exception, though there are probably a half-dozen schools with a football technology staff member, and those jobs could have an AI component.

Anyway, if the changing face of college front offices interests you, and it probably should if you work in the football space, make sure to check out the Wrap later today and today’s post at the mother ship. It’s a fascinating and quickly-changing part of the college football universe.

Some Lagniappe from Our Discussions with GMs This Week

16 Friday Oct 2026

Posted by in Agents, College personnel, NIL

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This week, on the heels of our reports on the top NIL agents who work primarily on the G6 level as well as the ones who focus more on P4 schools, we decided to turn the tables, asking NIL agents who worked at both levels which GMs they respect the most. Of course, when you ask these questions, you get more than just lists. You also get thoughts on the game as it has evolved (and is evolving).

We thought we’d pass along some of the more interesting observations here.

  • “(General manager is) a relatively new position and I think a lot of people are not well-suited for the spot. I think we’re still at a point where a place developed a job description around a person as opposed to finding a person for that job description. A lot of people don’t have that skill to balance the books and evaluate and lead a staff. A lot of them don’t know enough football or know enough people in football. Like, you were making sure the chicken got to the locker room for postgame meal and made sure the bus driver had a room, but can you handle the enormity of putting together a roster?”
  • “The best general managers in my estimation are the ones that understand their school and its limitations as well as its strengths. And where they’re at. Like, if a school is taking a long time and that’s part of their process at that school, they tell us. If they need to to get more clearance from the tower at their place, they tell us. That helps put things at ease. They accept fault when it’s theirs and they don’t pass the buck.”
  • “I think they best ones try to incorporate the coaching staff early on to make the player feel comfortable. The player isn’t accustomed to talking to front office types. They’re more accustomed to talking to coaches. I think that’s the best way to do it because they’re the ones that are gonna be coaching the player.”
  • “Not a dig at anyone, but there are a lot more bad (front offices) than good ones. . . The good ones stick out. A good bit of that, I think, is just growing pains in this new landscape, which is understandable.”

I thought all of these comments were well-founded. The GM position is brand new. Even with all the dollars and brainpower delivered to hiring the people who sit in those seats, there’s going to be a learning curve.

Speaking of learning curves, the transfer portal is still so new, and college front offices still so much in flux, that it’s hard to even have an informed opinion on who’s doing the job the best. Whenever I visit a school, I ask the GMs who they respect the most. More often than not, they can’t, or won’t, name anyone. They may know the GMs in their region, or the ones in their conference, but the best ones in the nation? No chance. Just too hard to know who’s good. I don’t know that that changes anytime soon.

Shifting gears, as we gathered info from NIL agents, we also got a few extra comments on who’s on the rise, at the P4 and G6 levels. Just for fun, I thought I’d include them here.

  • “A guy who will be a P4 GM who has been tremendous is Taylor Redd at Oklahoma.”
  • “I know you didn’t ask for Assistant GMs, but Sam Popper is a huge part of what makes San Diego State so enjoyable to work with and deserves recognition, too.”
  • “I think future stars (include) . . . Marshall Cherrington at (California).”
  • “Asst. GMs – John Srofe (Indiana), Jack Griffith (Penn State).”

For even more on this topic, including what NIL agents told us about who the best G6 general managers are, make sure to check out today’s post at Inside the League and this evening’s edition of the Friday Wrap. Register here if you don’t already get our free newsletter.

Who Are the Top NIL Agents? Here’s What P4 GMs Told Us

08 Thursday Oct 2026

Posted by in Agents, College personnel, NIL

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Last week in the Friday Wrap, I talked to several G6 GMs about the NIL agents they trust most, who are the most fair and overall most professional. We got a lot of feedback and I passed it all along in the newsletter. If you work in the transfer portal, make sure to check it out.

While we kept it limited to G6 last week (we hoped it would give us a good rendering of some of the up-and-coming agencies), the plan was always to do the same on the P4 level. We did that this week, and though big-school GMs are swamped and full of responsibilities, we got 20 responses, with 46 different agents mentioned. Some GMs were longer-winded and more detailed than others, of course, but I was struck by how thorough some of the texts were. So much so that I wanted to share a couple of them in this space and provide a few comments. Here’s the first one:

“As far as the best/most professional agents I deal with, there are a lot of them! In no particular order:

  • Tom Povinelli – Athletes First: Extremely professional and honest. Has an even keeled temperament. Has close relationships with his players and their families. Typically will only work with the right kind of athlete. Easy to work with.
  • Kelly Donigan – Ethos: Very professional with how he works and communicates. We don’t always have easy conversations, but that’s part of it. It’s always respectful on both ends and I feel like we can both be honest with each other.
  • Miles Jordan – Jordan Sports Group: Young, but very professional and polished in my opinion. Doesn’t get emotional when temperatures rise. Not always easy conversations but he is a poised agent who looks out for his guys.
  • Honorable Mention: Joe Gazza – Aurum Sports: Every time we talk, there’s no BS. It’s all meat and potatoes which I appreciate it. Joe doesn’t have time for the fluff. Realistic about each one of his guys which is always appreciated.”

This text was notable for a couple reasons. One, obviously, is the level of detail, but the other is that it includes both Miles Jordan of Jordan Sports Group and Kelly Donigan of Ethos Sports Group. Both of them were among the most respected NIL agents in the business, based on what I was told. However, the recurring theme among all four is professionalism, poise and maturity.

Here’s the second text:

“Pat Curran has always been great. More NIL than NFL, but probably growing some. Kelly Donigan with Ethos (Sports Group) is great. Kyle Strongin with Range (Sports) is awesome. Kyle McCarthy with (Athletes First) has had several of our guys. (Jack) Bechta and Ryan Hays (of JB Sports are) getting more into college but great to work with. (These) are probably our top ones we deal with on a consistent basis. . . Feel like bigger agencies (are) easier to deal with when negotiating because they want the NFL client, but get bogged down on stupid contract (issues) when it gets to their legal counsel.”

I liked this response because I was given more than just the minimum three names and, I felt, there was a comfort level that came through from this particular GM.

If you’re interested in more feedback on who the top NIL agents are, at least in the eyes of GMs at the highest level of college football, make sure you check out this week’s Friday Wrap (register here) and today’s report at Inside the League. We counted up the times agents were mentioned (and we have several winners). If you work with players, see if you were one of the nearly 50 that P4 GMs rated as top-three.

New on a College Personnel Staff? Heed This Advice

28 Friday Aug 2026

Posted by in College personnel, Getting started, Transfer portal

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If you were in Nashville earlier this month, good on ya. At Inside the League, we are pretty devout about the power of networking, and with 1,600 people there, there were plenty of people to meet.

Many of them were what I call “0-3s.” In other words, people who are still in the volunteer stage of their careers and have not even been part of a college personnel department for more than three years. Again, no criticism here. If you’re career-minded, you want to make the right decisions, and going to events like the Personnel and Recruiting Symposium, like our own symposium, is a good one. Still, there are other good decisions to make. One of them is to make sure you are conducting yourself in the right way.

To make sure the next generation of evaluators is on the right track, I reached out to several college GMs about what advice they’d give their volunteers with the new season at hand. One response, in particular, stood out to me, so I want to publish it — anonymously — in its entirety.

“We’re all on the same team. No job is too small. You’re going to be asked to help in a lot of areas outside of scouting. The quickest way to get fired is for me to hear you say ‘that’s not my job’ to a superior of a different department. If you’re working on something for me and somebody else needs your help, come to me and I will handle it.

“Be dependable. Attention to detail is vital. A lot of the work you’re going to be given is boring, tedious, not sexy. Inputting data, updating spreadsheets, typing up notes, etc. and I don’t have time to double check everything you do. But if I can’t trust you to do the little things, then how can I give you more responsibilities? Take pride in your work.

“The No. 1 most important thing I look for when filling those roles is attitude/mindset. 95% of being good in that role is willingness to do whatever is asked of you. I want somebody who is going to do whatever is asked of them, to the best of their ability, with urgency and a smile on their face.

“Be eager to work and help. And that’s with everything, not just the stuff you want to be doing. You should never be sitting around doing nothing. Ask what you can assist with or if you seeing something that doesn’t look right or needs to be done, be proactive. I would rather tell you to slow down than to pick it up. While also understanding your role and not overstepping, i.e. don’t make decisions that aren’t yours to make.

“You should act and carry yourself for the job you want, not the job you have. The way you dress, how you conduct yourself in the building, what time you arrive/leave. You never know when somebody is watching. Don’t give anybody a reason to think you don’t belong here. You’re not going to have a ton of interactions with everybody in the building, so giving somebody the wrong impression is going to be hard to make up for, because you may not get another chance.”

While that response was excellent, there was more. Here are a few highlights from other college GMs at both the P4 and G5 level.

  • “My first thought is to be where your feet are and excel in the tasks you’re given! I think people are so quick to look forward to the places they want to be, working on the tasks they want to work on but you only get those opportunities if you do a great job with the work you’re given right at the start.”
  • “Master the balancing act of curious and confident — (dig) to understand the why, not just what. Don’t be Capt. Obvious, thinking what you’ve discovered is profound. Find comfort in being the “designated disagreer. All are looking for confident truth-tellers that provide “stuff,” not fluff/word salads (or) ’empty calories.'”

Good luck this season! The college personnel community is growing at lightning speed and there are plenty of opportunities out there. Just make sure you’re smart about how you seek it.

2026 Personnel Symposium: Getting from an A to an A-plus

07 Friday Aug 2026

Posted by in Agents, All Star Games, College personnel, Getting started, Media, NIL, Transfer portal

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Obviously, it was a great week in Nashville. Anytime you have 1,500 members of a rather distinct (and maybe even secretive) community in one place over the space of three days, sharing ideas and best practices, that’s a good thing. From GMs at P4 and G5 schools to all-star directors to NFL and NIL agents to NFL scouts to vendors of every stripe, there were a LOT of hands to shake and relationships to make or renew. There was free coffee and beverages by day and agency socials at night. I can’t imagine anyone that attended didn’t see it as a major benefit.

Check out this brief anecdote from someone chasing his dream: “The best thing of the week was the advice I received from (one NFL team official). After I finished my brief intro, I told her I would try to get my foot in the door for roughly three years and she looked at me and said, ‘don’t quit five minutes before the miracle.’ Gave me the chills.”

You don’t normally get that from an email, a text, or even a Zoom session.

Of course, there’s always a way to tailor things, polish them a little, maybe even improve them. That’s the nature of any business. For our part, we found it a little hard to hear in the back of the room sometimes. Maybe that’s on us — the people sitting in front likely had no problems — but if there was anything we’d improve, that would be it.

With that in mind, we asked several attendees if there’s anything they’d improve. Here’s what they told us.

  • “I appreciate the panels and realize they are good learning opportunities for some of the younger folks but they feel a bit promotional rather than informative. Obviously nobody is revealing state secrets anymore so I don’t know how much of that can change. . . at the GM meeting . . . I don’t think they structured it right. Teamworks made a big presentation which was boring. Then they had this anonymous compensation survey that no big spender did. I think you have to make it more discussion-based.”
  • “The symposium has outgrown the space. The talks on Tuesday were wall-to-wall people, so you had to grab a seat and hold onto it or risk standing in the back and not being able to hear.”
  • “(There are) some really great speakers. I think having more space could be something good to add!”
  • “I think there could have been more granular/in-depth sessions around roster construction and cap management. I understand it was not intended to be tailored towards that, but I think given how mission-critical revenue share and player finance is, perhaps there could have been some more focus on that.”
  • “What I think could be better is to have a deadline for room block-offs at the hotel.”
  • “Think some of the meetings were repetitive a little bit.”
  • “First thought of improvement that comes to mind is a larger conference area.”
  • “Too many times it felt like breakout rooms were so small and the hallway had more foot traffic than it could handle.”

Personnel Symposium 2026: My Most Anticipated Sessions

31 Friday Jul 2026

Posted by in College personnel, Getting started, ITL, NIL, Transfer portal

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If you’re like me, you know the backbone of working in the business of football is your network. You get your job, and you get better at your job, through the people you know. It’s why I started the ITL Symposium and why I rarely miss chances to be among the people in the industry. This is why I’m not missing next week’s Personnel and Recruiting Symposium in Nashville, and I highly recommend you try to be there, too.

The list of sessions has been posted, and if you’ve been previously, you know that you can attend whatever session you want during the three days (half-day Monday, full day Tuesday, half-day Wednesday) of the event. Here are the six places you’ll be sure to find me next week.

  • How Will AI Change Scouting and Roster Building, presented by Teamworks (Monday, 4:45 p.m.): “AI” is the word on everyone’s lips these days; you may have heard that one college football blue blood team has even hired a Director of AI. As a guy who’s been accused of being old-fashioned, I look forward to hearing what direction AI is taking the game. I look forward to having my mind blown.
  • Social presented by Hudl (Monday, 6:30 p.m.): Look, if you can only make one session, it needs to be this one. Last year, I’d estimate there were 400 people in one giant room talking, renewing acquaintances and making new contacts. If you work in college or pro football, and you are serious about your career, you gotta be in this room Monday night.
  • Building a Front Office – Staff Structures (Tuesday, 11 a.m.): In my opinion, this is the most critical topic in the business that not enough people are talking about. If you listen to the podcast I co-host regularly, you know that everyone in the game is on an endless quest to find out the most efficient way of doing their respective jobs. I’m eager to hear what is discussed Tuesday morning.
  • Realities of NFL Scouting vs College Personnel (Tuesday, 4 p.m.): Though a lot of people don’t realize it, there’s a difference between player evaluation at the NFL level as opposed to college. Though this title is a little vague, I hope this addresses the vagaries of both — as well as how the jobs, pressures, demands differ.
  • Pro Liason Programming + Scout Relationships (Tuesday, 5 p.m.): There is an art to developing relationships, and the ups and downs of how NFL scouts and their college counterparts deal with each other is something we discuss and think about quite a bit. I’m eager to hear more from people in the industry about this topic.
  • Advancement Strategies for Young Professionals (Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.): Last year, the symposium kind of became a ghost town on Wednesday morning; as I recall, even some of the vendors left early. Maybe that’s why organizers have chosen to put three career development sessions on Wednesday morning. I chose to spotlight this one, but really, any of the three (the other two are “Career Development – Tips for Young Evaluators” and another one simply called “Career Development”) seem helpful. As someone who’s focused on helping others’ career development 24-7, I’m always looking for tips on how I can best help my people.

By the way, if you’re curious about who will be in Nashville next week, we’re compiling a list of college GMs who are confirmed for the Music City. It will be in the Friday Wrap later today. Register for it here. See you in Nashville.

Here’s Your Summer Guide for Getting Ahead in Football

17 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by in College personnel, Getting started, NFL draft, NIL, Scouts

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If you’re truly interested in finding a job in football, and you haven’t yet, you can’t use the summer to lay on the beach. June, July and August have become primetime for meetups and conferences that give you a chance to find opportunities. The key is finding the ones that are well-attended and reasonably priced.

Here are three I’ll be attending this summer. I’ve only been to one of them previously, but I’m pretty confident all three are going to be outstanding events.

ADs for Christ Summer Gathering (Birmingham) — Next weekend — Obviously, this one comes with a faith component, so if you’re not a committed Christian, it’s probably not the place for you. On the other hand, as long as you keep the main thing the main thing, it’s a golden opportunity. The speaker lineup includes SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Missouri AD Laird Veatch, Ole Miss Senior Deputy AD Eric Wood and more. Jessica Lopez, a key member of the Miami (Fla.) personnel office, runs this, and she’s incredibly organized — she just thinks of everything. This will be my first time attending, but it’s been going on for 10 years. Can’t wait to be there. And cost is just $100. That’s amazing. But again, this is for people who take their faith seriously.

OL Masterminds Summit (Dallas) — July 10-11 — This one is probably more by invitation only, but if you are around offensive linemen much at all, you know who Duke Manyweather is. His annual summit is a big deal, and draws some of the most established names in the game when it comes to centers, guards and tackles (and the people who work with them). Duke has dedicated himself to offensive linemen, whether they’re prospective draft picks or veterans, and has built an incredible reputation for making them better.

Personnel & Recruiting Symposium (Nashville) — Aug. 3-5 — This one is a little pricey but still may sell out. Last year, I think they almost ran out of room at the Renaissance Nashville and I kinda expected them to move it this year. Anyway, it’s really well-run and just overrun with college personnel staffers, NIL and NFL agents, NFL scouts and executives and others associated with the game. The class sessions are great but making and renewing acquaintances is the main reason to be there, especially if you’re still on the new side and trying to build a network.

Some Fun Facts About This Week’s Podcast Guest, Alonzo Highsmith

22 Friday May 2026

Posted by in College personnel, NFL draft, Scouts

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I guess when you’re around football as long as Alonzo Highsmith has, you wind up being associated with an awful lot of big names. That’s one thing that really struck me during this week’s episode of the Scouting the League podcast, which features the Senior Personnel Executive of the Patriots.

This week’s show was a lot of fun not just because I got to talk football with one of the top scouting minds in the game for an hour, but for all the interesting facets of Zo’s life that I learned during the pre-interview research phase as well as during the podcast itself. Here are a few things that I found especially interesting.

  • Alonzo was the No. 1 prospect in his class at his high school position — linebacker. Not fullback, where he was eventually a first-round pick by the Houston Oilers in the 1987 draft. He said he cried when head coach Howard Schnellenberger asked him to switch positions, but a desire to help the team drove him to make the change.
  • None other than Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall, who went on to stardom with the Bears, basically knocked Zo out of the 1983 season. He barely got healthy in time to return late in the season and even score a touchdown in the Orange Bowl win over Nebraska.
  • Zo was basically drafted by the Oilers to be the successor to Earl Campbell, who had been traded prior to the 1985 season.
  • His head coach in Houston was Jerry Glanville, which is funny because, ideally, Zo would have given Houston a power rushing attack. When I think of Glanville, I think of the guy who brought the Run and Shoot offense to the NFL as head coach of the Falcons.
  • After his playing career, during his four years as a heavyweight boxer, Zo actually signed to fight George Foreman. However, the fight was cancelled because promoters didn’t want to risk Foreman losing before he could fight Larry Holmes, who was scheduled to be his next opponent after Zo.
  • Zo and his son, AJ, actually room together in Foxboro. Presumably, that will change soon, as AJ, the Patriots’ pro director, is getting married next month.
  • Until we talked, I never thought about how so many super-talented people who came out of Green Bay’s front office have almost no ego. It starts with Executive VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf; I could give you a half-dozen examples of Eliot going out of his way to make me, a nobody who has never worked in the league, feel important. However, it’s also true of Seahawks GM John Schneider and Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan in addition to Zo. Each of them have every reason to think they are hot stuff, but they are all just regular guys.
  • Maybe one reason Zo has had so much success helping draft QBs (Aaron Rodgers, Baker Mayfield and Drake Maye have all been selected on his watch) is because of the QBs he’s played with. His QBs at Miami (Fla.) were Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde. His QB in Houston? Warren Moon. In Dallas? Troy Aikman. Even Steve Deberg, who shared the QB position with Testaverde during Alonzo’s time with the Bucs, was not half-bad. Wow.

So there you go. Eight fun facts about Alonzo Highsmith that are part of this week’s podcast and I haven’t spoiled one bit of Zo’s thoughts and philosphy on scouting and player evaluation, which he discusses at length. If you haven’t listen in yet, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Why No Transition in NFL Scouting So Far?

15 Friday May 2026

Posted by in College personnel, Getting started, NFL draft, Scouts

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The question I’m getting non-stop right now is, ‘why has it been so slow?’

The “it” in this case is the normal transition that takes place on NFL scouting staffs this time of year. The young people trying to break into the league, as well as unemployed scouts trying to get back in, are constantly lamenting the lack of openings. Here’s why they say things are running behind.

  • It’s highly anecdotal, I know, but by this time last year, we had tweeted 42 times on scouting moves. This year, 30 tweets.
  • So far, there have been only five newly hired/promoted Area Scouts. Last year, there were 36, though that number reflects the entire offseason. There’s still time, but we’re way off pace.
  • On the pro side, we saw 13 scouts earn designation as an in-house evaluator. So far this season? Five.
  • Last year, there were 11 new National Scouts. This year? Two.

Rookie mini-camps (for the teams that still have them) are over across the league (one reason why I had expected this to be a busy week for scouting changes). Most staffs have been sent home. That means, for a team to even let an evaluator go, it will have to be over the phone (to say nothing of giving them a head start on job-seeking).

As someone who’s a big advocate for scouts and someone who hates to see people lose their jobs, I hope there aren’t any more job losses all summer. Still, it’s inevitable that there’s some level of transition. So why has there been so little change so far? I’m not sure, but here are my theories.

  • Many of the people who’d normally be seeking a job in the NFL are now making decent money on the college side, leaving fewer hotshot prospects ready to move up. For this reason, front offices are going status quo.
  • Teams are focused on getting their respective analytics staffs right first. There has been a decent amount of movement on the numbers side. Maybe teams are just being methodical.
  • The two teams that went to the Super Bowl have leadership off the Packers tree (John Schneider in Seattle, Eliot Wolf in New England). Green Bay is old-school, leaning much more on their Area and National Scouts than is popular in most front offices these days. Maybe teams want to emulate their success.
  • Dozens of Scouting Assistants are completing their second years, respectively, with NFL teams, as we’ve noted previously. Maybe changes are coming, but teams want to make sure they know which Scouting Assistants are deserving of promotions and, more importantly, they’re still devising a plan for replacing those Scouting Assistants.
  • It’s still early. We’ll see changes. They just haven’t hit yet.

It could all change at any moment, but so far, it’s looking like this offseason could be an anomaly. We discuss this and other facets of scouting and job-hunting in our weekly newsletter, the Friday Wrap. If you aren’t already registered for it, do that here.

2026 G5 GM Zoom Series: A Few Thoughts

08 Friday May 2026

Posted by in College personnel, NIL, Transfer portal

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I felt really good about our symposium at the NFL Combine in February, and I wanted to keep the momentum going. A couple of our panelists then discussed a chat loop set up among GMs in the conference, so I thought I’d give personnel staffers on a lower level a similar platform. That’s how the 2026 G5 GM Zoom series started.

Tonight was our second session. Here’s a brief overview of how the first two sessions have gone.

Tuesday: We had about 17 GMs discussing the art of having hard conversations, or, more specifically, saying no. In this business, simply disagreeing on something can mean the end of a relationship. The topic led to a pretty robust discussion. One GM said he and his staff develop a detailed scouting report — not just on-field, but also detailing tardiness, failed wiz quizzes, poor effort in the weight room — that they can cite if a player comes in saying he’s not getting what he’s worth. I was also a little surprised by the responses to some of the questions. I asked if any of them would have an interest in fundraising or other outside-the-office duties, and to my surprise, some said they’d look forward to such an opportunity. I think there’s a desire to really be authentic with potential donors. I can’t think of a better way than that.

Tonight: The topic was building and maintaining a volunteer staff, a tough job when you’re asking people to put in long hours for no pay. One GM is highly skilled at finding work-study opportunities for his staffers, which is one way to at least show some appreciation for the hours put in. Some schools are having success asking volunteers to work full-time (something we’ve discussed in this space before), but these are very special circumstances. One of the more seasoned GMs has placed around 20 former volunteers in full-time jobs in sports (not all in football, but still). Being able to show your volunteers that there’s a path to success is a great way to keep the fires burning.

Our final three Zooms will cover software service preferences (what’s good, what’s bad, what’s the best value); development and compensation of paid staff; and how to stop, or at least contain, tampering.

Many of them are on the road, so I don’t expect perfect attendance. The key is having a space for them to be able to draw on their peers’ experiences and come up with ideas for solving problems.

Anyway, it’s been fun so far, and really educational. Hopefully this is something we can extend to other strata of the industry soon. The beauty of technology means people don’t have to sit in one room to share ideas anymore. Might as well take advantage of it.