Summary: Shaun Richard, Ohio State University Associate Athletic Director Joins the Podcast to Discuss What it Takes to Work in College Sports<br> This is part 1 of my interview with Shaun Richard from Ohio State, we focus in on what the job of being an athletic director consists of and the challenges of working in collegiate sports.<br> <br> In part 2 Shaun and I dive into what you need to do to prepare yourself to work in college sports, should you get your masters, what are the skills schools want, how to network and so much more. Give both parts a listen and subscribe to the Work in Sports podcast already!<br> <br> <br> <br> If you have a question you'd like us to answer on the show, email me podcast@workinsports.com. We're listening, and if we feature your question on a show, you'll get a free month of full access to our site!<br> <br> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-work-in-sports-podcast/id1281010624"></a><br> Part 1 with Shaun Richard, Ohio State University Associate Athletic Director<br> Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for <a href="http://workinsports.com">WorkinSports.com</a> and this is the Work in Sports podcast.<a href="https://www.workinsports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/eps17_cover-1.png"></a><br> <br> I’ll admit I have blinders for pro sports. I grew up in Boston and outside of a nice few years of Doug Flutie, college sports just weren’t that big up there. Our pro teams, now that’s a different story.<br> <br> I also went to a University that isn’t from a power 5 conference, more like a puny 55. The sports while I was in college were purely enjoyed for tailgating purposes.<br> <br> This fact has translated to our first 29 podcasts, not a lot of talk about college athletics. Fan of the show <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielrgale/">Nathanial Gale</a> pointed this out to me via linkedin, asking me point blank: I want to be an Athletic Director at a power five conference, how do I make that leap?<br> <br> Well, since I promise not to be fake or inauthentic, I told Nathaniel, I don’t really know.<br> <br> A decade or two ago I wouldn’t have been able to say those simple few words “I don’t know”, because I was afraid that would be a sign of weakness. I couldn’t be classified as weak, so I had to ACT as if I had answers for everything.<br> <br> I was afraid to sound unmanly if I didn’t know how to frame in a window. I was afraid to sound incompetent if I didn’t know how to raise the gain on my audio recording. I was afraid to sound unintelligent if I didn’t have a strong opinion on political meanderings.<br> <br> This is not real. It is not authentic.<br> <br> You don’t have all the answers, neither do your bosses, your parents or some self-help author claiming to know the formula for greatness.<br> <br> Practice it with me, say it aloud: “I don’t know”.<br> <br> These aren’t banished words. They do not make you incapable, they make you honest. And if followed up with the right combinations of words right after “I don’t know” they make you even more powerful than before.<br> <br> How about this: ”I don’t know, but I can find out.”<br> <br> Now we’re on to something. Honesty mixed with hustle.<br> <br> So you know what I told Nathaniel – “I don’t know…but how about I get a guest on the show who is in college athletics to answer your question?” He seemed to like that idea.<br> <br> I went to social media and I found <a href="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/genrel/shaun_richard_945710.html">Shaun Richard Associate Athletic Director for Ohio State University</a>…now that would be a good get. So I asked, and he said yes.<br> <br> In fact, Shaun and I talked for about 55 minutes about the world of college sports, so I broke this interview into two parts. The first part is all about the job itself, what does it take to work in college athletics,
