Ask the AD Transcript - May 22, 2018
May 22, 2018 | Baseball, Football, Tennis, Track & Field, Athletics
K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor (GT) fields another round of questions from host Brian Smoller (BS) and K-State fans, including the search for a new leader of the baseball program, tennis and track updates, football scheduling, football turf improvements, investigating esports and Catbacker Tour among others. Watch the full video or read the transcript below.
Brian Smoller: First thing, there is a baseball coach search going on at K-State right now. Where are things with it?
Gene Taylor: It's early, but we have had great interest in the job and some great candidates that we have had some initial conversations with. We are talking with both head coaches and assistant coaches primarily at the Power Five level and some head coaches not at the Power Five level. There is a lot of respect for the program because of what Brad has done and see tremendous potential. We are pleased with where we are, but things may slow down with the start of conference tournament and NCAA Regional play.
BS: Let's move on to tennis and the incredible season that the Wildcats and head coach Danielle Steinberg had this season.
GT: It was great for that team and for her (Steinberg) to not only have one of the best seasons in recent memory but also reach the NCAA Tournament and win a match. Hats off to them, and they are a young team with many coming back and some other good young athletes coming in next year. Really pleased with what they have done.
BS: Track and field continues to roll on, winning another Big 12 Championship.
GT: I congratulated them – Coach Rovelto was recently named Big 12 Coach of the Year again – and it is hard to win a Big 12 Championship and to do it in back-to-back seasons is really impressive. And just as impressive was the men's team going from last place a year ago to third place this year. Hats off to both track and field programs this year.
BS: On to our questions from the fans now, first one is are there any conversations of getting Nebraska on any future non-conference schedules in the near future?
GT: None right now, but that is a school that makes a lot of sense. We are pretty well-scheduled out in football with our one Power Five opponent, but we do play them in baseball and have had conversations in men's basketball. If the opportunity were to arise, they are someone we would certainly entertain if it made sense for us.
BS: Next question is what are your thoughts on moving football games to Thursday or Friday nights?
GT: We would always first want to visit with Coach Snyder about and evaluate what type of national exposure opportunity would arise and if it were to be one of only a couple games across the country on television at that time. Generally speaking from our fans' perspective and also from our team's perspective, it could provide a few extra days of preparation for the following week so that would all be a part of the conversation. We would be extra cautious with looking at them.
BS: Speaking of football, one little project that's been recently done is the replacement of the turf.
GT: I just walked by, I think they're done, in terms of the in-fill. It looks great and I think it's going to feel a lot differently for the players because it's going to be softer and newer. The last turf was about eight years old, the feel for the players is really going to be pretty special. The one question we get is the outward (turf), last year it used to be asphalt but we added turf. It's a little worn down, for a couple of reasons. One, that's where we run our equipment off of and where this particular group was running their equipment, so it looks a little different. But one of the questions was maybe replace that with purple – I kind of like that idea. We're not going to do that next year, but we may in the future.
BS: You're going to be involved in the Big 12's Esports Forum down in Dallas, with Mark Cuban among others on the panel.
GT: I'm not sure exactly why I'm on this panel, but I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be very interesting. Bonnie Bernstein is going to moderate the conversation, Bob Bowlsby our commissioner is going to be on there, and one of the groups out west that plays for the Bob Bowlsby Trophy after comments he made about esports. It's going to be very interesting. I think it's an opportunity for us to talk about esports and what role does it or doesn't it play in college athletics. Is it something we can partner with other groups on campus in? It will be an interesting conversation.
BS: What's the Catbacker Tour been like so far?
GT: It's been great. We were just out in the western part of the state – I hit Garden City, Scott City and Dodge City and that's always fun. I missed Colby and some of the others, but we're in Wichita tonight. The Catbacker events are really special, it gives a chance for us to say thank you to our fanbase. Our fans come from all over the state. It's a chance for our coaches to get out and say thank you, for me to say thank you and appreciate all they do for us. Going through it for the second time, so for me a lot of the faces are more familiar and I get a chance to have better conversations about what's going on in our programs, gives us a chance to update everyone where we are. I love them, they're great events and we look forward to seeing everybody across the state.
It's a lot of fun and the fun thing is that we're introducing some things for children, it's become much more of a family type atmosphere, which is important to get those young kids to be interested in K-State.
Brian Smoller: First thing, there is a baseball coach search going on at K-State right now. Where are things with it?
Gene Taylor: It's early, but we have had great interest in the job and some great candidates that we have had some initial conversations with. We are talking with both head coaches and assistant coaches primarily at the Power Five level and some head coaches not at the Power Five level. There is a lot of respect for the program because of what Brad has done and see tremendous potential. We are pleased with where we are, but things may slow down with the start of conference tournament and NCAA Regional play.
BS: Let's move on to tennis and the incredible season that the Wildcats and head coach Danielle Steinberg had this season.
GT: It was great for that team and for her (Steinberg) to not only have one of the best seasons in recent memory but also reach the NCAA Tournament and win a match. Hats off to them, and they are a young team with many coming back and some other good young athletes coming in next year. Really pleased with what they have done.
BS: Track and field continues to roll on, winning another Big 12 Championship.
GT: I congratulated them – Coach Rovelto was recently named Big 12 Coach of the Year again – and it is hard to win a Big 12 Championship and to do it in back-to-back seasons is really impressive. And just as impressive was the men's team going from last place a year ago to third place this year. Hats off to both track and field programs this year.
BS: On to our questions from the fans now, first one is are there any conversations of getting Nebraska on any future non-conference schedules in the near future?
GT: None right now, but that is a school that makes a lot of sense. We are pretty well-scheduled out in football with our one Power Five opponent, but we do play them in baseball and have had conversations in men's basketball. If the opportunity were to arise, they are someone we would certainly entertain if it made sense for us.
BS: Next question is what are your thoughts on moving football games to Thursday or Friday nights?
GT: We would always first want to visit with Coach Snyder about and evaluate what type of national exposure opportunity would arise and if it were to be one of only a couple games across the country on television at that time. Generally speaking from our fans' perspective and also from our team's perspective, it could provide a few extra days of preparation for the following week so that would all be a part of the conversation. We would be extra cautious with looking at them.
BS: Speaking of football, one little project that's been recently done is the replacement of the turf.
GT: I just walked by, I think they're done, in terms of the in-fill. It looks great and I think it's going to feel a lot differently for the players because it's going to be softer and newer. The last turf was about eight years old, the feel for the players is really going to be pretty special. The one question we get is the outward (turf), last year it used to be asphalt but we added turf. It's a little worn down, for a couple of reasons. One, that's where we run our equipment off of and where this particular group was running their equipment, so it looks a little different. But one of the questions was maybe replace that with purple – I kind of like that idea. We're not going to do that next year, but we may in the future.
BS: You're going to be involved in the Big 12's Esports Forum down in Dallas, with Mark Cuban among others on the panel.
GT: I'm not sure exactly why I'm on this panel, but I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be very interesting. Bonnie Bernstein is going to moderate the conversation, Bob Bowlsby our commissioner is going to be on there, and one of the groups out west that plays for the Bob Bowlsby Trophy after comments he made about esports. It's going to be very interesting. I think it's an opportunity for us to talk about esports and what role does it or doesn't it play in college athletics. Is it something we can partner with other groups on campus in? It will be an interesting conversation.
BS: What's the Catbacker Tour been like so far?
GT: It's been great. We were just out in the western part of the state – I hit Garden City, Scott City and Dodge City and that's always fun. I missed Colby and some of the others, but we're in Wichita tonight. The Catbacker events are really special, it gives a chance for us to say thank you to our fanbase. Our fans come from all over the state. It's a chance for our coaches to get out and say thank you, for me to say thank you and appreciate all they do for us. Going through it for the second time, so for me a lot of the faces are more familiar and I get a chance to have better conversations about what's going on in our programs, gives us a chance to update everyone where we are. I love them, they're great events and we look forward to seeing everybody across the state.
It's a lot of fun and the fun thing is that we're introducing some things for children, it's become much more of a family type atmosphere, which is important to get those young kids to be interested in K-State.
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