Ask the AD: October 2, 2025

Brian Smoller (BS): Hello and welcome to another edition of Ask the A.D. Brian Smoller, along the Director of Athletics, Gene Taylor. Glad you could join us. We have a lot to get to today. It's been a bit. Had a busy start to the season with home matches for volleyball and soccer, plus home football games for K-State, Ireland, the whole thing. Now we're kind of hitting the stride as winter sports begin their practice and heating up.

Gene Taylor (GT): Been a while, like you said, but a lot of stuff that's happened, and we just are ready. We're gonna get in that point where it's still fall sports and winter sports. It's crazy.

BS: The overlap, as it's lovingly called here, that's coming very soon. All right, so let's just get into it. Because we have a lot of questions from the fans to get to. We try to use one or two questions to sum up kind of prevailing thought or theme. So bear with us as we get through it. So the first question, really, this was asked in many different forms and fashion, but it comes from @JasonVinsonhal6 on X, which the question is: "What plans KSU have in place or being implemented to ensure we are not left behind in future conference realignment scenarios?"

GT: Yeah, that's an interesting question, and there's a lot of stuff out there, right? There's a lot of rumors, there's a lot of discussion. There's, you know, TV deals are coming up over the next few years. You know, conferences are talking about, you know, rescheduling and adding games and whatever. I think as far as K-State, we just have to continue to be successful. We have to continue to sell out our venues. We have to continue to be attractive. We have great venues, which is, you know, a thing that many conferences look at. Are we sold out? Are we having high attendance? What kind of facilities do we have in terms of quality and quantity? And all those kind of things. So there's a lot that plays into it, but based on our history and what we've done the last several years, winning conference championships, those things matter. I'm not worried about where our place is, because I think we're a very strong program. Again, the other part of this, there's also very much an institutional side of this. Where are we from a research perspective? Where are we from an educational perspective? So K-State's reputation is really strong. We're not going to get left behind. How are things going to change? Who knows? I mean, they could take all the conferences, blow them up and put them all into one big bucket, and I think we'd be a part of that. They could stay with doing what they're doing. So there's just so many things that go into it. I'm not worried about it. We have to continue to have success, we have to continue to fill our venues. We have to continue to have high donor involvement and strong revenues and manage our expenses. All those things matter, and I think we're in a good spot.

BS: There's a lot of fear when it comes to the unknown. It seems like.

GT: There's a lot of unknown.

BS: Absolutely. And it's going to be that way, unfortunately, for a little bit. Football, obviously starting. Gets the big win against UCF, feeling it's back on the uptick. But that led me, perhaps a little bit to the fear.

GT: Probably, you know, I get, you know, fans get nervous. We've had a lot of success, and I think there was a lot of expectations this year. And right, rightfully so. And I think Coach had a lot of expectations, and when it starts out like it did, I can see there's this frustration, there's worry. I think Coach and his staff and the team did a great job during the bye week and had a great performance against Central Florida. Obviously, our next few games, you know this league. And Coach has said it many times, it's tough to get wins, but I think the way we performed against UCF, we got to get better. We're in good hands with that coaching staff, and I trust Coach Klieman, and we'll get it figured out.

BS: Yep, good thing to say. And of course, K-State, with the UCF game, had 23 straight sellouts. That's a pretty good streak that's rolling right now. Still need a little bit of help to finish. Make sure we get a sellout next week against TCU. So get those tickets if you're planning on it. It's going to be a beautiful day, mid afternoon, hopefully everybody gets here for that and gets 24 straight sellouts with that game and Texas Tech.

GT: And all that helps.

BS: Absolutely. All right, so with that kind of in mind, be able to find other revenue streams that sort of additional money. As we go to our next question, which comes from @CatAttackPod, great podcast, if you want to check that out, that breaks down K-State. "With WVU recently securing a naming rights deal for their basketball arena. Is there any indication from K-State on the prospects or timing for a Bramlage Coliseum naming rights agreement?"

GT: Yeah, we've actually been working on that for probably a little over a year now. I think it's an absolutely great opportunity for new revenue coming in. We've obviously visited with the Bramlage family to make sure they're involved with the conversation, because the name is so synonymous with K-State basketball. But we also know that there's an opportunity there. And then there and then there have been companies that we have reached out to and had conversations with. Some we've gotten pretty close to the end, and something just comes up. I think there's a lot of good things. Again, most companies want to come in, and the naming rights are part of it. There's so many other pieces of it. You know, what kind of involvement can I have on campus? What kind of access going to have to your students? There's a lot of pieces that go into the negotiation. And so sometimes we can do that easily. Sometimes we can't depending on the company. But right now, I think we're heading in a path with a potential opportunity, so we'll continue to look at that. But that's absolutely a revenue opportunity we need to take advantage of.

BS: Kind of on the heels of that we go to @catgolf30 who asks: "I see many conference schools that have been able to take advantage of advertising revenue on their field or court, so when can we expect to see or take advantage of those opportunities?"

GT: Again, another conversation we've been having. It became available last year for the first time, at least on-field marks on the 25 yard lines. It came out kind of late, so we didn't get a great start with it, with our sponsorship and our Learfield folks. They have been talking to teams. It's interesting how many teams they think there are. There's a lot of them out there, but they're not as many as you think, partly because some fields are already aimed for somebody. That gets a little complicated at times, but yeah, that's a great opportunity. The other thing that hasn't been talked about too much, and it's coming, are jersey patches. You know, right now, Nike hasn't been too crazy about another jersey, another patch over here. But I think that these Adidas groups and the Nikes and the other folks that are in the, you know, the equipment business, uniform business, they're understanding that that's a revenue source that we all need. And so I think those conversations, as soon as the NCAA allows it, I think that's going to be another opportunity for us to generate more revenue.

BS: And in reality, all of those different things help offset and not put the onus completely on fans and donors, yep.

GT: Other revenue sources other than you know, we obviously, we need people to buy tickets. We obviously need, and have great support from the Ahearn Fund. All those things matter, but we need to find other ways to take the burden off them a little bit.

BS: Should mention here, since you mentioned the Ahearn Fund, Fighting Ever Fighting, the new campaign that's out from the Ahearn Fund. $120 million, I know is one number that's been thrown around, but in the end, facilities are in a great spot. We're going to talk more about facilities in a minute, but it's hard in somewhat of a nebulous time and with a nebulous goal of like, 'Hey, we're trying to keep K-State competitive', but we do appreciate the donors that have given already and try to continue with this campaign.

GT: Yeah, I think campaign is great. Obviously we have the Ahearn Excellence Fund. We've had that for a long time. Obviously the focus is revenue sharing and that number that we have to get to. Finding ways, you know, obviously donors help. There's other things that they can give to: scholarships. We've added 1,000,001 new scholarships, 19 going to the women's programs. There's support for student-athletes and student-athlete development, academic support. There's so many things that donors can be a part of with Fighting Ever Fighting that's not directly tied to revenue sharing, but so many other ways that can help student-athletes. And those dollars then can be used to other places. So it's really an all-encompassing opportunity for donors to find new ways to give. And by the way, all those donations count for Ahearn Fund points and tax deductibility too.

BS: All right, let's talk football scheduling here. Let's talk about the two games already with NC State already on the books. This question is coming from @bpark6017: "Is there a plan to schedule at least one Power Four football game in future years? Seems important with a new focus on strength of schedule and strength of record." We also have some people ask the question, kind of related to this: "Do Oregon State and Washington State count as power conference teams?"

GT: As far as I know, they do. Rather, we talk about Power Four, but the PAC 12 conference commissioner and their attorney, as we sit down and talk settlement with all the other conferences, they're in those conversations. They're a part of the settlement before they broke up. So I believe that they're going to count towards towards the Power Four. But the other thing you have to remember is, yes, SEC is going to nine games. ACC is going to nine games. So they're going to have to give up a game to fit that. And they probably have games already with either another Power Four conference team, either the Big 10 or the ACC. So there's going to be a lot of movement with scheduling regarding the increase in number of games that the SEC and the ACC are adding. So that's going to open up some opportunities. You know, it's a complicated thing. Jill Shields, our Deputy A.D. has to handle that for us, and she does a great job. But there are going to be times we're going to be able to fill those. But the question is, 'How many do you schedule?' Right? I mean we play ten, nine conference games, plus the 10th non-conference Power Four. The Big 10, I think does similar. ACC is talking about going to that. So again, it's all about being able to qualify for the playoffs. Right now it's 12. We'll go to 16, we'll go to 24. All those things are still on the table and being discussed.

BS: Yeah. And again, part of that sort of murky future in college athletics. Wanted to know if, if that's going to happen or expand or not. And how much does it hurt or help you in the scheduling? All right, so facilities, as for the most part, K-State is in a great spot thanks to the work of donors. We do get a couple of questions each time.

GT: We're very fortunate too, by the way.

BS: Absolutely. It's not that case at other places. This question comes from @John5tork, which touched off a large discussion. This is what happens when you get your your handle Twitter. I can't imagine your mentions the same way, but when you get involved in a discussion, and then all of a sudden, there's 35 responses, and you're you're constantly in it. But this question is about LED lighting. "When can we get started on an LED lighting conversion inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium? All the modern stadiums have them, it just makes the experience so much better." I think, if I remember right, before this rev share and NIL stuff came on the horizon, that was on the books to be added.

GT: Yeah, it's still on the books, partly because the light life, you know, the life of our current lights, is coming. You know, I don't know how long they last. I'll be honest with you. But I know, when I talk to Jason Brummett, our capital and facilities guy, he knows that we got to figure out someday. Obviously, it's an expensive proposition to add LED. There are a lot of things you can do with them, colors. And we've seen it. So it's certainly on our list. There are other things that you know, from a facilities, from an impact on student-athletes, that we need to probably make a priority. Golf facility for men and women's golf program. Yeah, they're out in Colbert Hills, but they really share their locker room with a lot of other people. So we've talked about a potential clubhouse for them. We have an indoor tennis facility, but it only has four courts, and we need more courts. So there are some things from a direct impact of student-athletes that are probably a little bit higher priority. But again, if the lights begin to be a major issue for us, it's something we'll have to address, but it's a fairly significant investment. And again, we have to figure out when we can work that in.

BS: I understand people's interest in that stuff. Bright and shiny toys are always fun.

GT: They are. Just not as big of an impact on revenue and student-athletes and some of the other things that are more of a priority right now.

BS: The priority is make sure you have the athletes, the best, the brightest, whatever, the best fit that are using said facilities. All right, so this kind of pairs well with that. This question from @AaronVAdams on X: "If money were no object, what would be on the list?"

GT: Wouldn't that be awesome?

BS: Wouldn't it? What would be on the list for facility improvements? Is it Bramlage? Something else? You mentioned an entertainment district near here - some sort of a village type of thing.

GT: I talked about a couple of them just a minute ago. Obviously, the golf and the tennis. You know, are there things we could do in Bramlage? Absolutely. And if you go back to our original facility master plan, there were some things in Bramlage that we looked at, some reconstruction of that. I think, the price tag back when we did the facility method was about an $80 million deal. So clearly, there's always going to be facility needs. Fortunately for us, right now, nothing on the horizon is in the $100 and $200 million facility. Most of those have been taken care of. But that's constantly something we're evaluating. I mean, we have some upgrades we need to do to other pieces of the Bill Snyder Family Stadium. And is that a priority before we touch Bramlage? And so it's a constant conversation we have internally with our senior staff and 'Okay, what's next? What can we afford? What can we go out and fundraise?' So we're constantly talking about that and figuring out the best way to fund those priorities.

BS: One of the things that you and your senior staff have talked about a lot: exit and re-entry at football games. And this question comes courtesy of @davidbloyd, who asks: "When will exit and re-entry be a thing of the past at football games?" Even though he's on the side of it would appear, canceling it and making sure everyone stays in the stadium, there are equally people that want it the other way.

GT: Ironically enough, I actually spoke to a class today, and one of the questions after class was a young student came up and asked me the same exact question. So, you know, it is something that we have talked about. We talk about it every year. You have to remember, there's approximately 8000 fans that leave at halftime, okay? And many of them enjoy doing that. Like you said, it's probably 50/50, it's probably going to be 50/50 for a while. So imagine those 8000 fans trying to get into the restrooms and the concession stands. Which we, right now, already have lines for. So if you keep those 8000 fans in, it's just going to cause even more frustration at those areas. So we'd have to do some, again, more investment in facilities to manage that. So it's a constant discussion. So it's probably not going to happen anytime soon, but it's certainly something that we do discuss. And is there a way to do both? Can we add alcohol in the general seating and do an exit and re-entry? That gets complicated too. There's a lot of reasons why you wouldn't want to do that. But imagine 8000 fans staying in Bill Synder Family Stadium with the restrooms and the concession lines, it would be a major heavy lift for our facilities.

BS: On the facility side of thing. Another question about football game days. This one comes from @NickJGay, who asks: "Why isn't the indoor practice facility somehow connected to stadium during game days?" It doesn't mean physically connected, but in a way, used on. He mentioned tailgating. He said sales in there versus out in the parking lot type of deal.

GT: Yeah. I mean, obviously we use the outdoor portion for Kids Zone. I've been over there a couple of times, and it looks packed. When you go indoor and you talk tailgating, now you're talking food and beverage spills and potential, you know, damage to the field. And we have to remember what the priority is for that. And then the wear and tear on the field. And how soon do you would you have to replace the field if you put, you know, several 100, even 1000 people in there, you know, every game? So, you know, it's something that I would tell you that our football coach would probably be very opposed to. You know, at Iowa, we did have an indoor that when we opened it up, that was a question, and we used it very sparingly for a very small group. And that was manageable, but we never did open it up in a massive way. And I don't know that that's the best use of that facility when we have other areas to manage that.

BS: All right, so another common theme is lavender, and the color of lavender. I have a little bit on today. Yes, I've got lavender accent on, and I've got the lavender shoes. So question comes from our buddy @scottwildcat, another great podcast that covers K-State, but he asked about lavender. He believes it's one of the best selling merchandise colors that's out there. It's unique to K-State. Will other programs outside of men's basketball ever be given the green light to use it more than just as an accent color or on uniforms?

GT: The great debate within our athletic department. Right now, basketball still, men's basketball, will continue to have, from a tradition standpoint, ability to use it as a full uniform. Currently, you're going to probably see a little bit more and more introduced in other areas, in terms of baseball and track. And it's all going to be still kind of an outlines and accents kind of thing. You know, a lot of teams would like to have lavender uniforms. It's just, right now, we're trying to stay true to our colors, and lavender is an accent color. That's the way we want to leave it. And I think coaches are getting pretty creative to create new ways to introduce uniforms with the accents. Right now, that's the direction we're going to go. Doesn't mean we can't continue to look at it, but for now, basketball, men's basketball, have the priority of the uniform.

BS: That's right. The fight song says purple and white. It didn't say anything about lavender or black or any other color. That said, those colors are all accent colors. They're not other things. All right. Our last question, we always try and end on a lighter note. This one comes from @Coachreem4ever, who says: "Are you ready to change some Pampers, Grandpa?"

GT: Oh boy. So yeah. Well, you know. I will do whatever I need to do, but I have a beautiful wife who's gonna be a great grandmother, not a great grandmother, but a good grandmother. And a daughter. And a lot of friends that have babies. They can handle it. But once the diaper is changed, I'm happy to hold them and love them up. But, you know, we're excited about it. Obviously it's coming right around the corner, first grandchild. So, can hardly wait. We don't know if it's going to be a boy or girl, but looking forward to it. And I guess if I have to change the diaper, I'll remember how to do that. But it's been a few years since I had to change the diaper.

BS: On that sort of stuff, feigning ignorance is usually the best way.

GT: I'm really good at that now, brother. I'm really good.

BS: Appreciate the question Coach Jareem, and look forward to seeing the men's basketball team and both basketball teams as they ramp up practice this week and this month. Getting ready for the season. All right, we promise. We won't be as long in between Ask the A.D.'s as we were this time. Appreciate the time. Thank you, and look forward to talking to you here in a month.

GT: Absolutely, appreciate it.

BS: All right, that's Gene Taylor. I'm Brian Smoller. Thank you for watching another edition of Ask the A.D.

Kansas State University Athletics

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