Nov 04, 2026 | Athletics
Brian Smoller (BS): Hello and welcome to another edition of Ask the AD, the November edition. We are into basketball season. It's officially crossover season, really, with fall sports winding down and winter sports beginning. We're going to get to that, and we're going to get to some questions about football, but first we're going to jump into campus from here. And that's to talk about the president, Dr. Linton, moving on.
Gene Taylor (GT): Yeah, you know, a great opportunity for him. Obviously, he did great things while he was here. The fact that he gets to go back to his alma mater, where he got all three of his degrees, not just one or two, but all three, is probably very special for him. I've talked to him about it, and he's clearly excited, but he's torn. Obviously, there's a lot of good things going on on campus, both academically and in research, and obviously in the athletic world, which he's very supportive of. So, yeah, a great opportunity for him. We'll go through the transition of finding a new president.
BS: Do you get any say in that sort of process?
GT: Well, you know, it just depends. In the last search, I was asked to be on the committee, which was great. It was a great experience for me to meet the candidates. So we'll see. The Board of Regents will make that decision. They'll probably pick an interim president and a chair of the search committee, and then that'll determine who is going to be on it. I would hope, as a member of the cabinet, I get at least a chance to have some sort of interaction with the potential candidates. One way or another, hopefully I'll get a chance to put in my input. I think it's a great opportunity for somebody. There's a lot of positive things going on on our campus right now because of some of the things President Linton has done. Again, it's a great opportunity for him. I think he's here through December, and then from there, we'll see what happens.
BS: It is an interesting time in our neck of the woods. But in a global sense, from the Big 12 and looking at K-State, there is also a change on the horizon with Brett Yormark.
GT: Yeah, you know, Commissioner Yormark. I'm not sure what he's going to do. I think that may come out here very soon. We're not sure, but he announced that he will be stepping down at the end of January, I believe, maybe even February. I can't remember the exact date. But again, if you think about transitions and where we were, Bob Bowlsby, I've said it a million times, probably saved the conference by getting those four schools in. Commissioner Yormark has come in and really gotten aggressive. At the time, he was the kind of person we needed, the kind of thought leader who was thinking outside the box and really taking us in a new direction in the Big 12. Then he brought in four of the Pac-12 schools, along with BYU. So, just a lot of change, but a lot of good things going on in our conference right now. I think we're probably as strong as we've ever been. Again, it's another opportunity for somebody to come in and replace Brett and keep things moving in the right direction.
BS: So that leads us into our first fan question, which comes from Paul Johnson on Facebook, who asks, "Were you surprised by Commissioner Yormark's decision to leave the Big 12?" He follows up with, "What background or experience are you hoping for in the next commissioner?"
GT: Was I surprised? A little bit, just from a timing perspective. Knowing Brett and knowing who he is, he's just not a guy that's going to plant his feet for a long time at one place. I knew at some point we weren't going to keep Brett Yormark here forever. So, yes, I wasn't surprised by the decision, but I was surprised by the timing. The second question is a great one. I've had that question before. What we need in our next commissioner, and I've said it a couple of times, is somebody just like Brett from an aggressive perspective, somebody who can sit in the room with the other conference commissioners and push for the Big 12 and our agenda, but at the same time still make decisions that are best for college athletics. The other thing is having a little bit better understanding of the on-campus issues with presidents, chancellors, athletic directors and donors. I think Brett struggled with that sometimes, although he picked it up quickly. Having a knowledge of what goes on on a campus and the challenges a commissioner could face is going to be key. They don't have to be a sitting commissioner. It would be great if we had somebody with some gravitas within the conferences. But I think those are the kinds of things I would hope to see in our next commissioner.
BS: There are some challenges when it comes to college athletics that are unique outside of any other sport, and having a knowledge base of that seems like it would be something to come along. One of the reasons Brett was hired initially was to help the Big 12 with the TV deal. Our next question kind of references this. It also comes from Facebook and asks, "When is the Big 12 going to get our own cable channel?" It's referencing all the other conferences and says, "Now that we have the two individual media agreements gone, yes, we have ESPN+, but the Big 12 is falling further behind." The question also mentions an app. Thanks for the question, David Shelton Firestone. I think the question is more centered around the new college football playoff, which we'll get to in a minute. TV deals are going to start coming up again, and what does that landscape look like?
GT: Yeah, I think that's another quality we might want in somebody, going back to the earlier question. Somebody who has the knowledge and connections in the TV and sports entertainment business. There are a lot of players now. We've got The CW, we've got TNT. I think that's one of the things Brett brought: those connections and the ability to expand our network beyond ESPN, which has been great, and Fox, which has been great. He's gone out and found some other partners as well. I don't know that we'll have our own cable television network. Maybe a new commissioner may come in and think that's a good thing. I'm not sure, so we'll see. But I think that knowledge is another thing that will be important. Brett's comment, and our comment, has been, "Let's get us out there. Let's get us on as many different opportunities and in as many different windows so people can see us." I would say those connections are going to be important as well for the next commissioner.
BS: Yeah, as much as not all of us like the late-night games at times, there is no denying those games have still been impactful when they're on national television.
GT: Yeah, and I think you still want to be on the big ones. But TNT has come in and done a great job so far with some of our other production. The opportunity to continue to expand and get the Big 12 out there in as many areas and time slots as we can so we can get the most viewership is going to be key.
BS: There have already been some huge conference games and huge nonconference games in terms of viewership for the Big 12, which kind of ties into our next topic. You obviously served time on the playoff committee and know very intimately what that process is like. The 24-team playoff is on the horizon. We're doing the 12-team playoff now. What's your take, good or bad, on the 24-team playoff that's coming our way?
GT: I think it's good in a lot of ways, but I struggle with a couple of things. From an access perspective, it's really good for the Big 12 and a lot of our conferences. One of the arguments is that it's going to lose fan interest, and I disagree with that. With the 12-team playoff, you're going to see teams getting in with maybe a couple of losses, maybe even three losses. When you go to 24, you're going to have a lot of teams with three, maybe even four losses, depending on the strength of schedule, that could get into the playoff. From a fan's perspective, before, when you lost a couple of games in a four-team playoff, you were thinking, "Well, okay, so much for that. What bowl game are we going to go to?" Now, with 12 teams, there's still some interest. You never know what's going to happen as you get later into November. With 24, I think that interest is going to be even greater because there are going to be more teams that could potentially make the playoff. Now, the bowl games are a question. What's going to happen to our bowl games? We haven't figured that out, but there are a lot of conversations about that. Then, with the 24-team playoff, you lose your conference championship game. I think for a lot of fan bases, having that true conference champion is going to be a challenge. But that's where ESPN has said we're going to come up with those dollars. One of the points somebody made to me was, is it a bad thing to have co-champions? Is it a bad thing to have tri-champions? You still get to put a trophy up. That's probably what we're going to have to go to because not everybody plays everybody. There are a lot of benefits. I'm certainly more excited about a 24-team playoff than the potential negatives, but there are some pros and cons to it.
BS: Absolutely. And not all of them will be realized in year one. It may take a couple of years to see how that plays out.
GT: I think the committee, going back to your earlier point, is going to have to figure out some data points that are going to be different now because not everybody is going to play everybody. People are going to go to nine, potentially 10, Power Four games. That's going to have an impact. They're going to have to relook at how some of the data is used and how they sit in the room and talk about the teams that could potentially make that 24-team playoff.
BS: All right, so back to the local standpoint here. We're nearing the end of the football season. Yes, injuries have played a huge role for the Cats this year, but they're still fighting and getting after it. We hope we can see everybody going up Saturday against Oklahoma State, with one game after that against Arizona. I know the home season isn't done yet, and we'll take time for reflection, but to this point, the biggest change for the fan experience in our stadium has been beer and alcohol sales. How has that gone from your estimation? There's always a bit of an unknown there. How is that going to work operationally with lines, points of sale, restrooms and that sort of thing?
GT: First of all, I want to thank our fans. Fans have been great all year long, both home and away. I think you've heard Coach Klein talk about the fan base at Colorado and some other road games this year. So again, thank you for coming out and continuing to come out. We've got a great product. We still have a great product. Back to the beer sales, I think it's gone very well. The folks I've talked to in concessions and operations say the lines haven't been terribly long. We have a lot of points of sale available. The numbers continue to go up in terms of the amount of sales we've had, depending on the weather and some other things. I would say, at least so far, things have gone very well, and fans have been great. They've behaved themselves and been respectful. We haven't had too many problems. We've had our standard problems that we typically have anyway, but I think it's mostly been a positive.
BS: Yeah, I totally agree. And at certain games, like the KU game, everyone was back in the stadium for the third quarter.
GT: Yeah, that was a big part of it.
BS: All right. So now, as we transition into the winter, basketball season is up. I thought I'd ask you about both basketball teams here. First, on Casey Alexander having to build out his program and roster, what do you admire the most from what you've seen as his boss and the person in charge of this athletic department? What have you admired most about what he's tried to do so far?
GT: Well, so far, I think the first thing I've noticed is how well he's ingrained himself in the community. He's been out there and has really bought into K-State and Manhattan. He's been to a lot of different functions, social functions and community functions, and the story he tells and how he presents himself have been very well received. In terms of his team, I've seen the two exhibition games and how hard they play and how hard they play together. They got down in both contests and were able to come back, so they fought until the end. Obviously, to be able to do what he's done with one player to build into a roster, I think he's got 13, and get them to build a team together in a short period of time has been very impressive. Now, he'll tell you, and he has said it, that we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. But I think he's been pleased with the effort at practice and how they're working together to try to get better. I think the fans are going to see a team that's going to play hard, play together and go out and give their all for K-State.
BS: Which I think, in the end, as a Wildcat grad myself, is what fans want to see. They want to see that sort of blue-collar mentality. We're going to do anything we can to win and fight, and that's been great. I just like Coach Alexander because of his haircut. He and I share the same barber, so it's wonderful. Jeff Mittie on the other side, on the women's side, got his season started this week. There are a lot of international players, and the question I wanted to ask you from your perspective is about the Protect College Sports Act, which is in legislation and hopefully gets passed. International players coming over to college athletics: Jeff Mittie mentioned that it's never been easier because the world has grown smaller, allowing people to research and find film and all that sort of thing. Do you see legislation somewhat impacting international recruits coming over to the States, or is this still going to be an avenue as the world continues to get smaller in college athletics?
GT: I hope not. I hope we don't try to limit that in any sort of legislative pieces. Obviously, we've had international athletes on many of our teams, including golf and tennis and those other sports as well. I think that's been kind of the norm for a lot of the Olympic sports in particular because they are such worldwide sports. We've trained many of not only our own Olympic athletes but other countries' Olympic athletes for many years now. I hope it doesn't change. I hope it gives a coach a chance. But you're right, I think the world has gotten smaller. Athletes across the world are becoming more familiar with the American side of things and the ability to get an education. So I think it does make it easier. At the same time, I think you still have to build a roster that's cohesive, and you can't rebuild a roster every year. I think the Protect College Sports Act could control some of that because it codifies the five-for-five and the one-time transfer. Those kinds of things are very helpful. That's why we need this bill to pass.
BS: Absolutely. Anyone who's a parent out there understands raising kids. The last thing you want to do is have someone face adversity and then let them not face it. Exactly. Basically, go someplace else. Sometimes that's where you sharpen the most, against the rock and a hard place, so to speak. Thanks for doing this. Appreciate it.
GT: Yeah, it's good to be back. Again, I appreciate the fan base so far. I really know that Collin's going to get this thing rolling. We still have some games we can win, very winnable games. But he will tell you that injuries are not an excuse. Next man up, and so far we've seen that with a lot of our guys who are filling those roles. So, appreciate it.
BS: Absolutely. And again, shoutout to the fans who were out in Boulder. I know you made a difference when you were out there for that game. Looking forward to a packed house this weekend for Oklahoma State and that football game. We'll be back before the end of the year with another one of these before the calendar turns over to 2027. Unbelievable. Gene, thanks again.
GT: Thanks, Brian. Appreciate it.
BS: For Gene Taylor and for Preston Koerner, who produces and directs this whole thing and puts it all together, I'm Brian Smoller. Thanks for watching Ask the AD.
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