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00:00All right, let's talk more about KU baseball
00:02and also just where things are at in college athletics.
00:04We welcome in Travis Goff, KU Athletics Director.
00:06Kind enough to give us some time.
00:07A very busy week for you.
00:09I know you got Big 12 meetings going on.
00:11You also have, we were just saying,
00:12the biggest weekend in KU baseball history.
00:15That's right.
00:16Morning, guys.
00:17Thanks for letting me join you.
00:19Absolutely.
00:20Just tell us what this week has been like.
00:21We were just commenting on some of the videos
00:23that are already out there from this new backyard area
00:26you guys created to try to get the capacity up
00:28a little bit more for this weekend.
00:30Yeah, listen, I mean, the week has been, I think, to me,
00:35a story of our staff and our culture here in athletics.
00:41I've been MOA, and I would only be in the way
00:43if I had been here.
00:44So it's pretty cool for me to know that our place
00:47has just risen to the occasion.
00:50Our staff has looked from the jump at ways
00:53to enhance and improve.
00:54Hoagland, the experience, get more bodies in there
00:57and just stretch and strain for this Kansas baseball opportunity.
01:00So I'm really proud of our awesome staff, of our people.
01:03Obviously, it goes without saying,
01:04so excited and proud of Coach Fitz and this baseball team.
01:08I guess when you look at the way they built the program,
01:10I read the same things I'm sure you guys were happy to see written,
01:12which was, oh, you go to the junior college ranks
01:15and baseball's changed a lot
01:17since they've reduced the minor leagues.
01:19I guess going back to, I guess, when you first heard the plan
01:23or thought about the way they were going to try
01:24to build the program, how did you guys see that come to fruition
01:28and how well do you think it can continue to work?
01:31Yeah, I mean, it's been really rewarding to see it
01:35because, to be honest, a little bit of what you're referencing,
01:39it was kind of a foreign concept to me.
01:41I mean, we absolutely have great junior college kids
01:45across multiple programs.
01:47That's not a new dynamic, certainly not new in the sport of baseball,
01:50but for it to be as heavily a focus as it was,
01:53was a little new and different.
01:55And the thing I'd say, here's like my vantage point.
01:58I grew up in a community with a JUCO community college
02:01that was really important to the community.
02:03And, you know, you have, you know,
02:05we know where those institutions fit generally
02:08and the types of students they serve.
02:10And then we know kind of the, I'd say, misconceptions
02:14around what the athletes are at those places.
02:17Some of that's unfair, I would say.
02:21But when you think about baseball,
02:23like these are incredible baseball players,
02:27young men who just need that initial opportunity.
02:30And it's so hard to jump from the high school ranks
02:33to a big-time Division I program.
02:36That just isn't happening hardly at all.
02:38So the kind of young guys that we're getting out of the JUCO ranks,
02:42they're exceptional guys of character, right?
02:44They're committed to their academics.
02:46It's not like they couldn't cut it academically.
02:49That's not the story.
02:50They just needed a chance to play the game they love
02:53and then the credit to the staff to go and sift through
02:56and evaluate at the levels they do.
02:59And one of the things that we love about this team,
03:01this team is full of gratitude.
03:04This team's full of grit, all the things.
03:06They appreciate everything they have here at Kansas
03:10because this is the best they've seen, as you guys know, right?
03:12You're talking high school to then junior college for most of them,
03:16not all of them, for most of them.
03:17This is big-time stuff.
03:18The way we support it, the fan support,
03:21some of them have great NIL opportunities
03:23and are sharing in revenues that the program's driving.
03:27And they've got incredible academic support,
03:30athletic training, strength conditioning.
03:32And by the way, they pretty much love the facilities too.
03:35So that's one of the cool parts.
03:36They're really full of gratitude about their opportunity here.
03:39We're talking to Travis Goff, KU Athletic Director here on 96.5.
03:43The fan, you mentioned the facilities.
03:44And the importance of this week, I've seen all over social media.
03:47I think you guys just put out information even about a donation match
03:51that you guys hit this week.
03:53How important is this week for not only future facilities for KU Baseball
03:56to take advantage of what's going on right now,
03:58but also, look, it's no secret whether we're talking baseball or football,
04:00when you've got a coach that's having this kind of success,
04:03there's going to be some other people that are going to be very interested in him.
04:07Yeah, I mean, I think it's not as if it's a one-and-done moment in time, right?
04:13Or if we don't capitalize on every element of this, then that it's over.
04:17That's not the sentiment.
04:18But it surely is a mindset of we better do everything we can
04:23to capture this momentum in what this team and staff have built and created
04:29and use it to reinvest back in Kansas baseball, right?
04:34And that's been the mindset.
04:35And for everyone who's enjoying this thing, which has been countless,
04:39as you guys know, whether you've been in Hoagland, in the ballpark,
04:42or you're a proud alum across the country who's just following it from afar,
04:47like they're seeing how neat it can be, how special it can be
04:50to have a great baseball program in Lawrence.
04:53And so it's incumbent upon me and this staff to do everything we can, again,
04:59to bottle that up and to invest it back in.
05:01And that's where everything from the fundraising initiatives,
05:04the donor matches with incredibly generous families stepping up
05:07and supporting this thing, and then just the masses, so to speak,
05:12people from afar who can't be here this weekend raising their hand and saying,
05:15hey, I'm in on this being an expectation and a standard for Kansas baseball.
05:21So it's been really, gosh, energizing and inspiring.
05:26I guess, what do you make of, though, like Arkansas fans taking this to, right,
05:30complaining about the field or it not being big enough
05:33or not hosting the regional themselves?
05:34That's become a big thing on social medias.
05:36Arkansas has done a lot of complaining, Travis,
05:38about Kansas getting to host this regional instead of them.
05:42All right, listen, you're not going to get me to jump into that phrase
05:46because that won't be good for any of us.
05:47But I just say that, like, forget about who didn't or who is or whatever,
05:52but there's no question in my mind there's no more deserving program team
05:57in the country to host than what this group of young men and staff achieved.
06:02I mean, winning the regular season,
06:04that's like one of the hardest things you can do in sport.
06:07I think baseball adds another layer of complexity to do that throughout the course
06:12of a year, an incredible conference,
06:13and then to just turn around and go off to a big-time tournament and double down.
06:19Like, I don't know what other statements you can make
06:21about somebody being deserving of hosting.
06:23And so we haven't flinched.
06:25I don't know what the other narratives or storylines are.
06:27The only thing I would have pondered is, like, 15 seed?
06:30Come on, man.
06:31But anyway, we didn't dwell on that either.
06:33We're here in Lawrence.
06:34It's going to be a great weekend.
06:36I don't know about you guys, but the sky is blue.
06:38The sun is out.
06:40It's perfect.
06:40Yeah, we're less than an hour away from first pitch there.
06:43And Lawrence is Kansas getting set to host its first-ever regional,
06:47beginning with Northeastern here in less than an hour.
06:49We're talking with Travis Goff, KU Athletic Director.
06:51Pivoting away from baseball just for a little bit,
06:53I know Big 12 meetings are going on.
06:54And the news yesterday, just the Big 12 coaches unanimously backing their preference,
06:59at least for a 24-team playoff.
07:01As an athletic director in college sports now for a while,
07:04what do you make of where this seems to be trending
07:07when it comes to the football side of things on the playoff?
07:10Yeah, I mean, I think you could make strong cases for about any of them.
07:16You know, I think at the time, 12 was right.
07:1812 made sense.
07:20I've been intrigued by 16 just personally for a variety of reasons,
07:24nothing overly passionate about it, but I've been intrigued by 16.
07:27I think the thing about 24 is, like,
07:30if there's an inevitability that we're going to get to 24,
07:34then you probably just need to get there.
07:36I don't think it's good for the game or the industry if you go 12 and then, ah, 16,
07:42and maybe you're a couple years at 16, and then you're making another jump.
07:45I think the uncertainty, and we heard this a little bit in Dallas from some of our media partners,
07:52some of our television partners, who said,
07:55hey, wherever it ends up, we just need to lock it in because it's putting some strain on everything from,
08:01obviously, conference championships are probably go out the window if you go to 24,
08:08to things like how do you schedule the regular season, how do you manage the regular season,
08:14how do you continue to elevate the regular season,
08:15like all those things are a little bit in flux during the debate,
08:20and so I think 12 to 16 to 24, if there's an inevitability,
08:24then probably best for the game to get to 24,
08:28and then everybody's got their own institutional vantage points.
08:31People are lying if they tell you their perspective is all about the good of the game.
08:37The reality is their perspective is in some part influenced by what's best for their program or their institution.
08:44Because of what they've done football-wise,
08:46do you feel sometimes like you have to choose between the Big Ten and the SEC and who to side
08:50with,
08:50or do you try to keep it about your conference?
08:53How do you guys handle, I guess, the powers that be when sometimes the two big football conferences,
08:58at least at the moment, don't agree?
09:00No, I think it is.
09:02I think, you know, kind of the, you know, dramatic phrase,
09:06kind of your North Star is like, well, what's best for your conference?
09:09Because if you get too caught up in the politics or, you know, reading all the different tea leaves,
09:15then you're going to get off track for your own league.
09:18And I think Commissioner Yormark's done a tremendous job of focusing on and elevating what's best for the Big 12,
09:25making sure he's representing the will of the group, meaning the presidents, the athletic directors, and the coaches.
09:33And so I think that's what's driven the Big 12 perspective.
09:37When you look at, I guess, some of the other stuff happening in college before we let you get out
09:41of here
09:41and watching baseball here soon enough, the NIL legislation,
09:44are you guys paying close attention to that and how it might affect your conference
09:47or the early enough stages that you're not too focused on what that might do for you?
09:53You're talking kind of the Cruz, Ted Cruz and Cantwell legislation?
09:57Yes, correct.
09:58Yeah, well, I mean, I'll say this, in a really, at times, hard, complicated, divisive political environment,
10:05we all understand that with the two parties, it's hard to do bipartisan things, right, to lock arm in arm.
10:11And I just, I think, hey, without even speaking to the specifics of the bill,
10:17I just commend those two leaders and those alongside them from those parties
10:22for coming together, setting some differences aside and saying,
10:27man, this is not going to be a sustained pathway.
10:31How do we set some of those differences aside to come up with something that's got a chance to,
10:37you know, for the most part, benefit all of college athletics?
10:40And so I think that was the effort.
10:42That was the work they've made for months and months and months.
10:44And I think they've given, provided something that's really intriguing.
10:49And I do think by far and away, it's our best bet to move this thing forward,
10:54to stabilize, to quote unquote, stop the bleeding and get this industry in a better place for all the parties.
11:02Do you think it's a little unfair that the student athletes don't have like a seat at the table to
11:08say, right?
11:08And like, in a way, it feels like they're being a little bit left out of the conversation.
11:13Well, I mean, I guess it depends on how you're viewing that.
11:17We're not collective bargaining, as everybody understands, right?
11:20So there's that level of seat at the table.
11:22But I can tell you definitively that we are continually looking at ways to give them more voice
11:31and a more impactful seat at the table.
11:34That's happened through NCAA governments.
11:36I served on a committee last spring that really emphasized that.
11:40We've grown the number of student athlete representatives in voting that's happening at the NCAA level.
11:46And then the conference this week, we even talked more about we've got to take a step
11:50to get our student athlete voice more prominent in the direction of the conference
11:55and therefore has more prominence in the direction of college athletics.
11:58So it's not collective bargaining, but outside of that, I think we're, you know,
12:03I think we're expanding that voice and that quote-unquote vote in a stronger fashion.
12:11Last one for you, Travis, probably to Travis Goff, KU Athletic Director here on 96.5 The Fan.
12:16Football season will be here before we know it.
12:18We know you guys continue to do renovations there at the booth.
12:21Where are things at in terms of capacity and this fall, of course,
12:25when I know people are looking towards that September 11th night when the Missouri Tigers are coming to town?
12:31Yeah, no, it's a we're well on track.
12:34Everything as anticipated and hoped for is going to be ready to go for August.
12:41We'll have the lower level of the new east side completed.
12:44We'll have a new significant seating structure in the south that will accommodate, you know,
12:51marching band and students really help close in the booth in a great way.
12:58And so the one thing obviously we'll be missing will be the upper deck of the east.
13:02And then, of course, we'll be missing kind of the fixed permanent restrooms,
13:06concessions and premium spaces of the new east.
13:09And so we've got temporary conditions around those things.
13:12We'll be reduced capacity to the tune of 11,000 to 12,000, which, you know, we've known that.
13:18That's not new information.
13:19So we're maximizing every square foot we've got to get bodies in there.
13:24And then we're talking about things like, for example, playing a Friday night on Big Fox against a rival.
13:32You know, what can we do to enhance and increase capacity, even if you're utilizing, say, the hill, just to
13:41the south of the stadium there?
13:44And so we've got some creative ways to bring capacity, you know, not back to where it is, but just
13:49to at least get it closer to where it is.
13:51I think it's going to be an awesome, awesome environment.
13:54I think everybody in the place is going to have a world-class experience this fall.
13:58Travis, really appreciate the time.
14:00And we'll check back in this fall and go watch some baseball here.
14:03Thanks, guys.
14:04Appreciate you.
14:05Rock talk.
14:06Absolutely.
14:06There you go.
14:07Travis Goff, KU Athletic Director, joining us here on 96.5 The Fan.
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