Athletics launches AD podcast

Rice Athletics recently launched a new monthly podcast with Athletics Director Joe Karlgaard.

Karlgaard, the former student radio analyst and play-by-play announcer for Stanford Cardinal football games, came up with the idea while listening to some of his own favorite podcasts online.

Joe Karlgaard photo courtesy Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

“It’s a comfortable space for me,” Karlgaard said. “I enjoy it. There’s a personality to podcasts, not just of my own personality but of my guests and that of the Athletics Department.”

Karlgaard, who is joined on the podcast by Rice football, basketball and baseball play-by-play announcer J.P. Heath, has just completed his third episode. The 30- to 40-minute “broadcasts” are available via SoundCloud and include a monthly update, interviews and a segment to answer questions from fans, the Rice community and the public.

“I felt I built instant rapport with J.P. when I got here two years ago,” Karlgaard said. “He had me on radio for a pregame or halftime of a football game, and it just felt really easy and comfortable. As I’ve gotten to know him over my time here, our conversations are always that way, so it just seemed like he’d be the natural person to co-captain the ship.”

“I think it’s a great fit because of my role in the department as a mouthpiece to the fans,” Heath said.  “When I was approached with the idea to do this with Joe, I didn’t hesitate.”

Karlgaard said he likes being able to expand what a one- or two-page letter to the fans can’t convey; the podcast allows him to share more of the inner workings of the department.

“I think it is about being as transparent as we can be,” Karlgaard said. “I think there are a lot of unknowns and misconceptions about Rice Athletics, and we try to hit those head-on. I’ve learned about those over conversations I’ve had with fans and donors; others are submitted via email and our fan experience surveys.”

Some of the topics Karlgaard has already addressed include facility development, financing of the Athletics Department, pending litigation in college athletics, Rice’s competitive aspirations and the conference landscape.

“I think it is about being as transparent as we can be,” Karlgaard said. “I think that many questions that people have about Rice Athletics can be answered either by listening to one of the existing podcasts or by sending us a question that will make it into a future podcast,” Karlgaard said. “The beauty of this is there are probably hundreds or thousands of people who have the same questions about future expansion of the football stadium or conference realignment or NCAA legislation, and you can reach all of those people in a minute and a half by answering one of those questions via the podcast.”

“I hope the fans utilize the Q&A portion of the podcast to their advantage, because Joe is very transparent and doesn’t shy away from a tough question,” Heath said.

To submit a question for a future podcast, send an email to riceathletics@rice.edu.

Guests to date have included Rice soccer coach Nicky Adams, Rice supporter Bob Schlanger and this month’s guest is Rice Athletics senior administrator Bryan Blair.

To listen to this month’s Karlgaard podcast and to follow Rice Athletics’ SoundCloud account, go to https://soundcloud.com/rice-athletics.