Saturdays In Jonesboro
Saturdays in Jonesboro is the definitive pulse of Arkansas State Athletics, led by the "Voice of the Red Wolves," Matt Stolz. The series blends Matt’s veteran play-by-play insight with an all-access look at the traditions and red-turf grit that define the program. By humanizing the athletes and the game-week grind, we transform passive spectators into an active community with a true stake in the A-State legacy.
Saturdays In Jonesboro
Strategic Investments: Funding the Next Championship with Chris Pezman
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College athletics is undergoing a massive financial shift, and programs that fail to adapt will be left on the sidelines. With the transfer portal and revenue sharing completely reshaping how rosters are built, establishing a sustainable financial blueprint is the only way to compete on a national stage. Vice Chancellor of Intercollegiate Athletics Chris Pezman joins the show to break down his first year leading Arkansas State and the financial realities of modern college sports.
We sit down to explore the mechanics behind strategic department investments and how the Red Wolves are navigating current "portal combat" ahead of the July deadlines. The conversation covers the push to maximize Revshare models, the facility upgrades required to compete in a loaded Sun Belt baseball conference, and the exact logistical reasons behind flipping the student section to the north end zone. The core philosophy rests on viewing athletic success as a continuous cycle—grassroots tailgating and community "sweat equity" directly fuel the environment needed to retain top-tier head coaches.
Funding a competitive Group of Five athletic department is a relentless logistical challenge. Retaining high-level coaching talent like Ryan Pannone and Destiny Roys when bigger programs come calling requires a constant balancing act of budget allocation, NIL backing, and donor engagement. Listeners will walk away with a clear understanding of how everyday fan attendance and community backing fundamentally dictate a university's ability to fund its programs and keep its staff intact.
If you care about the economics of college sports, Sun Belt Conference dynamics, and the tactical side of athletic administration, you’ll get a lot from this. Make sure to subscribe to the Arkansas State Media Network and share this episode with a fellow college sports fan. What game day tradition do you think has the biggest impact on building a true home-field advantage?
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0:00 - A Year in Jonesboro
4:08 - Football Momentum & The Portal
8:19 - Revshare & Strategic Investments
15:57 - Elevating the Game Day Experience
19:11 - Bubas Cup & Department Success
33:36 - Facility Upgrades & Baseball's ROI
And we welcome you into Saturdays in Jonesboro. This has been a fun platform for us to talk about everything that's going on with A-State football, A-State athletics in general. I've had some great guests over our first six episodes. And now as we go into episode seven, we're going to talk to somebody who can talk about everything when it comes to A-State athletics, somebody who just wrapped up his first full year with Arkansas State. It's the Vice Chancellor of Intercollegiate Athletics. Glad to be joined by Chris Pesman. Thanks for having me, Matt. Lucky number seven. Who knew? Well, we've got a lot we can talk about here. And this is a great space for you and I to kind of have just uh an open discussion. And who knows what we might talk about here. But I think I'd like to start with just completing your first year at Arkansas State. What what have you learned?
SPEAKER_01Oh, wow. Um, great question. Um, you know, I actually haven't had a chance to look back too much yet because you just you're looking forward so much to what we need to do and the projects that are still out there that we want to get done. You know, we're sitting here middle of June, and you know, it feels like football season is tomorrow. Um, but you stop and look back, and you know, the thing that continues to just give me so much, you know, encouragement is the strength of our head coaches. Um, we've got great programs, we've got great kids, we've got a great administration that supports us. Um, you know, one year into Jonesboro has been really, and I mean this in the most um respectful way, a really pleasant surprise. Um, the people have been incredible. You know, I've always lived in big cities, whether it was Southern California or, you know, big cities in Texas or Northern California. Um, I wasn't sure how the pace was going to be coming to Jonesboro, but it's been more than we could have hoped for. And we had pretty high expectations. We'd heard a lot of great things about the university, about the people, about the town. Um, and it has been incredible. And it's been, everybody's been incredibly welcoming. And then you pivot to the job side of it and the the broad success we've had across the department, um, competitively, academically, socially. Um, all those things we've had, you know, really strong years. Um, maybe not the not setting, I mean, well, we've set records, but you know, I would say it's probably easily one of the top five athletic years across the board for Arkansas State. Without a doubt. And so you take that and you're like, man, we got some great things to work with here.
SPEAKER_00You've talked a lot about how you came into a good situation, you inherited some good head coaches. Your job was to kind of take it to the next level. And it seems like that's kind of the way you've approached this.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, my job is it's kind of like um medical practice, do no harm, you know, has kind of been my uh mantra. I probably get a little bit more colorful with that at times. But we've got great coaches. We've got, you know, the bones here are really strong. And so what we have the ability to build upon with that foundation gives us a lot of hope. I mean, just flash back to just baseball and that microcosm, right? And setting the attendance records and the success that we had through baseball season of beating four different top 15 teams at different points of the season and setting attendance records. And you saw what that was like, those Friday and Saturday nights, you know, the Southern Miss Series, the the JMU series, those that was, you know, Tomlinson, Slayton Field at Tomlinson Stadium was the place to be. And that gets me really excited. And I I'm really looking forward to the fall of building being able to build off of that with football and then getting into our winter sports.
SPEAKER_00Let's talk football for a little bit. Because you're a football guy. You played at Houston, you've been around the sport your entire life. So you come in to Arkansas State, and you inherit a really good head coach and Coach Jones, and you see what this program's doing right now. Three straight bowl games. They've won the last two, but what's impressed you about what you've seen there?
SPEAKER_01Honestly, you know, when it was tough really in the year, you know, we were one and four. Um, the way Coach Jones and the staff held that team together, particularly in today's day and age of transfer portal. And, you know, at that point, you know, kids could still opt out. You know, the five for five was still not really, um, and when I say five for five, the op the opportunity to play five seasons in five years versus the old metric was you had four seasons to play in five years. Um the way they held that together and then continued that momentum into the bowl game, and there were inflection points. You know, when we went to Little Rock, you know, the game didn't go the way we wanted, but seeing our fan base come out like that, and then also when we had ESPN here and the students out there and that excitement, and then what it felt like at the bowl game where everybody was down in in Frisco playing inside, great date, great opponent, great experience. And then how how Coach Jones and the staff were able to translate that energy into um the portal period. And you go out and look at us during spring football and physically how we've matured. Um, it we just look different. And I'm excited to see what that product looks like this fall.
SPEAKER_00You mentioned a couple of things there that uh I want to touch on a little bit more. The atmospheres that we saw in Frisco at the bowl game. That was incredible because we had a great turnout, and to see that the week before Christmas kind of shows you just how willing the fan base is to get behind Arkansas State football. And then it was incredible to see that scene. And when I think about the game in Little Rock, the Arkansas game, uh obviously there was a lot of buildup going into it. But I think about just taking over the zoo that day in in the pregame and looking around and seeing thousands of Arkansas State fans in what technically was a road game, show up in in those huge numbers.
SPEAKER_01And that that tells you what we can be. And really, that is the the bar now of you know, that is what our expectation needs to become as we look at our home dates, as we as we promote ourselves. And frankly, as we walk around the state, you know, hey, there's a lot of people that support Arkansas State here. There's a lot of excitement. There's a lot of people that care. And that is, if you got people that care, you got a you got a chance. And that's what gets me really excited about here is we've got great coaches, we've got people that care. We just need to make sure that we're touching them in a way that gets them motivated and engaged to be able to come to Jonesboro on a Saturday and be with us. And that, you know, we have to translate that to buttons and seats going into the fall. That's what our mission is is how do we get um Centennial Bank Stadium is the place to be. You know, if you're missing out, hey, I can't miss out. I got to be there, I got to see the game. I I want to be there for the post-game experience, for the tailgate and pregame. Um, and then that transitions over to basketball, and then that transitions to baseball. And I would tell you, you know, one of the things that I'm looking forward to is the transition to baseball success, how that carries over into the fall, because now with what Mike has done with baseball, and and again, not pivoting from football, but we've got a connection point now that helps bridge that that makes the summer shorter. And, you know, you get to June, July, and you're like, man, you know, you know, NBA is over, baseball's going, you know, MBA MLB, but it's, you know, this is the time where everybody's starting to get ready for football season. And we have to figure out a way to bottle that and carry it over to the fall and bring it into Jonesboro.
SPEAKER_00There's so many factors at play anymore. And obviously, one of those is RevShare. And I know there's a greater commitment than ever before when it comes to RevShare from the university and in particular with football, trying to put a whole lot more money into that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, the investment in football is you look at us strategically, you'll see a very thoughtful strategic investment in our revenue sports with football and basketball. Um, but then also how we try to bolster and work together with our one pick with our one-pack initiative, with fundraising, being very strategic with our investments, with revenue opportunities across campus, um, in our facilities, all of that so we can help, you know, uh create revenue streams to support our Revshare endeavor. Because one thing that is not changing is the current um climate that we're operating in with player compensation. Look, we've we've talked about this agnosium. This should have happened a long time ago. Um it feels like we've kind of let the horse out of the barn a little bit too much, you know, with you know, NIL on top of Rev share and how all this money fits together with some of the teams and some of the money that's being spent in the space, but it doesn't mean we can't be successful. Um, we have to be very thoughtful and strategic with those investments. And certainly um Coach Jones knows that, knows that as well as our other coaches. Um, but it was a commitment from the university too to say, you know, we we understand the dynamic um of what's happening in the change of space, and we have to be responsive to that, but we have to be thoughtful stewards of that. We we can't be, you know, just willy-nilly making, you know, very significant investments that don't pan out or don't have success. So that's where we have to be very intentional about figuring out ways to enhance our revenue streams and be very strategic with the way that we support our programs.
SPEAKER_00And then there's the atmosphere at Centennial Bank Stadium. And I know there's a lot that goes into that. Obviously, you want that fan base there for those six home games. And it's just six dates that you're asking people to come out for, and you want to make that experience one that the fans want to come to to begin with, but then keep coming back to again and again.
SPEAKER_01Correct. And we've been meeting, we've been having sales and marketing meetings for football for the better part of three months now, getting ready for the fall. Um, we've got our, you know, our game themes, our honorary captains, our sponsor promos, everything lined out for each of those games. We're uh we're ahead of it far enough now where we can start working on some more creative marketing endeavors. Um Brad's working on getting some flyovers, you know. I don't want to get too specific, but um on dates because we still have to work with our partners with the government to get those things done. But it allows us to be um proactive enough now that we can go to our partners and reach out with, you know, A and B and Ag Day and the role they play on their communities so we can get more investment from them. We're looking at the first game, which is um against West Georgia uh West Georgia on the 13th. Um we're not it fortunately, our first home game is not Labor Day weekend, so it gives us a little bit more flexibility with people's travel, um, with their availability to be here. So we're looking out at building out that game day experience a little bit more because it's paint the town red week. Hopefully in the next week or so we'll have something more that we can announce. So maybe you can have me back on and I can expand on that. But to your point, it's it's how do we how do we indoctrinate and get people engaged in tailgating? Um, and take that tailgate experience where you're you're set up around the the pond over there and you've got live music, you got you can smell the barbecue, you get to see all your friends, and that culminates in the kickoff at six o'clock, where everybody you know is inside the stadium and you've got that collective energy. And really, there's two things that I think really crystallize that the best, whether it's a concert or live sporting events, where you get that sense of emotion and energy, and you just know it. You know, you have those moments where the play happens and everybody reacts and everybody's in unison. And you only really get that in live sports and again in concerts. And to me, that is what's most exciting is trying to cultivate that atmosphere on game day and and really the way that transitions into winning on the field or on the court with the with the emotion and energy that comes out of the stands is something that I'm very attuned to. And our staff is is making sure we promote that as much as possible, give our teams the best chance at as possible to win at home.
SPEAKER_00And I've got a chance to really get to know you over the last year, and and you and I have sat together many times. You like to be in a place where you can sit and be locked in on the game. And I know there's a lot of things surrounding the game where obviously you have to attend to, but at the same time, you're as locked in as anybody else.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I kind of tend to wear uh game days on my sleeve a little bit. I gotta be uh careful with that because it's um you you know how much everybody puts into game day and how much commitment and time and um sacrifice that people make to trying to put the best possible game day experience together for our fans and for our kids. And um, you also know how special that chance is to compete and how um finite those opportunities are. And so when you have a chance to win or win somebody over, you know, you you kind of only have one or two opportunities at it. And so, yeah, I tend to dial in a little bit because I'm trying to make notes and and I'm watching the game, uh, obviously, and trying to pay attention to what's going on. But I, you know, I sit there, I've got a uh a notepad that I'm taking notes during the course of the game of things that I see that I want to bring back up on our Monday meetings that we can improve upon. Or also recognize, you know, people that have done a great job that went out of the way to, you know, to be kind and go that extra mile. And so it's it's just being attentive, I guess is the best word uh I come up with to what's going on.
SPEAKER_00And I would think over the course of the first year, a lot of that is kind of an observation period. You're looking to see how things have been, what's going on, what you know, the status quo has been. And now, as you go into year two, I'm sure you've already seen it. You you can be a lot more proactive on some things.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think you'll see that is, you know, particularly with the planning that we're starting to do for the fall. Um, just things that I want to make sure we're emphasizing, um, you know, working with our concessionaire to come up with uh strategic pricing for our student sections, things that take a little bit more time than me swooping in, you know, a month before the season when I first got here and saying, hey, I want to change these 10 things. Really, what we focused on are what are those five things that we can do really well going into the fall and really emphasize those, those, knowing that there's some spillover of those efforts in a positive way, but also they reveal areas that we can continue to improve. You mentioned the students.
SPEAKER_00I mean, yeah, obviously you want to get them involved. So what can we do there?
SPEAKER_01Well, winning goes a long way, and certainly our the product on the field in the court has done that. We have to be really strategic with the way that we're communicating with these, with our kids, um, with our students, with the Greek life, engaging key sectors of those because you know if you get like the Greeks, for instance, that that that becomes a multiplier. Um, but we have to make sure that we're doing things that are creative. Like, for instance, we're working on postgame in the pines, uh, which uh you know Brad Bobo has done a great job of of you know working on getting post-game DJ, um, coming up with a a structured element that when you come in the stadium, you come to the student section. And by the way, let me elaborate. So, one of the things that you'll notice that's different this year is we flip the student section over to the north end of the east side. And the there's twofold for that is when we fill the stadium and we storm the field, is um the by rule, you got to give the visit team a clear path to get off the field. And our students were right next to the visiting team uh ramp. So one of the things we wanted to do was get more critical mass around the students on the north end because we've got a great group. Ted Ergrid and that group are on that northeast end zone quadrant, and so in the north end zone, and so we're putting the student section right next to the waterfall and put the DJ right there, and that way we could start creating that critical mass on that northeast corner of the stadium. So when we do rush the field, you know, our team's going straight to them and we can get the visiting team off with uh with what without that overlap. Um, but also it goes back to how again creating that critical mass. How do we get people into those sections, fill those sections, and then the spillover effect fills up the upper section, and those are those are the things that we have to be very intentional about.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's gonna go a long way. And and you know, it makes it to where the students want to come back again and again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's the whole point. Look, the students are our seasoned ticket holders in 10 years and donors in 15 years. So if we engage them now, it's so much easier to convert them into long term long-term supporters of the university and the athletic department. And again, we all use the the you know the phrase the athletics is the front door to the university. Um absolutely it is, but how do we keep this young group engaged as they have so many other opportunities to, you know, uh, you know, enjoy themselves in and around um the university. But you know, game day needs to become this is where I am, this is what I'm gonna be doing, and there's nothing else, nowhere else they want to be. Don't schedule your weekends on game day. Or your weddings, pardon me.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yes, Saturdays in the fall is not a good time to have a wedding. No, please don't. At least if you want to keep your friends.
SPEAKER_01That's right. And and, you know, I've told all my kids, you know, my three kids, they know better. You know, don't even come to me. You know, whenever they get to that point, hopefully it's not anytime soon. But down the road, you know, that that's gonna be a summer issue, not a uh, especially not a fall or spring issue.
SPEAKER_00Let's talk some just sports overall, like because we've talked about football and we're coming off such an amazing season, just top to bottom, and we'll go through some of the accomplishments, but to look at the Bubas Cup standings, which is what the Sun Belt uses to kind of give an overall sports award to school in the Sunbelt. They've done that for years and years. Now, it's a little bit unbalanced because Arkansas State doesn't compete in every single sport in the Sunbelt, but we had the highest points per sport. Correct. And overall still finished second in the boobas cup.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it what an incredible accomplishment by all of our programs. Um, you know, when I first got hired, Jerry Scott came to me and said, Hey, you know, just so you know for context, at my press conference, you know, we've got this boobas cup, and I was like, Bubba's cup, what is that? And he's like, No, boobas cup. And he explained to me what it is. And, you know, walking into finishing second last year um was, you know, unreal. But sitting here and watching the the totality of it um and how all our sports achieved at a pretty high level. And then as you mentioned, the average points scored per team, I think we were at eight and a half points scored per team. I think the upper limit is like, I don't know, 12. Um, but that's without us having some of the sports like softball or some other sports that uh swimming that the that the league sponsors, and we're finishing second against teams that have 20 or 22 sports that they're scoring in. So it's it's a very proud accomplishment for for our department. And you know, all credit goes to our coaches and student athletes. It's uh what an accomplishment and what an achievement, and particularly when you're you don't have as many opportunities as the other schools.
SPEAKER_00One thing that's really apparent is anytime you talk to one of our head coaches anymore, they always seem to mention at least one other head coach in the athletic department. And there's not always such a great connection between the head coaches, but I I think there is a good camaraderie here between all of the all the head coaches on campus that they seem to help each other out.
SPEAKER_01It's uh it's really gratifying to see. I'm on a group text, obviously, with them. And you know, when when somebody has an achievement or, you know, a tough moment, just to see how everybody weighs in. And um, that doesn't happen everywhere. Um it's really um it's a special relationship that these coaches have. And we've got some incredible coaches that Just they go out of their way to to help each other. And if it's, you know, Ryan Pannone, Mike Silva, Suj Lama, you know, Butch, Dead, I mean, literally, you could go through the whole list and they all, you know, patch, they all contribute. Uh Hagen, MJ. I mean, literally, I'm not trying to leave anyone out. They all, yeah, Caustic, our bowling coach, is at every sporting event. And he is there as a genuine supporter of our program. Sujay's the same way, you know. I mean, and his kids, they're all great kids. I mean, they I have no issue with taking any of those kids and sending them in front of our administration at the university or the system level and saying this is a representation of what we have. Um, that you can't say that everywhere, and that's something that I'm really proud of here.
SPEAKER_00I remember we talked after basketball season, and one thing we talked about was you know, there's there were only a handful of schools, if that, that had a football team and a bowl game this year. Both men's and women's basketball teams had won 20 games, and the volleyball team went to the NCAA tournament, and Arkansas State was one of those schools.
SPEAKER_01Uh unreal. I mean, we're I think it was we're one of a handful of schools that have that achievement. And, you know, and we haven't even talked about volleyball and them winning the Sunbel this last year, and what Brian's done with that program, and he's just reloaded for next year. He didn't lose a whole lot this last year. Now, every coach is gonna, you know, poor mouth y a little bit and slow and roll it, but we got a chance to have an equally successful year season next year across the across the spectrum of sports. And that is something that we can't take for granted, and we have to recognize these moments of ultra um success and just be proud of it and continue to believe that as we strategically invest in these sports and we continue to support our programs, that the success can continue. But don't ever take you know winning for granted. That's one thing I learned a long time ago.
SPEAKER_00I'm sure you found out in your first year that Northeast Arkansas in particular loves its basketball.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And when basketball is winning, it doesn't take much to get people out to first national bank arena. And we saw that. And you talk about good head coaches being here. Uh you've got a couple really good ones with Ryan Panone and Destiny Rogers.
SPEAKER_01Uh, Des and Ryan are about as good as a combo as you can get. Um, I mean, I'm sure there's you know, people that have won national championships combined, but I'll take those two and put them up against anybody hands down. What Ryan was able to do his first year in the program, um, you know, building a basically a completely new roster. But and then Des just, you know, the way they play, the style, the tempo, the frenetic pace of threes and D, and the the full court pressing, it's a tr it's a style for both of our teams that translates and appeals. It's a very watchable game for both of them. And when as we're having success and to see that arena fill up and how difficult of a place it is to come play as an opponent, um, that's what you hang your hat on. And that to me, particularly where with my past experience where I've been with basketball and seeing how much home crowds can factor into winning and how you've seen it happen here. That is something that we are absolutely working to build upon.
SPEAKER_00It's one thing for you to sit there and say that, though. It's another thing to back it up. And I think it was appreciated and it stood out when the women made their long run through the WNIT. I know it was your goal to make sure that they didn't have to play a road game, and they didn't. All those games were at home.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Uh, you know, the the WNIT is one that you, you know, it's a set you have to pay to play in it or make a financial commitment to play in it. And uh Des and Amy Foster did a great job of helping us navigate the bidding process. That gets um, it can be touch and go at moments. You're not quite sure until the game's over if you're gonna get it. But it was a conscious decision because what Des is building and the connection to the crowd and to the community, and to see how many people bought in through the course of that, you know, four, three, four games and how bound and they came to the team. And now they're like, hey, we're coming with you, you we're in. We saw it. And that that's where that that's the strategic investment we're talking about that we know will pay off in time. And that helps us with Des. It helps us with retention of coaches, it helps us with retention of kids. So as you talk about Rev share and those things, they all kind of interlace together between attendance, stability of the coaching staff, continuity of the roster, you know, how many people are showing up because all that kind of goes in the mixing bowl and you swirl it around and the outcome is a result that you uh enables you the opportunity to do that. But we could not have done that had our community not bought in. And now what's even more exciting is they're even more bought in for next season.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that's a sport too, where and we talked earlier about Rev share and don't want to get too in the weeds on this. But look, I mean, that's a sport where you can really grow your athletic program as a whole. You know that, and the commitment to basketball is there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it it basketball is certainly I I I saw that very early on, obviously, with the quality of the coaches that have been here previously from Graham McCaskill and uh you know, down the tree, Brian, you know, all of them did a great job here. And now we've got an incredible coaching tandem with Ryan and Des, but you can see that you know, we've got some coaches that have a high ceiling and they can get us there. The the key right now is continuity of the roster, continuity of the staff, and we'd be able to keep that with both of those programs through this last year. And trust me, we we had to hold on to Des. We had to hold on to Ryan. They options are out there for them, but they see the value and and what a special place Jonesboro is, um, and how people galvanize to your point around basketball. And it's um it's not lost on anybody that we're in a community where we can have a high level of success here around those two around those two programs.
SPEAKER_00It was fun to see. And you mentioned when we first sat down today. Baseball. And I think it's always kind of been there that that want for a good baseball program. Because anytime in the past there's been any kind of success, a win streak, the attendance immediately goes up. And you saw the success early in the year, and you mentioned four wins over top 15 opponents and just the in-game entertainment, the atmosphere, better than ever, the improvements in the stadium. People got to come out and see that, and it made them want to come back. And for a program to have their top eight crowds in school history all in a single season is unheard of.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it really came together. And, you know, obviously the weather, everything it just is fun when you see everything just kind of manifest itself and organically happen. Um, Mike does an incredible job with his kids of getting out in the community. Um, he works really hard. Uh, you know, unfortunately, he's in the middle of portal combat right now till July 1st, um, fighting really hard to hold on to our players and acquire new talent. But what Mike does a great job of is being connected to the community and being out and seeing how hard that work paid off for him as the team had success on the field, and then how people gravitated to being out at the stadium. And I'm telling you, it was a Southern Miss weekend. I think it was it was Friday or Saturday night, I can't remember which one, but I'm walking around, I'm like, I there were people, and I, you know, I'm new to Jonesboro, but I was there were people there I'd never seen before. And it was a great crowd. The right field rowdies did an incredible job throughout the entire year, and I need to make sure we single them out because their support and the way they I mean, they put sweat equity as well as financial equity into that. Yeah, those guys are out there early cooking, cleaning, doing a lot of work that people never see. And that makes a huge difference. And we're in a community where, you know, the sweat equity matters. Um, you know, not everybody has the capacity to write, you know, really big checks. But by having by showing up, by being there, a lot of times that's enough. And that's what, you know, we need to continue to foster. And that's what I need to lean into and let people know how much we appreciate them and how much our kids do and our coaches do when they show up. Um, but you know, being out there for baseball during the spring with what that team did, and you know, it didn't go our way down the end, but I don't want to lose sight of the historical season the team had because we still finished, I think, 61st in RPI. Um, if if we go 500 down the stretch, we're in realistically. And so, you know, and we got look, the Sunbelt got five teams in the frigging NCAA tournament, right? Amazing. And that is brutal. Uh, that's a brutal league. That was one of the top five leagues in the country, maybe three, if I'm not mistaken, something like that.
SPEAKER_00Definitely top five. And it's the second straight year that the Sunbelt has it had a team in the College World Series. So it shows just the kind of incredible depth in this league and how tough it is to compete.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're, you know, week in, week out, you're playing a tournament team, and and don't discount what that means for the same thing. Look, the reality is with college athletics today, um, it's gonna be hard for us to be more than one big team in basketball. So you're really gonna have to win the Sunbelt to get in the NCAA tournament in in both men's and women's basketball. It you might be able to get a second team in, so but the reputation the Sunbelt has for baseball is is as good as any. And I would also tell you, you know, in context, I think we shoot, we probably had seven bowl teams last year in the Sun Belt, maybe eight. Um, you probably know that number better than I do, but we're not competing against, you know, bottom-the-barrel um teams or in a league.
SPEAKER_00Well, a couple of years ago, the Sunbelt had had 12 of their 14 teams go to bowl games, which no conference ever had done that.
SPEAKER_01Well, and let's not lose sight that JMU was in the CFP. So, yeah, I mean, we're we're the context is there that you know the holistic success that we've had is pretty darn good. And, you know, it's we know that, but just getting everybody to understand the the setting that we're competing in and the success that we've had through that is what gets me really bullish on our future.
SPEAKER_00And and sticking with baseball for just another minute or two here, because we see the indoor facility going up, and that's exciting. But Arkansas State's not the only school that's starting to pour money into baseball because people around the country, especially on this level, realize how that can really catapult their athletic program as a whole. And, you know, in particular with the spring sports. I mean, to to be able to have a sport that that generates revenue and creates that kind of interest during the spring hasn't always been the case.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, historically, you know, through call intercollegiate athletics, you you've you've hung your hat on football and basketball, and you understood that, you know, that was those were the key elements of it. And I would tell you in the last five to seven years, with the evolution of you know, baseball in the southeast section of the United States and the prominence it plays in the community aspect. And look, all these towns are about the same size. You know, you think about Hattiesburg or um where's Mississippi State? Um Starkville. Starkville. So you think about towns like that, and then baseball because of the number of dates you get, but also just the communal aspect of it, because it's hey, I can go out there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, um, and it's just everybody's gonna be there. It'll be three to five thousand people, and I can hit everybody at once and have a great time. And to your point, at those numbers, uh, you know, at the 2,500 to 4,000-ish range, baseball, the economics of it flip and it starts making a lot more sense. And that's where, you know, historically, obviously, we're catching up from a facility standpoint and the work that the university has done and the right uh, the Red Wolf Foundation and George Stim and Ryan Kibler have done to support us with that indoor facility have been um very, very significant. And that is that's a needle mover for us. And Mike Silva would tell you right here and say that.
SPEAKER_00And just the attention to detail with the facility itself, and not just Tomlinton Stadium, but this is a great illustration because the turf goes in a couple of years ago, thanks to the Slayton family and Slayton Family Foundation. That was a big part of that. And you see the video board and the bullpen improvements, and even the outside of the stadium. I know you looked at the outside of the stadium earlier in the year and you wanted to improve things like the landscaping and the signage in front of the stadium. That is not a small detail, and you wanted to make sure that was correct.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the aesthetics when you walk up to the building, you know, you want it to be somebody people want to go to and enjoy. And, you know, we painted the building black so it stands out a little bit more, matches our color scheme for the athletics coloring, um, the landscaping, the concrete. Um, and trust me, that list is uh lengthy of more things we want to continue to do out there. Hopefully, before next season, um, we'll be able to get the sound system improved. Um and some other key strategic elements we want to continue to improve on. Obviously, having uh the practice facility done will be a huge improvement. There'll be about 100 seats that'll be available on a balcony. That'll be a nice premium opportunity for anyone that's out there listening that's interested. We still have some inventory left. Um, but those are all things that continue to improve the game day experience. And to your point, the turf, the video board, that building, it shows that there is a commitment to continued success, that it's not an outlier. And what you'll find, um, and one of the things that we'll be able to benchmark as we move along is as we make investments, you'll see competitive improvements. It's amazing. Um, everywhere I've been, when you've whether it's a center hung scoreboard going in or building a new um operations center, how that elevates the pace of play and the success that you have competitively, there is absolutely a correlation. And that's what's going to be fun to see, particularly when you've got great coaches like we have. That dividend will pay off.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You mentioned some of the other sports, but uh have a golf program that finishes top 25 in the nation this year, first time ever they've gone to nationals. Uh that's incredible. I mean, what a feather in the cap of that program.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and we, I mean, uh, Mike, I'm sorry I haven't brought you up yet. I apologize. That's on me. I think you did earlier. Um, but yeah, I mean, we go to NCAA's, and you know, I got a chance to go out there on Saturday, and Sunday, you know, it didn't go as well, but Saturday, we were on the on the cuffs of making the cut to the final round. And, you know, what Thomas was able to do in our first All-American ever in that sport was just it's incredibly gratifying. And those kids, when you walk around the course and watch them compete and the job that Mike does, and watching their parents and their family and and loved ones move around with them, you can't be more proud of the type of people we have representing this university.
SPEAKER_00What surprised you about Jonesboro and this Arkansas state community?
SPEAKER_01Um, the number of license plates. And I know that's totally random, but it look, there's a lot of things that have been really awesome. But, you know, coming from a big metropolitan area, the amount of people that have A-state license plates, that I mean, it's every third car. And so that tells me that there's people that are willing to pay to support our university. And we just have to touch into that, we have to touch that nerve to get them out here on game day. And if we if we touch those people and we get about a third of those people, we'll have more than enough to be really successful here. And I know that's a really specific uh no, it's um, it's very evident. Yeah, but you know, coming from the outside, you know, driving around, you know, Houston, you didn't see that. You know, you you'd had a smattering of a little bit of everything, but the density of it here has been really impressive to see. But, you know, there's so much more meaningful things, you know, the quality of the institution academically, um, the support of the administration, um, the engagement of our board, um, from a structural standpoint, those are all really good things for somebody that sits in my role. Um, but then just as somebody that, you know, is now an A-State supporter, um, the the community is really just a special place. And you can see how they can get behind our teams really quickly. And we saw it with women's basketball, and we saw it with baseball. Um, football was a little bit more stretched out. Our success was more backloaded. So it was a little bit, we started kind of um getting to other areas of the season where there was just it was harder to see that growth, but you can definitely, it's there. And we're gonna see that this fall, and that's what gets me really excited about the future.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and one thing that's been mentioned before is just how strong the core of this fan base it is. Yes. I know you've discovered that. Now it's just building on to that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it it's we've got a really we've got a really stable, strong core, and we've seen them um, you know, it over the holidays, over the holidays during basketball season is always the really difficult time because or the snow days. That was another great example. It's just a difficult time because everybody's traveling, there's a lot of other things going on, but the fact that we were getting, you know, 22, 2,500 people showing up in the middle of the holidays. And one of the better promotions we ever did was the snow day when we said, okay, upper decks free, just come on in and seeing how many people from the community came out because that was their chance to get out of the house and and support a winning program, it's in us. We just have to continue to find ways to touch that nerve to activate people to get them to come out.
SPEAKER_00And I know that your wife Marisol's at so many of the events, and uh, you mentioned your kids earlier. I know that they're to the point where they're grown now, they're young adults, but what's the family thought of this move?
SPEAKER_01They love it. My uh my youngest came home for the summer. Um, she's actually volunteering over in the football offices. Her first day was today. She was out the door by 7:30 because she didn't want to be late. So um the my family loves it here. The um the transition for us has been as seamless as we could have hoped for. It has been um just incredible. You know, I I'll I'll tell you a little, I go to Craighead every day. I've got a two-year-old white lab, and we go walk the trails, and that is like the best hour I could ever spend. And, you know, obviously there's more productive ways to spend the day, whether it's you know, returning phone calls or engaging donors or getting things done at the office, but just the the pace of it, the ability to get out in nature and be outside and um share it with, you know, my dog is running around uh chasing deer. Um, but the family, you know my wife and my kids, they they this is, you know, we feel like we found our forever home. And um that's a dangerous thing to say in these roles because the volatility of the job and just the the transient nature and nature of it, you never like putting those things out there, but it's something it we've we've we're incredibly comfortable here, and this is a place we love and are proud to call home.
SPEAKER_00Well, it it's been a fun first year with you here. I know you're looking forward a year too. It's been a blast getting to know you and and uh just looking forward to a lot of good things ahead.
SPEAKER_01Matt, I I I want to thank you because you've been um this last year for me, you know, you've been a touchstone, and I mean that in the most positive way. You, you know, you're always at our events working, but for me to be able to come sit down, pull up a chair, and watch a baseball or basketball or football game and just kind of pick your brain a little bit about things I see that are happening in the building or or ways or style of play that we have, um, and giving somebody that's got historical context, but also cares so much about this place. It's um you've been an incredible asset, and we're very lucky to have you as the as the voice of Arkansas State Athletics. I mean that. And um, you're one of the best in the business. I've been around this thing a long time. You're really, really good at what you do, and we're very privileged and I'm very thankful to have you.
SPEAKER_00Really appreciate you saying that and uh really, really excited about what's to come, and especially uh starting with this football season.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we've uh look, um we're probably about a week or two ahead of some more significant things that we can announce, um, probably realistically after the 4th of July, um, because we'll just lose some time and we want to make sure that when we say these things that we get everybody's attention. But we're gonna have some fun this fall, and it's gonna be a great year. And um, we're in this thing together and we're gonna get this thing done. We're gonna have a lot of fun doing it.
SPEAKER_00We appreciate everybody tuning in to Saturdays in Jonesboro. We encourage you to subscribe wherever you get your podcast and check out all of our podcasts on the Arkansas State Media Network.