Stars on Sports Intro: It's time for Stars on Sports! A podcast-radio show dedicated to sharing stories about our athletic program at Lansing Community College. LCC athletics has a strong tradition. 23 national championship wins! Over 170 All-Americans! 19 MCCAA all sports trophies! Stars on Sports will introduce you to individuals that have contributed to our program success and give you the backstory on what it takes to develop it. We'll also dive into and break down the topics and issues facing athletic departments across the nation and right here at LCC. This is Stars on Sports!

Hello and welcome to another episode of Stars on Sports. I am joined by our assistant AD and baseball coach, Steven Cutter. And Steven, today, as we record this podcast, there's a number of things going on in the educational athletic world, so I hope we can touch on both of them or at least dive deep into either one of them. And it's conference realignment and with conference re alignment, it's the beginning of academic year. But as we record this, we have started practices too. So it's very exciting both of those things, and they're both polarizing to people. So it brings out a lot of discussion. And it's amazing the landscape in both of those of, you know, beginning of the year and, you know, people usually have a little break and are excited and there's a lot of hope out there, but the breaks are different. Now. Do tune athletes get a really a break to re energize and renew themselves for the upcoming year. I think they might have minimized, you know, or a little less of a schedule, but they're still, you know, pretty active. You know, championships are won in the off season and, you know, that ties into the, you know, the hot topic of conference realignment out there, how at the highest level of college sports, you know, conferences are blowing up and teams that are on the west coast are becoming members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. And, you know, we've even seen it in our conference. You know, we've had some expansion, you know, the most expansion we've had in the last couple years. And it's impacted our conference regarding how you split it up and the travel and the competition and the rivals. So, you know, they go hand in hand, but they're different. But in the end, it's just an exciting time of year to, you know, to kick off the year. And again, nothing with conference realignment would go in effect at the largest level until next year. But it's a topic. I mean, that's who you play. That's, you know, you know, there's big money involved, there's travel involved, and sometimes we lose focus of the best for the student athlete. So what are your thoughts on either one of those? And maybe that'll help what direction, you know, this conversation?

Well, I think soup, it's basically super conferences is what's forming throughout the athletic landscape. Have you, you've been in the high school level for a long time. Did you see that kind of working that way as well at the high school level?

Yes, my last four or five years or even longer at the high school level. It was a significant impact. And I started 25 years ago. When you just stayed in your league, I called it, it became a free agent society. You know, you used to just try to get better and compete in and win. But in the end of that career, it was very fluid and it changed rapidly. And there were a number of factors. Some would argue football led to a lot of that, but I think it was much more than that. And at the high school level, you know, geography has a lot more play in that, plus your enrollment. And that was, I thought, one of the significant changes. And even I think you're seeing that impacting colleges too, where some high schools grew and many shrunk. So that changed if they could be competitive or not in that particular league. So it was a huge topic at the high school level the last five to 10 years. And, you know, hard feelings, difficult decisions, you know, you didn't try and kick somebody out, but they're the magic number you wanted to get to for your schedules. And it didn't have much to do with money like it does at the college level and even at the higher level than us. I mean, you're talking $80 million for this new Big Ten contract for media rights. But yeah, it's at all level. Then, you know, you don't see it as much at the community college level because I think geography is a big part of that. And, you know, you stay local and I haven't seen much movement between, you know, the Michigan and maybe the Illinois. But it's more if you change divisions, you'd have to go out and find teams that are in that particular division. If you moved up to Division 1 or moved down to Division 3, like at our last meeting in the MCCAA, Division 3 schools might have to play schools from Texas, I believe, in their region tournament, because that's the closest conference with, you know, the sport offering. So there's a number of factors that go into league realignment, such as geography, competition opportunities, even facilities. Now, you know, in the Premier League Soccer, there's teams that you get relegated and such, and there's a team that wasn't expected to move up, but their stadium's too small for the requirements. So even a thing like facilities can impact. Like if you're a D1, you have enough seating that meet the requirements for attendance. But in the end, it's student athlete welfare and money. It's crazy. It's evolving. You're right. It's becoming super. Conferences names could be changed. Conferences that are over 100 years could lose their name. Rivalries could be changed. It impacts each sport differently, but it's going to impact every sport. And again, that's a lot of uncertainty, which we talked about surprises before in our podcast in the past, but there's a lot of uncertainty heading into the school year. But there's a lot of hope, too, and hope is exciting and it's contagious. And as we talk, I'm not a Lions fan, but there's a lot of talk about how good the Lions are going to be this year.

And it's crazy, really isn't different from any other year. But I mean, you hit on geography a little bit. At the high school level, geography for these conferences is relatively important. At the college level, that was also a thing. But now geography is kind of out the window. And as with most things, you see a trickle down effect. You know, it goes from whether it's professional to college to, you know, high school. What would it be like for our conference that's growing immensely that all of a sudden we joined the Mississippi associ of community college conference in Mississippi, and now all of a sudden they're with us because colleges are flying across the country or will be extensively flying, you know, super long distances to play these games or matches.

Well, it's very interesting because when you look at conference makeup, geography was the main category. Like the Big Ten, it was all Midwest school, the mccaa, it was all Michigan. You know, now we have some Indiana schools and, you know, no Ohio school, but we compete with them in the regionals. But geography was that main factor. Money and technology have probably changed that. You know, planes are much more accessible. Busing, you know, is more convenient, but it still costs. So that's where you got to find a way. When there's travel involved, time and money are important factors and they can be costly. You know, teams that play one time a week is a different impact than teams that play three or four times a week. In that travel, you can get creative with scheduling and do partner schools or you Know, make it a multi contest trip. But you know, geography does seem to go out the window and it could trickle down to the high school that, you know, there's still a core geography but it's branched out in some areas. At our level. Yeah, depending on even competition as we're seeing it, our programs are stronger, team might not play us or you know, you might become too good for your league. And I've seen that, you know, that they, you know, I don't see foresee that happening in our conference. But there are many factors that play into that. That travel has seemed to be moved down the list on what's important for conference alignment at all levels. So very interesting. It'll be very interesting to follow and how it does impact our level. It hasn't impacted the Spirit. Know the, the D3 or NAI leveled much ahead. Impacted D2 level I believe. So it's not just D1 we're talking and you know, size of schools also impact that sport offerings is another thing. I mean you got to probably go somewhere where you can play schools. You know, like even when you add a sport you want to know who you're going to schedule and play with. But just a lot of factors. But it's, it's, it's very intriguing what's happening and how it will trickle down to other levels. Because back to your travel arrangements. Once you see other people able to do it, that makes you think you can do it too. Like, well, if UCLA can make it all the way to East Lansing, why can't we make it to Mississippi? And it's crazy. You know, when you look at Michigan like we've added, we added Bay out of Escanaba and that's a six hour drive. How many other colleges in Ohio or Indiana or Illinois are just as close? You know, so you know it. You know, that's the interesting thing about our state that our, the high school association always alluded that you're closer to some parts in North Carolina than you are all the way to the western end of the up and you got, you know, snow up there and you know, sunshine down on the southeast corner. And again then you throw in enrollment numbers. So just many variables and it's just

really separating the haves and have nots in college sports is what's happening. Because if you're part of a conference and you start having realignment teams, start leaving for other conferences and you might not be able to have the, you might not currently have the funding to be able to do what those other teams are doing, you're kind of left holding the bag, which is the same thing that's happening on the, on the west coast right now with some teams, and then they have to figure out where they're going to go because the conference isn't going to exist anymore. And I think that's happened in college sports for a while, and it's just a little more prominent now. And, and like you said, you're seeing super conferences and it's been a long standing, you know, Power 5 conferences, and I think that number is probably going to go down by at least one.

Yeah, interesting. Because, you know, they call it power five, they'll have to change that number. And it's difficult for college departments. You know, even though the independent schools are. You try and be loyal and almost loyalty has gone out the window on some of these things, and people get burned by trying to stay true to their current conference and in knowing when to jump into that next conference or being left out. We found out some schools have been. And, and geography still plays a role in it. You know, like being at Lansing and being centrally located. You know, our current division makeup, we don't even. We're not in a division with our three closest schools, but we're still pretty close to the league. We move. So geography still plays into it. Like being on the west coast or east coast, you're definitely traveling one way or the other where if you're more centrally located, it's more favorable. And you know, I saw an article where like in the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals are traveling the least in the NFL, and the Seattle Seahawks are traveling like three times as much as they are and over different time zones. And, you know, the Mariners do the same thing. Yeah. And again with where they're located. And you're seeing game played over internationally. I mean, Michigan played a basketball game last year in London, you know, the highest level. They're playing games in Mexico, in London and Canada and trying to get teamed there. So geography will always be a part of it, but it just seems to be going down the list and. And what decides, you know, what alliance or what enrollment that is and, you know, where the academics fit into that. I don't know.

I mean, decisions becomes a lot harder when you're. The further that you're traveling. It's just. It becomes a lot harder on the academic side because you're doing things on a plane or on a bus or in a terminal or, you know, all these different places that are definitely unique in their own ways. So it's more of A challenge. And if you're on a bus or you're on a plane, the hours that you're getting back are not normal by any stretch. And so then, you know, you have student athletes choosing sleep or to get their work done. And most of them really make the best choice possible at the time, which is to get their work done, but then they're sacrificing their sleep, which then affects their athletic performance. So it's really a big picture spiral and you have to try to figure all that out with time management and what's best at the time.

Well, and I think it goes back to your point of the haves and have nots, because one of the neat things I've learned over the last couple months from another podcast is your resources need to meet your expectations. And for those highest levels, they have the resources to help student athletes. They have professors or tutors or other academic help when they travel. But as you go down levels, those resources aren't and economical or easy to obtain, that it does have a domino effect on the student athlete and their performance and their academic success. And in the end, it's almost counterproductive. And that's, you know, that's where I struggle with this conference realignment. Like, we're doing it for money and TV. But that $80 million also can help benefit, you know, many more sports. Like, you know, I saw an article, it'll help maybe keep coaches at a higher salary. It will help build facilities for some of those programs that haven't. Our facilities are older, so it's like pulling the rope at both ends and where's it going to break and where's it end? And it's not ending. And even with these super conferences, there's still some ironing out to do and seeing where people land. And the same with us. You know, we're one year into adding three northern schools that at some time I think the MCCA needs to reflect expectancy is three divisions the best. When we were making that realignment issue, it was very difficult. And there were a couple of schools mad that they got pulled into the Northern Conference. And we were close to those and we argued our case of why different schools should. And you learn as time goes on, you learn to adjust and it becomes the normal. But those are difficult conversations and it's tough on your again, those school that got pulled in the Nofern Conference, the one that are farthest south, it's more time, more travel, more money. Where the schools that are up north that are closer together, it's Impacted less and even us that can we go up there and play them for non conference and such. So it's definitely a domino effect. But I also think it can impact the haves and the have nots. And in the end, people focus on winning and how they going to win and what sports are they going to win in. And, and you know, that, you know, I argued that was part of the high school alignment issues. If you weren't succeeding, instead of trying to get better, you went and found a league that you could succeed in. I don't see that as much at the high college level, but you know, you do. I mean, because you look at some of the highest levels. If you're not succeeding, you're trying to find a way to be successful or

you're the Lions and you just, yeah, hey, there's hope.

No, this year might be that next year with all the. And that, you know, again, that's back to our original conversation about hope and the starting of the year. You're getting ready to start. I mean, you were working as hard as you ever were this summer. So, you know, I don't see where you got that downtime or breaks. But do you feel energized because of the new season or is it just another day to you?

No such thing as just another day. So at least for me, it's always energized to be able to do what we do and super blessed to be able to have all the things that we have and all the connections and the relationships and our college and everything else. So it's never just another day. My Fridays look the same as my Mondays do and there's, there's no change. I'm, I'm not dreading Sunday night and, you know, celebrating on Friday. So it's, it's. We're very fortunate.

But as a new season starts, I mean, you know, one person can, you know, whether it's a coach or a student athlete, can make a significant change in that team. So is there anything you prepare differently as you head into that first practice or meeting or. I know you again, start up front by developing relationships with your student athletes and incoming recruits. So you have a good gauge of what your team RA looks like. But is there anything like just on your mind or that, you know, do you get more butterflies for that first day or, you know.

Nope, it's just, you know, not so much. The relationships are built, but they're not built on the first day and they're built over a long period of time. So the team will Change dramatically. It's going to change, you know, as we get going, and then there's playing. Once that competition and playing time get involved in January and February, then the team will change once again. But it's really about just setting the standard and setting the tone of the program, showing all the great things that have been done and then also showing all the great things that can be done moving forward. So it's an exciting time of year. Most of the student athletes come in and they're fairly selfish, and that's really normal, but they're concerned about themselves. They want to know how they fit into a team. They want to know if they. They're going to play. They want to, you know, they're comparing themselves to their other teammates. So when they come into a program the first day of practice, it's a pretty selfish thing. And you really start working through a whole process of teaching them how to be selfless and embrace their team and play for each other and that kind of stuff. And that doesn't happen in a speech. It doesn't happen on a banner, on a wall, or print on a T shirt, but it's through that process. And so probably the most exciting piece of being able to start a season is to start those processes moving forward. And then the most gratifying thing is when it's all said and done, look at how those processes worked out to the results.

And what a good point in that. You know, for the fans, it is exciting. For those that are playing, there's apprehension, there's uncertainty, there's. There's stress. And know that that's at every level. At the high school level, you know, getting cut at the college level, fitting in, knowing if your role is what you thought when you recruited in. At the professional level, it's a job. And, you know, there's only so many people that make that roster. So very interesting point that as the fans, we're all excited and thinking this is the year for our team. And the same for me as an administrator, I'm all excited about, you know, this year we're going to have that. We're going to be better in everything than we were last year, and we're going to win, you know, in the classroom, we're going to have a better GPA. On the court, in the field, we're gonna finish higher than we did last year. But, you know, for student athletes, it's not that. I mean, there's hope and excitement there because I think they want to be a part of what that success has been in the past. But you're right, individually, there's a lot going on and you know that a thing I've learned those transitions in life, you know, going from middle school to high school, going from high school to college, you know, and they're tough on on young adults and student athletes that sometimes that does get lost this time of year. So good point. But it's still exciting. I think we're going to have a great year in our athletic program. It'll be interesting to see where conference realignment ends up with us, but it's definitely a hot topic and not done at the highest levels of college sports. So again, looking forward to a great year and Go Stars.

Stars on Sports Outro: Stars on Sports is recorded live at the WLNZ studios. Engineering and production assistance are provided by Daedalian Lowry. You can listen to this episode and other episodes of Stars on Sports on demand at LCCconnect.org to find more information about our athletic program, visit LCCstars.com thanks for listening. Go Stars!