#161: Big Ten VP of Policy and Compliance Katie Ahrens Smith: Perspectives on campus and conference intersections

Katie Ahrens Smith is the Vice President of Policy and Compliance at the Big Ten Conference. She’s got a rich history of campus level leadership and offers a unique perspective on different leadership roles and on the interaction between institutions and the conference office. 

1.        Why Katie entered athletic administration.

2.        What is the Senior Woman Administrator in an athletic department? Variance by institution.

3.        What does a campus-level sport administrator do?

4.        How does a campus-level sport administrator interact with the conference office? 

5.        Olympic sport oversight committee at the conference.

6.        Ways that Katie is growing in the conference office role. Situational leadership.

7.        Impacts of the growth of volleyball on the game, the experience of the student-athletes – and the leadership work surrounding it all.

8.        The impacts of the Big Ten Network on a new generation of athletes.

9.        What is the policy and compliance team at the conference doing amid an era of rapid change in the college sports world.

10.  Katie’s keys for communication. Be accurate. Prepare. Listen.