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While descending from the backcountry on Sunday morning, my phone blew up. "Oh s$%t!" I thought before my alarm turned to anger "Who cuts their team on a SUNDAY?" Anger gave way to appreciation as I saw that Emma Sougstad, our social media manager, decided to let Instagram, Twitter and the Snapface know I had a birthday. That sense of appreciation yielded to apprehension as I read Emma's post and saw the words "Fearless Leader" next to my name.

By Greg Earhart
Whether filling a trophy case, generating donation or tuition dollars, or creating transformational experiences each of us adds value to our campus. Simultaneously, we're becoming increasingly disposable with the number of college coaches fired rising for the third straight year. A handful of firings were performance-related and a few more the result of the coach’s own failings. The majority, though, were the result of behavioral issues on the team, staff insurrection or both.

Autumn’s here.  You’re undefeated, the team has a 4.0, everyone’s got best times, nobody’s been written up, and all of your recruits are still interested.  That can only mean one thing. ...It's all downhill from here.

Fighting to keep your job or preserve your program can be soul-crushing.  Our losses are painful and public – there for everyone to see. At the same time our victories – out of fear that they are simply luck or merely temporary - remain hidden and are rarely acknowledged.  That means we only learn from our failures. This month, however, I met several coaches whose efforts are having a transformative effect in their department and on their campus. Of these, I’d like to share three examples who illustrate the influence that each of us can create.