Alex Ricker-Gilbert | Sr. Vice President-Athletics Director | Jacksonville University – One Question Leadership Podcast

@1QLeadership Question: How much does an athletics director think about succession planning?

Alex Ricker-Gilbert, Senior Vice President and Athletics Director at Jacksonville University, discusses hiring coaches and succession planning with Lamarr Pottinger, Director of Leadership Development with NCAA. Ricker-Gilbert has a process of identifying assistant coaches that could potentially be head coaches in the future and engaging with them regularly. He also talks about being aggressive with head coaches who show early signs of success, such as extending one Jacksonville head coach to a 10-year contract after his first year.

• “Will this person care more about our student-athletes as people than as athletes?”
• “Tell us why you want to be at our institution”
• “If you do a good job hiring, the rest of the leader’s job is much easier.”

Ricker-Gilbert believes upward mobility at Jacksonville is the department’s competitive advantage. – One Question Leadership Podcast – Tai M. Brown