North Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney joins ADU’s Tai M. Brown on the Connect stage at the 2024 NACDA Convention to dive into the concept of “investing in relationships” and the practical applications of relationship-building for departmental success. Looney: “Transparency, touchpoints, accessibility are all important pieces” [of the relationship-building process]. Looney dives into his three cultural pillars: in addition to operating with a “no jerks” mindset when hiring and developing a staff, Looney’s pillars include measuring and celebrating wins in the classroom, in the field of competition and in the community and operating as the “enemy of the status quo.”

Looney and Brown also discuss coming into the Big Chair during the final year of North Alabama’s transition to Division I, with Looney explaining his message to the department when he arrived: “It’s my job to catch up to you.”

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).