Towel Rack Exclusive: An Interview With Todd Stewart

This past Wednesday, our writers Jared Rosdeutscher and Matt McCay were able to meet up with Western Kentucky University Athletic Director Todd Stewart for a special, on-the-record, Q&A about all things in the WKU Sports universe.

In this exclusive interview, we were able to ask him an array of questions about every sport on the Hill as well as a few about more general things within the university and NCAA as a whole.

There were many noteworthy things to take away from this interview with him that we will highlight below:

• Todd is very pleased with the current state of the fall sports and said they are all off to a great start.
• WKU volleyball only has one loss. Along with the success of the program, it also provides an opportunity to bring awareness to Alyssa Cavanaugh and her fight with cancer.
• Todd said that the WKU vs. Louisville football game in Nashville essentially “broke even” financially. Won’t rule out having more games in Nashville but would need to be assured of a better turnout and one more similar to the 2013 UK game in order for WKU to play another football game in Nashville.
• Todd mentioned that the track and field team was the program most affected by the budget cuts.
• Todd said this year’s men’s basketball team is the most talented team on the Hill since Ken McDonald’s first year as head coach. Has high expectations for the team this year. Said if the players sacrifice for the better of the team the sky is the limit for their success.
• Todd said the HSSN Facebook live streams of the non-revenue sports have been successful so far this year. Said a few thousand people have been tuning in and they’ve tried to make it a professional broadcast.
• Todd has tried to schedule more power five schools by adding a home-and-home with men’s basketball. Said that they would offer to take a little less in the cost of football games to guarantee a home-and-home in basketball and most programs declined. Said that most of them were very reluctant to play WKU.
• Todd said that the softball team should be successful. Said their pitching should be phenomenal and that WKU will be hosting the Conference USA Tournament this year.
• Todd mentioned how there will be many new faces on the baseball team and that he hopes they pick up where they left off last season.
• Todd mentioned how successful WKU has been in spite of having a smaller budget than most schools.
• Todd said he’d still love to see WKU get a new indoor facility, new press box at football stadium, and locker rooms for softball and soccer closer to their respective areas where they play.
• Todd encourages fans to come to games and bring a friend to help support WKU. Said that’s how you grow a fan base.
• Todd mentioned how he’s seen many things from other programs that he tries to emulate at WKU. Said there’s no reason WKU couldn’t be as successful in men’s basketball as a school like Xavier, VCU, Butler, etc. as far as recent national success as a non-power five school goes.
• We asked Todd his thoughts on the California bill SB 206 but we will use his comments from it for a separate article that expands on his thoughts and the bill. We will provide the link for it here once it’s out.
• Todd said that he hasn’t heard anything about the eligibility of Kenny Cooper or Eli Wright yet. Said there’s always a roadblock until there’s not. Said the NCAA is still hearing some football waivers but hopes he hears something soon.

We are very thankful that Todd took the time to meet with us to answer our questions. Here is the interview in its entirety for your listening pleasure:

Our full interview with Todd Stewart on October 2nd, 2019

• 0:00 — 2:13: Grading the fall sports so far this season
• 2:15 — 3:20: Talking about WKU volleyball’s success along with Alyssa Cavanaugh
• 3:20 — 5:48: How the Louisville game in Nashville went financially and recapping the environment for the game
• 5:49 — 7:59: Analyzing the football team’s start and their expectations for the season
• 8:00 — 9:58: The importance/recap of their home win against UAB
• 9:59 — 11:21: Talking about the track and field team and their new coaching staff
• 11:22 — 14:19: Talking about men’s basketball and their expectations for this season
• 14:20 — 15:43: Looking at how the HSSN Facebook streams have gone so far this year
• 15:44 — 17:42: Lady Topper basketball and their expectations for this season
• 17:44 — 20:01: Parlaying multiple sports to get home-and-homes with power five schools
• 20:04 — 22:00: What has made WKU become so successful in football and basketball over the years (all-time winning percentage)
• 22:04 — 24:22: Softball and baseball expectations
• 24:23 — 26:05: Athletics success in spite of budget cuts
• 26:07 — 28:40: Next steps for athletic growth and engaging the community
• 28:41 — 29:53: How the average WKU fan can help athletics become more successful
• 29:54 — 34:15: Emulating other university's athletic models
• 34:18 — 38:56: Thoughts on Article SB 206
• 39:04 — 40:30: Update on Kenny Cooper and Eli Wright