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In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Melanie Moran, Vice President and Senior Strategist at Mackey Strategies, who spent nearly two decades at Vanderbilt University—rising to Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations—and recently completed an 18‑month stint as interim head of athletic communications. She's seen campus and athletics communications from every angle: as a writer, a strategist, a leader, and an outsider brought in to bridge two worlds.
Melanie shares what surprised her most about athletics communications: the sheer volume, the round‑the‑clock pace, the 17 sports, the live broadcasts, and the massive, always‑on audience. She explains why operational separation makes sense—athletics needs to move fast—but why brand and strategy can never be siloed. The university's name is on the jerseys, and the best operations work hand in glove.
She also offers advice for crisis leadership. The best leaders don't panic. They create space to understand what really happened. They're willing to hear information they don't like. And they understand that trust is the currency of a crisis—the goal isn't to survive tomorrow's news cycle, it's to protect the institution's reputation for the next decade.
For anyone in communications, athletics, or institutional leadership trying to navigate an increasingly complex media landscape, this episode is essential listening.
Key Takeaways
- Relationships Must Be Built Before the Crisis Hits: You don't want to be meeting your campus communications colleagues for the first time in the middle of a reputational fire. Establish regular check‑ins, track issues together, and know in advance who handles what.
- The Crisis Playbook: What Happened, What Will We Do, What Will We Say: In that order. Don't skip ahead to messaging before you understand the facts and have decided on a course of action grounded in your values.
- The Best Leaders Don't Panic: The leader's behavior sets the tone for the entire team. Calm creates space to understand what really happened and gives staff confidence that they'll be supported.
- The Best Leaders Ask "What Do I Need to Know?" Not "How Do I Make This Go Away?" They're willing to hear tough news, even if it reveals a staff failure or a mistake that could have been avoided. You can't make good decisions without complete information.
- Trust Is the Currency of a Crisis: Getting through tomorrow's news cycle is not the goal. Protecting the institution's reputation for the next five to ten years is. Trust and values are foundational—and they can be lost in the midst of a crisis if you're not careful.
- AI Is Great for Getting Past the Blank Page—Not for Judgment: AI can synthesize information, test ideas, and handle repetitive work. But outsourcing judgment, leadership voice, or relationships to AI is risky. The question isn't "Is AI replacing communicators?" It's "How can AI free up communicators to think more strategically?"
- The Transition from Individual Contributor to Leader Requires a Mindset Shift: Being the best writer or social media person won't prepare you to lead. You need to shift from "What can I produce?" to "What is the strategy behind it?" Learn the business of the institution. Understand what the president, provost, and athletic director are trying to accomplish. Invest in relationships before you need them.
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Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Intro and guest background
- (00:01:51) - A career story: chasing down a school bus
- (00:03:20) - How communications leadership evolved at Vanderbilt
- (00:04:47) - Athletics vs. university communications: scale and pace
- (00:07:16) - Where separation between athletics and university works or fails
- (00:08:43) - Crisis speed, authority, and shared language
- (00:10:32) - NIL, revenue sharing, and deeper integration needs
- (00:12:45) - Value of outside strategic counsel and interim leadership
- (00:15:10) - Common traits of leaders handling crisis well
- (00:16:30) - AI's role in communications work
- (00:18:09) - Mentoring communicators into leadership roles
- (00:20:37) - Optimism, burnout, and the future of athletics-campus branding
- (00:22:50) - Closing and sign-off
