Nick Saban’s Five Enemies of Greatness via My New Best Friend at The 7 Minute Leadership Pod

How Entitlement, Discipline, and Complacency Undermine Teams – Insights From Saban

Inside Penn State’s Quarter‑Billion Dollar Athletic Budget and Its Profit Margins

In episode #88 of Heavy Or Not, The OG Swim Guide, you’ll meet my new best friend, Paul Falavolito and a snip from his show, The 7 Minute Leadership Podcast. He shares Nick Saban’s “Five Enemies of Greatness.”

Paul's Site, The 7 Minute Leadership Podcast

Plus, we’ll break down the money behind a powerhouse college athletic department. You’ll get practical leadership takeaways and a raw loo

k at Penn State’s finances.

• The five hidden threats to performance: entitlement, lack of discipline, choosing circumstance over vision, self‑pity, and complacency.

• How Saban’s “standards over hype” mindset translates to everyday leadership.

• A step‑by‑step walkthrough of Penn State’s $254 M athletic budget – where the cash comes from and where it goes.

• Why football alone generates 57% of the department’s revenue and the impact on other sports.

• The razor‑thin profit margin and why college‑football reform (promotion/relegation, entry‑fee changes) matters now.

Outline

1. Podcast Introduction & Teasers

• Host – Mark Rauterkus introduces his “new best friend” in podcasting, Paul Falavolito.

• Mentions Paul’s own show “7 Minute Leadership.”

• Announces upcoming content:

  • A deep‑dive with Nick Saban.

  • “A bunch of sports news in college swimming and college sports” that will appear in Episode 89.

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2. Leadership Lesson: Nick Saban’s Five Enemies of Greatness (7 Minute Leadership)

a. Who Is Nick Saban?

• Most successful modern‑sports leader; multiple national championships.

• Built dominant programs at several schools over decades.

• Known for selling standards, not hope – discipline, consistency, daily execution.

b. The Five Enemies (each broken down)

• Entitlement

  • Success whispers “you deserve comfort.”

  • Leaders stop preparing, teams rely on reputation.

  • Rent‑based metaphor: respect, trust, results are “rented daily.”

• Lack of Discipline

  • Doing the work when no one’s watching; showing up on time.

  • Small lapses (late meetings, cutting corners, ignoring safety steps).

  • Sloppy habits ⇒ sloppy outcomes.

• Choosing Circumstances Over Vision

  • Letting conditions dictate effort.

  • Great leaders hold the line regardless of budget, morale, or external pressure.

  • Avoids “meteorocracy” (followers drifting with every change).

• Self‑Pity

  • “No one appreciates us” mindset; excuses become the norm.

  • Kills ownership and responsibility.

  • Leads to rapid decline.

• Complacency

  • Thinking you’ve “arrived” – winning becomes expected, effort drops.

  • Turns champions into former champions.

  • Blind spots, reduced hunger, maintenance mindset.

c. Overarching Takeaway

• Enemies sneak in quietly, sound reasonable, and cause damage before they’re noticed.

• Saban’s dynasties were built by refusing to tolerate these enemies.

• Call‑to‑action: Which enemy are you allowing right now?

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3. Coaching Reflection & Mental‑Skills Prompt (Fortune Segment)

• Quote: “Coaches become more knowledgeable by immersing themselves patiently in the systematic teaching of the mental and emotional skills.”

• Presented as a reflection prompt: apply to training, competition, coaching, or life beyond the pool.

• Suggests writing about the insight to turn ideas into habits.

• Source: Mental Skills for Young Athletes – John Hogg, PhD (link: swimisca.com).

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4. Nick Saban on Player Development & NFL Draft Process

• Development First: Emphasizes “development as a person, student, and player” over money.

• Draft Call Statistics:

  • 35 early‑exit players → >1,000 calls from NFL teams.

  • No calls ask about freshman playing time; focus is on development into a player.

• Character Over Athleticism:

  • Teams ask about character, fit, teammate qualities, leadership.

  • Trustworthiness and ability to represent the organization are paramount.

• Advice: “Create value for yourself in all those areas.”

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5. NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) Resources

• Website & Email List: nil.cloh.org – a hub for NIL information and community.

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6. Penn State Athletic Department Financial Deep Dive (Guy Moderator)

a. Revenue Overview – Where the ~$254 M Comes From

• Donations: $64.5 M (pure donor power).

• Media Rights: >$58 M (Big Ten TV contracts).

• Ticket Sales: >$50 M (fan attendance).

• Zero funding from university tuition, state taxes, or student fees.

b. Expense Overview – Where the Money Goes

• Personnel (Salaries & Benefits): >$84 M – the single biggest expense.

• Athlete‑Related Costs: ~$48 M total, broken into:

  • Scholarships / Athletic Aid: >$24 M.

  • NIL Payments: >$18 M.

  • Educational Awards: ~ $5 M.

• Facilities & Operations: Significant portion (second‑largest bucket).

c. Football Program As the Financial Engine

• Generates ≈$147 M in revenue – >4 × the combined revenue of all other men’s sports and >16 × women’s sports.

• Accounts for 57 % of total department income.

d. Bottom‑Line Result & Sustainability Question

• Total revenues vs. total expenses differ by only ≈$223 K – essentially a “rounding‑error” profit.

• Highlights the razor‑thin margin model and raises the question: Is this breakeven structure sustainable as NIL and revenue‑sharing rules evolve?

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7. College‑Football Reform Discussion

• Call for Reform: Need a functional, sustainable college‑football system.

• Geographic Remix of Conferences: Proposed plan (linked to Rauterkus.Substack and 4rs.org).

• Promotion & Relegation: Suggests a system allowing movement between tiers, avoiding punitive $5 M entry fees for new programs.

• New‑Program Examples:

  • North Dakota wanting “big‑time

    ” football (Paul’s comment).

  • Sacramento State—should not be penalized with heavy fees; discuss alternative handling.

Check out this episode!

Heavy or Not? The Doping Crisis No One Wants to Talk About | OG Swim Guide #90

Doping at 69?! The Ugly Truth About Recreational Sports. Say "No" to Enhanced Athletes and Their Games

In Episode 90 of Heavy Or Not, The OG Swim Guide, we peek into two shocking doping cases. One is involving a 69-year-old Masters athlete and the other is with a 41-year-old cyclist busted at a Gran Fondo. No prize money. No fame. Just ego, insecurity, and a culture obsessed with optimization.

When does “biohacking” become cheating?
Is TRT just wellness… or is it performance enhancement?
And what happens to sport when authenticity gets replaced with chemistry?

This episode dives deep into the ethics of performance-enhancing drugs, the rise of anti-aging clinics, and why racing with the body you’ve earned still matters.

If this conversation hit home, make sure to subscribe and share this episode with a teammate who needs to hear it.

• Strong performance doesn’t start with talent — it starts with awareness.

You wake up at 4:30 a.m., squeeze in your workout before work… and the guy who beats you brought a pharmacy to the start line. Is that the future of sport?

Did you hear of the 69-year-old athlete who just got busted for steroids… and it wasn’t for money, fame, or contracts — just ego?

Keywords

• masters athletics doping

• Gran Fondo doping scandal

• TRT in sports

• testosterone replacement therapy athletes

• performance enhancing drugs amateur sports

• cycling doping news

• enhanced games controversy

• World Anti-Doping Agency rules

• anti-aging clinics athletes

• integrity in sports

• amateur athlete steroids

• sports psychology and cheating

Check out this episode!

Point Park Chatbot

Point Park University launches AI chatbot to field admissions questions

More schools are using artificial intelligence chatbots to accommodate high schoolers’ schedules

 

 

Maddie Aiken

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

maiken@post-gazette.com

 

Feb 4, 2026

 

12:00 PM

0

For high schoolers, late-night hours are often an optimal time to research colleges and polish applications.

There lies an issue, though, for both teenage applicants and college admissions officials: After-hours questions go unanswered until staffers are back in the office.

That’s why more schools — including Point Park University in Downtown Pittsburgh — are introducing artificial intelligence chatbots to accommodate high schoolers’ schedules.

Point Park plans to roll out its 24/7 AI chatbot this week. In addition to offering greater convenience to students, it also will alleviate the workloads of admissions counselors, said Marlin Collingwood, the private school’s vice president of enrollment management.

 

Chloe Jad

CMU launches AI-based learning initiative with $55 million from Gates Foundation

“It’s going to meet the demands that students and parents have, and free up our staff to review applications and talk to students,” Mr. Collingwood said.

Thanks to a partnership with Pittsburgh-based software company Skilly AI, prospective Point Park students will quickly get answers to their questions on the application process, program offerings, tuition and more, said Mr. Collingwood.

Currently, Point Park’s chat feature is manned by an admissions staffer who sits at a computer answering questions during an 8-hour shift. Nine in 10 questions can be answered by AI, Mr. Collingwood estimates.

After the rollout of the chatbot, if a student has a question that AI can’t answer, they’ll be redirected to a Point Park employee.

“We are using AI in ways that allow us to still have genuine relationships with prospective students,” Mr. Collingwood said. “We’re never going to look at AI as a way to replace real people. It’s going to help real people.”

Nationwide, other universities are also exploring ways to use AI to assuage the admissions process for themselves or their students. At Virginia Tech, an AI tool is reading 58,000 applicants’ essay questions alongside one human reader, vice provost for enrollment management Juan Espinoza told ABC News in January. It’s saved the admissions office thousands of hours of review.

Meanwhile, at California Institute of Technology, AI is interviewing students, with humans later reviewing the exchange, reported the Los Angeles Times last month.

 

Maddie Aiken

Pitt sets sights high with new institute for space, biomedicine

Admissions offices began using this technology about three years ago, said Michael Koppenheffer, vice president for marketing, innovation and AI strategy at Washington-based educational consulting firm EAB.

Initially, that use involved ground-up experimentation — individual counselors would implement ChatGPT to draft rejection letters or ask it to summarize general themes in essays to learn more about their applicant pools.

In the past year, though, efforts have taken a more top-down approach. A growing number of colleges are using AI to read transcripts, recalculate GPAs for standard equivalence and service chats, Mr. Koppenheffer said.

So far, AI implementation in admissions has been “moderate and somewhat cautious,” he noted.

“It's still not systematic, pervasive or particularly advanced,” Mr. Koppenheffer said. “It still feels very experimental and exploratory… I wouldn't say that it has been transformational yet.”

As more schools turn to AI, Mr. Koppenheffer noted that it cannot fully replace human tasks.

Counselors should be on the lookout for hiccups and inaccuracies in AI’s work, Mr. Koppenheffer said. He also cautioned admissions offices against replacing staffers with AI.

Higher education is an “extremely human experience and extremely human product,” he said.

“For something very important, like a decision about whether a student is going to get into a college or not, you don't want to give that over to AI,” he said. “AI can be helpful in specific parts of processes, but you really don't want to cut the human out of the loop.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Koppenheffer anticipates continued experimentation. Chatbots in particular could become very popular, he envisions.

“If you implement it right, [AI] is actually making things better for families, students and colleges,” Mr. Koppenheffer said. “I think we're going to see more of that, because it supports the mission of what admissions offices are all about.”

First Published: February 4, 2026, 12:00 p.m.
Updated: February 4, 2026, 12:57 p.m.

Maddie Aiken covers higher education for the Post-Gazette. Previously, she covered education and other community-related topics for the Tribune-Review and The Daily Times in Salisbury, Md.

  maiken@post-gazette.com
  @madsaiken

Event Recap – 2026 PanAm Aquatics Convention!

---- Forwarded message ---------

From: PanAm Aquatics Office <office@panamaquatics.com>

Subscribe Leer email en español Thank you for attending the 3rd Annual PanAm Aquatics Convention: Advancing Aquatics Through Innovation, Athlete-Centered Development, and Impact. It was an incredible three days of learning, growth, collaboration, and camaraderie. Day One focused on building the foundations of athlete-centered aquatics. Day Two integrated science, technology, and health to support optimal performance, longevity, and well-being. Day Three explored how to strengthen aquatic ecosystems & build sustainable pathways. Aquatic leaders across the world came together for an impactful delivery, highlighting the importance of sustainable infrastructure, leadership pathways, and innovation in aquatic equipment, empowering athletes through opportunity, collaboration, and performance-enhancing environments. 2026 PAQ Convention by the Numbers Convention Highlights We extend our sincere gratitude to our keynote speakers—Dr. Hagar Elgendy, Dr. Monna Arvinen-Barrow, and Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas—for their exceptional keynote addresses. Each presentation was timely, impactful, and deeply relevant, offering evidence-based insight and forward-thinking perspectives that are critically needed as we continue to shape the future of aquatics across the Americas. We also wish to recognize the incredible experts from around the world who generously devoted their time, knowledge, and experience to this Convention both though the live program and the digital hub. Their contributions strengthened our collective understanding across disciplines and regions, helping advance best practices in governance, performance, health, safeguarding, and long-term athlete development throughout our continent. Equally important, we thank the athletes who participated and contributed their voices throughout the Convention. Athlete involvement at every stage of development is essential. Ensuring the athlete voice is present in education, decision-making, and system design strengthens our pathways, improves outcomes, and creates environments where athletes can truly thrive. Finally, our deepest appreciation goes to our PAQ Convention Planning Committee, PAQ Media & Tech Team, and PAQ Committee members whose dedication, collaboration, and leadership made this event an unforgettable experience. Your commitment continues to drive meaningful progress and reinforces the shared vision of a stronger, more connected aquatic community across the Americas. Discipline Highlights The convention featured dynamic aquatic discipline panels, discussing the state of discipline and emphasizing innovation, performance, technical mastery, athlete support, and sustainable systems. PAQ Partner Spotlights We extend our deepest gratitude to our PAQ Partners for making this event possible:  Fluidra – Showcased infrastructure innovation and sustainable aquatic development, demonstrating how world-class facilities enable communities across the Americas to grow and thrive.  Malmsten – Highlighted the critical role of equipment and collaboration in developing athletes, coaches, and aquatic systems, inspiring continuous innovation and creating optimal performance environments.  Global Sport Technology – Led innovation in sports physiology with expert insights from Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas, with key sessions on nutrition and recovery, heart rate and lactate-guided training, and performance-driven technology in aquatics, advancing smarter, evidence-based athlete development pathways. Moreover, our PAQ Development Partners were essential to the event, sharing their expertise, emphasizing athlete experience, community impact, and building pathways to ensure aquatics flourishes across our continent through education, innovation, and engagement. Announcements & Exciting Updates During the Convention, we shared several transformative initiatives for PanAm Aquatics development: PanAm Aquatics Proficiency Certification Program PART I: Foundations  PART II: Certification Pathways for Technical Officials, Coaches, Event Organizers, and Athletes  PART III: Certification Completion through Evaluation and Safe Sport Training PanAm Aquatics Safe Sport Training Program Launching soon to support safe and sustainable development across aquatic disciplines. Underwater Chats Coach Series Hosted by Fernando Canales, Sammy McGregor, and Rick Walker, continuing the legacy of Mona Nyheim-Canales. Underwater Chats Podcast Hosted by Valerie Gruest and Javier Ruisanchez, connecting the athlete community in a new and engaging way! These initiatives mark a monumental moment for aquatics in the Americas, setting a new standard for development, education, and athlete-centered programming. First Ever PAQ Athlete Forum – REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! We are thrilled to announce the first-ever PanAm Aquatics Athlete Forum, hosted by the PanAm Aquatics Athletes Committee and powered by Athlete Core.  This unique event will bring together athletes from across the Americas to: Engage in essential conversations about development, training, and performance Share insights on the athlete experience, directly from the most beloved and decorated aquatic athletes in our continent, as well as some guest appearances from global icons! <