This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling Kansas State's Director of Athletics, Gene Taylor. Taylor was named the Director of Athletics at K-State in April 2017. During his tenure K-State has seen the football program qualify for three bowls, the men’s basketball team win a Big 12 Championship, earn an Elite 8 appearance and advance to two NCAA tournaments and the women’s track and field team win back-to-back Big 12 Outdoor championships. Additionally, Taylor and staff have fundraised and begun to implement a department-wide facility master plan that will benefit all Wildcat teams including the newly completed baseball and soccer projects in addition to Building Champions, a $105 million initiative focused on the South End Zone of Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a new volleyball arena, an Olympic Training Center and a football indoor practice facility. As Athletics Director at North Dakota State, Taylor immediately spearheaded a comprehensive evaluation of the Bison athletic department in 2001, all while successfully guiding the athletics program through the unpredictable waters of reclassification to NCAA Division I from Division II and securing conference affiliations for all 16 sports. In 2014, Taylor accepted the role of deputy athletics director at Iowa where he has been responsible for the administrative oversight of the department’s day-to-day operations. Taylor is a 1980 business management graduate of Arizona State, and he received his master’s degree in sports administration in 1985 from St. Thomas University in Florida. Taylor and his wife, Cathy, have one daughter, Casey, and a son, Jared. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State punter Nick Walsh, who wrapped up his playing career in 2017. Four years ago, Walsh left his family home in Lyndon, Kansas, and headed to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in songwriting. Since then, Walsh has built an impressive catalog of songs that he performed and has written with some of the most accomplished songwriters in country music. Walsh's newest song, "Kinda Like Kansas," can be found on all streaming platforms. He also recently co-wrote "Blood" with Texas country artist Jon Stork. The song broke onto the Texas country charts.  *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling Adam Stanco, the new boss at the 247Sports Network. Stanco's official title lists him as a vice-president of content & executive producer for 247Sports. He moved to Nashville from San Francisco, where he spent years as an executive with the Pac-12 Network. Stanco started his TV career at WIBW-13 in Topeka, but quickly returned to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he covered national high school sports, which led to a stint as a producer at ESPN as he continued his coverage of high school sports, specifically basketball. Stanco has hosted his own podcast and been a guest on many others, often appearing as a recognized expert in NBA Draft evaluations. Stanco has been with 247 for a year or so and is about to lead the network into an exciting new phase of its existence from his new headquarters in downtown Nashville. He and his wife, Caitlin, have four children. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State basketball coach Jim Wooldridge in Dallas, Texas, where he and his wife, Anne, recently moved. Wooldridge coached the Wildcats from 2000 until being let go by athletics director Tim Weiser after losing in the Big 12 Tournament to end the 2005-06 season. Wooly was born in Oklahoma City and played basketball at Lousiana Tech. He landed his first head coaching job at Central Missouri State in 1985, coaching there for six seasons before moving to Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) and then to his alma mater. Wooldridge won 73% of his game at CMSU but never found that level of success again. When K-State looking for a new basketball coach after firing Tom Asbury, Wooly was serving as an assistant for the Chicago Bulls under good friend Tim Floyd. Wooly's program went 83-90 in his six seasons, and his final roster was the foundation for Bob Huggins' one season in Manhattan. After leaving K-State, Coach Wooldridge went on to coach at Cal-Riverside, then became the school's athletic director and then he completed his career during a fulfilling five-year run as the AD at Riverside City College. He retired from athletics two years ago and is now 66 years old. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his new friend and media colleague David Smoak in Waco, Texas. "Smoaky," as he's known in Texas, has been honored as a TV reporter and anchor, and radio play-by-play broadcaster by the Associated Press. He is now part of the staff of SicEm365, a Baylor website, hosting their three-hour weekday radio show that also live-streams on YouTube from 3-6 p.m. Smoak is the owner of one of the longest-running websites in Texas, Smoaky.com. A member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and Texas High School Football Hall of Fame ballot committee and has a vote for the Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Awards. Inducted into the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor and a member of the Football Writer’s Association of America, Pro Football Writer’s Association. Smoak, whose father was a Naval Academy graduate, is a graduate of both Tyler Junior College and Stephen F. Austin State University.   *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend and media colleague Taylor Estes in Round Rock, Texas. Taylor has helped cover University of Texas athletics as a video and audio producer for sites on the Rivals, Scout and now 247Sports Network as a Texas staff writer, managing editor of Horns247, and co-host of The Flagship Podcast with her longtime colleague Chip Brown. She was a pioneer in the school-specific journalism site industry as a female and she's weathered some interesting storms along the way. She's also seen life changes, including meeting and marrying her husband, Ty, who is somehow a Texas A&M graduate. Taylor is the daughter of Rod Gaspar, a member of The Miracle Mets, which won the 1969 World Series.   *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend and media colleague Bruce Haertl in Denver Colorado. Haertl is a living legend in Kansas media. He is a 33-year veteran in the sports television industry, spending most of his career in Wichita at KWCH after getting into the world of sports media at KFH-Wichita. Haertl landed Denver’s FOX31 and Channel 2 in May of 2016, after four years of freelance play-by-play. During that time he did college basketball, baseball, and softball games for ESPN, Fox, Cox, the Missouri Valley Conference Network, Sooner Sports TV (University of Oklahoma TV Network), and Oral Roberts Basketball Network. In addition, Haertl spent 10 years on the Kansas State Football Radio Network and for 15 seasons was the television voice of Wichita State basketball and baseball. A former baseball player at Wichita State, Haertl broke into the television industry as Sports Director at KWCH in Wichita in October of 1984, a job that he would hold for 28 years. In that time, he covered three World Series, seven College World Series, seven Final Fours, 24 NCAA Tournaments, 19 bowl games (including four BCS games) – in between, he’s never lost his love for telling stories. In fact, Haertl continue to co-host a daily radio talk show, despite being located in Denver, on Wichita's KFH. Bruce is a member of the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame and is married to Sarah, they have four children – Bo, Evie, Jake and Kate.   *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend and former media colleague Dani Welniak in Kansas City. Welniak is a graduate of the Oklahoma State sports journalism program who started her news career in Dodge City, Kansas, covering high school sports for Catch It Kansas. After two years, she moved up to Wichita’s main station, KWCH 12, before moving to Kansas City in 2016 to join KCTV5, where she became the Sports Director in 2017. For the past six years, Welniak has reported at KCTV5 in Kansas City, recently serving as the station’s Sports Director and host of The Locker Room Show on KSMO-TV. Welniak is also a former professional women's football player, the sideline analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network from 2016 through 2019 and she recently was a member of the first all-female TV broadcast team for an NCAA FBS bowl game. On June 26, 2022, she was introduced as the new Executive Director of Communications for the Kansas City Current, the new professional women's soccer franchise, which is owned by Angie and Chris Long, as well as Brittany Mahomes. The Current recently released new renderings for the first stadium purpose-built for a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team. As part of a 50-year lease agreement with Port KC, the stadium will be built on a 7.08-acre site on the east end of the park in Kansas City, Missouri. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State quarterback Brian Kavanagh, who played for the Wildcats in Fitz's first days of covering Kansas State athletics full-time. Kavanagh came to K-State in 1991 from Naperville, Ill., to play for Coach Bill Snyder, and he is believed to be the first college football player to use an NCAA rule loophole that is now known as "grayshirting." He played for the Wildcats starting in 1993, K-State's first bowl appearance under Snyder and the school's first bowl victory at the Copper Bowl, and then stepped in for starter Matt Miller at the 1995 Holiday Bowl when Miller suffered a concussion. Kavanagh completed 18 of 24 passes and threw for four touchdowns in K-State's 54-21 victory over Colorado State, a performance that earned him a spot in the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame. He then went on to lead the Wildcats to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Cotton Bowl as the Wildcats' starter in 1996, his senior season. He now lives in Salina, Kansas, where he and his wife raised four children, the youngest of which, Parker, is set to be a walk-on quarterback for the Wildcats beginning with the 2022 season. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald speaking with Kansas State associate head football coach Van Malone about his life, hopes for the upcoming season, his philosophies on coaching and lift, his own podcast "Leaders Lead & Winners Win," which he also launched in 2020 during the pandemic, his recent TedX Talk and his ongoing journey to becoming a head coach. Malone, 51, has worked his way through the coaching ranks and in 2019 was named K-State's cornerbacks coach under Coach Chris Klieman and then after one season, he was elevated to associate head coach for Klieman's Wildcats, which are coming off an eight-win season and a victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend Marty Miller, brother of former Kansas State quarterback and assistant coach, Matt Miller. On January 8, 2022, Matthew Lee Miller died peacefully at the age of 49 at the Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, after an 18-month battle against prostate cancer. Matt Miller was a guest on last season's Life of Fitz, during which he shared his message about men's health and making sure men 45 and older regularly ask their doctor to check their PSA score, the strongest indicator of problems with the prostate. As you may know, Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, but he was declared in remission last December after more than four years of treatment and monitoring. Les Miller, the father of Marty and Matt, died on January 5 shortly before Matt's passing last holiday season. Les Miller was a longtime player personnel director in the NFL, including stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Marty Miller has been a West Coast scout with the Jacksonville Jaguars for nearly 20 years, working out of Boise, Idaho. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This special edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State and NFL receiver Jordy Nelson. After 10 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and one with the Oakland Raiders, Nelson retired from the NFL following the 2019 season, returning to Kansas with his wife and two sons to help tend the family farm in Riley County, Kansas. The K-State Ring of Honor member at Bill Snyder Family Stadium is holding a charity softball game on Sept. 12 at the stadium to benefit Young Life Manhattan and to help fun a K-State football scholarship intended to be given to a walk-on. Nelson was a non-scholarship walk on to the K-State program in 2003 out of Riley County High School, just outside of Manhattan. Held in conjunction with the Wildcats' home opener against Southern Illinois on September 11, the Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game will feature several K-State legends, including Kevin Lockett, David Allen, Michael Bishop, Jon McGraw, Jaime Mendez, Martin Gramatica and Kendra Wecker. Full rosters featuring Wildcats from numerous sports will be announced later this summer. Proceeds for the event go to Manhattan Young Life and will also fund a K-State football scholarship reserved for a walk-on. Gates open at 10 a.m., followed by a sponsor game at 11 a.m., and a home run derby at noon. First pitch for the seven-inning Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game will be at 1 p.m. More Details on the Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game came be found here, and tickets are now on sale. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend Kelly Stewart in Las Vegas. Kelly was the first person Fitz called when this podcast debuted in March of 2020 and now he ends his second season of Life of Fitz by making Kelly his first and 50th guest to appear. Kelly is a Kansas State graduate who rose to fame as an oddsmaker and sports gambling analyst in a predominately male-dominated profession. She has worked with a number of national media entities through the years, but earlier this year, she was hired by ESPN. That came undone before it started when some online trolls dug up some tweets from 2012 that were long ago deleted. ESPN terminated her before she started and Kelly soon found herself in demand by other sports media entities. Recently, she was hired by Barstool Sports to join their gambling team, and with Barstool known for its no-holds-barred approach to media entertainment, it seems as if Kelly, who is known to be outspoken, has found the right place for herself. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his new friend and former Kansas State University quarterback from the 1980s, Donnie Campbell. Some listeners may remember Campbell playing at K-State from 1980-84, but what has now made him well known is the fact that in the 1990s he coached a player named Jason Sudeikis, who went on to become a comedian, a cast member of Saturday Night Live, a star in movies and now the star of the Apple TV+ series, Ted Lasso. It's a brilliant show, but Sudeikis has now credited Campbell for being part of the inspiration for the Ted Lasso character, an American football coach who is hired to coach an English Premier League team despite knowing nothing about soccer. The character, and the show, is charming and funny. Since Sudeikis credited Campbell, he's now done many interviews and even appeared recently on NBC's The Today Show. A coach and teacher, Campbell started his career in the Shawnee Mission school district, moved to the Blue Valley School District, and now has moved across the state line in Kansas City to the Lee's Summit, Missouri, school district. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend and former Kansas State University president Jon Wefald, who altered the downward spiral of the university while serving as its leader from 1986 to 2009. Wefald and his wife, Ruth Ann, now live on Bay Lake, which is about two hours north of Minneapolis. During Wefald's tenure in Manhattan, he lifted enrollment from around 16,000 to 24,000, he elevated the University's ability to fundraise and earn research funding, built a new library and art museum, but he also refused to give up on the school's tragically bad football program and hired one more coach: Bill Snyder. Without Jon Wefald, what we now know as Kansas State's reality would be dramatically different and the school certainly wouldn't be a member of the Big 12 Conference. Why? Well, aside from the fact that dropping football would have pushed K-State out of the Big Eight, it was in big part thanks to Wefald's vision that the Big 12, a combination of the Big Eight and four former Southwest Conference schools, became reality. In addition to all of that, Wefald and former United States Senator Pat Roberts were the driving forces behind Manhattan landing the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, which is nearing completion due east of Bill Snyder Family Stadium on the edge of the Kansas State campus. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend SiriusXM host Ari Temkin. Fitz and Temkin met through Temkin's show Big 12 This Morning on the Big 12 channel (SXM 375) and they quickly hit it off. Temkin, a 2007 graduate of Kansas, has spent a majority of his career in Texas, hosting shows in Austin and San Antonio before moving to SiriusXM to co-host his show with former Iowa State and NFL quarterback Dave Archer. Temkin also hosts the pregame and postgame shows on the Dallas Cowboys radio network. Fitz and Ari recently saw each other in Arlington, Texas, at Big 12 Media Days and Fitz's pledge to have him on his podcast has now come true. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State receiver Curry Sexton, who now practices law in Kansas City. Sexton is a former walk-on from Abilene, Kansas, who developed into a special pass-catcher during his career. He currently sits at seventh on the school's all-time reception list and made many key plays during his career from 2011-14, but a remarkable one-handed touchdown catch against Texas Tech during his senior season is worthy of any highlight reel. Now working for the firm Seigfreid Bingham in Kansas City, Missouri, one of Sexton's areas of law deals with sports and entertainment, so he's keeping a close watch on recent developments with the NCAA concerning name, image, and likeness rights, as well as the recent unanimous Supreme Court ruling against the NCAA. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his former employee, Matt Hall, who became a competitor in recent years. Fitz and Matt had a public falling out when GoPowercat left the Rivals.com Network to join 247Sports and Matt became part of the new Rivals team that competed against GPC. Their relationship soured and their feud became public, but in the spring of 2020 everything changed. As Matt explains, he reacted poorly to some medication and it led to what his doctor now believes was a manic episode. He was either fired or quit his job at K-State Online, the Rivals site, and his divorce from his boss was also public. He moved to Las Vegas and when an expected job didn't work out, he came back to Kansas and now lives in Newton, Kansas, to gather his life together after a divorce, career change and personal financial ruin. However, when Matt began to struggle emotionally, Fitz and Matt reconnected as he tried to sort through what he was experiencing. Now, a year later, his one-year restriction on talking about K-State sports has expired and he's become a member of GoPowercat.com. It's been quite a journey. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling Manhattan businessman Larry Weigel, a former Kansas State basketball player and assistant coach. Weigel played for Coach Tex Winter and was a member of the 1964 Final Four team starring Willie Murrell. He went on to serve as an assistant coach for Winter, then Cotton Fitzsimmons and Jack Hartman. Last week's guest, Lon Kruger, was recruited to come to K-State by Weigel, first under Fitzsimmons and then Hartman. Weigel left coaching to work for Kansas State in different capacities until he entered private business. Since around 2010, Weigel has shared a newsletter with friends called Triangulate News with the intention of updating people on Coach Winter and then eventually educating people about the history of Kansas State athletics. He is a walking encyclopedia concerning some of the greatest days in K-State basketball history. If you would like to be included on Weigel's mail list for Triangulate News, send him a request to Larry.Weigel@KeatingInc.com. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Follow @LifeofFitz To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State basketball player and coach Lon Kruger, who retired from coaching this fall when he stepped down at the University of Oklahoma. Fitz was a senior at Kansas State in 1986 when Kruger was hired to replace the legendary Jack Hartman, and his official hiring was a story Fitz scooped as the sports editor of The Collegian, K-State's student newspaper. Kruger stayed at K-State just four years before heading to Florida and then Illinois. Kruger then moved into the NBA for four years before returning to the college game in 2004 when he was hired as head coach at UNLV. Then in 2011, OU hired Kruger and provided him with his longest stretch as a coach in his entire career. Kruger and his wife, Barb, still reside in Norman but they will eventually make Vegas their retirement home because their son, Kevin, was named UNLV's head coach this spring. Their daughter, Angie, is a doctor who recently moved with her family to Puerto Rico. The Krugers have five grandchildren. In addition, Kruger has long been involved with the organization, Coach vs. Cancer, and hosts an annual golf event each summer in Las Vegas on behalf of the organization. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1! Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter!  Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices