Matt Olinger: I Chose My Kids Over March Madness (And Don't Regret It)

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Matt Olinger, a longtime college basketball jack of all trades who has been on the front lines as an assistant coach, Director of Operations, Director of Recruiting and everything else under the sun. Matt began his career as a manager at Liberty University under Richie McKay and eventually worked his way to an assistant coach position with the Flames. He then joined Bryce Drew’s staff at Vanderbilt as the Director of Basketball Operations, where Boggs worked with him for three seasons, and after his stint with the Commodores, he joined Mike Young’s staff at Virginia Tech as the Director of Recruiting until 2024.With all of the winter weather affecting games across the south, we wanted to get his perspective on being a Director of Operations at a high major level and what went into operating on the fly in situations out of your control.However, after reminiscing about harrowing travel in his career and the attitude it takes to be an operations person in a high-stress position, our conversation thoughtfully turned to why he left the business, the mental toll of the 24-hour, 365-day grind of being a college basketball coach, how your identity as a person shifts the moment you leave the industry, the gratitude he has for the mentors and places he has been, and the question a lot of face when we leave the profession - how much am I going to miss this when I’m gone?Timestamps02:04 - The overnight bus snowstorm story begins08:20 - Stuck behind Travis Tritt's tour bus20:24 - Making the decision to leave coaching27:50 - The adrenaline rush you can't replace37:00 - Mental health and the basketball bubble43:50 - Identity crisis after leaving sports50:50 - The universe sending signs to leave59:20 - Telling the kids he's leaving coaching1:07:40 - March Madness memoriesThis episode was produced and written by Brandon Barca and Andy Boggs.Find us on all of the socials at NLCPod.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NLCPodX: https://x.com/nlcpodLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nlcpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nlcpodTikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@nlcpod