Life of Fitz | A Cancer Warrior's Conversations about Life

Mitch Holthus (hole-tus) is the voice of the Kansas City Chiefs and is the longest tenured and most decorated play-by-play "voice" in franchise history. He was on the call of Super Bowls 54 & 57 when the Chiefs won their second and third Super Bowl championships. He was also on the call of Super Bowl 55 in February 2021. Holthus is also the host of the Hy-Vee Chiefs Insider television show and the Chiefs rewind postgame show featured on several digital platforms. In addition, he originated the "Minute with Mitch" radio and television series, which is seen and heard in five states. Holthus is a member of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Kansas State University Athletics Hall of Fame, and, in June 2022, was inducted into the Missouri Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. As a result, he will be one of only three individuals in both the KAB and MBA Halls of Fame, joining his former broadcast partner, Len Dawson, and the late Fred White. After graduating from Kansas State with his second undergraduate degree, Holthus worked in Pratt, Kansas, moving to WIBW radio and TV in Topeka in 1983. There, Holthus began a 13-year stint on the K-State Radio Network as the "Voice of the K-State Wildcats." Additionally, Holthus was heavily involved in marketing for both the Network and the K-State athletic department. He started the Jr. Wildcat Club in 1989 and was named K-State Catbacker of the Year in 1993. Holthus then became the "Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs" in 1994, making him the longest tenured play-by-play announcer in Chiefs history. Holthus has won five Emmys for his video and online work by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In addition, Holthus is a past recipient of the Kansas City Sports Journalist of the Year. In 2018, he was listed with the Voice of the Royals, Denny Matthews, as one of the top 13 "one-two" play-by-play pairs in America by the Sports Broadcast Journal. He was also named the 2020 Missouri Sportscaster of the Year and has been the Kansas Sportscaster of the Year eight times. He is married to the former Tami Johnson of McPherson, Kansas, a former Kansas State women's basketball player. They have two children. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, appears on TV and radio, produces daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as the publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website focusing on Kansas State sports, for over 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lie low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Brent Stover joined CBS Sports Network in 2010 as a play-by-play announcer, calling football, basketball, and various other Olympic sports. He also serves as a studio host for the Network's coverage of college basketball and college football. Before CBS Sports Network, Stover served as host, anchor, reporter, and play-by-play voice for the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net Midwest/Southwest. He was also the play-by-play voice for the WNBA's Chicago Sky. In addition, Stover hosted and reported for the pre- and post-game shows of the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as the St. Louis Rams post-game radio show. Stover received a degree in journalism from Kansas State University, where he competed in track and cross-country. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, appears on TV and radio, produces daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as the publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website focusing on Kansas State sports, for over 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lie low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Damion McIntosh came to Kansas State in 1995 out of McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida. A native of Jamaica, McIntosh began playing football in high school to maximize the potential of his immense size. Playing both defensive and offensive tackle, McIntosh received recruiting interest from all over the country, but picked Kansas State based on his recruitment by former K-State defensive coordinator Bob Stoops. McIntosh redshirted his first season, and then played defensive tackle his first three years of eligibility, becoming an All-Big 12 performer. Then, in his senior season (1999), Coach Bill Snyder convinced McIntosh to fill a need at left offensive tackle, and his fate was sealed. McIntosh was drafted as an offensive tackle in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. During his 10-year NFL career, McIntosh played for the Chargers, the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Seattle Seahawks. Now 48 years old, McIntosh lives with his family in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area, where he fills his time as a volunteer high school football coach and manages his varied business interests. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, appears on TV and radio, produces daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as the publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website focusing on Kansas State sports, for over 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lie low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. 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

Recent Kansas State graduate Joe Tillery was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was an infant, and his life expectancy meant he wouldn't live to attend college. He did, benefiting from advances in medicine and a positive spirit to live beyond the years of most patients of this deadly disease. Now 25, Tillery finds himself in the hospital less and living life more, including his passion for sharing his thoughts about Kansas State sports on his YouTube channel. Tillery, like Fitz, is living beyond his life expectancy, so call it stolen, borrowed, or earned extra time; passing that expiration date is liberating. After a year in Minnesota with his fiancée, Lauren, Tillery has returned to the Kansas City area to live a life beyond what medicine expected for most of his life. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, appears on TV and radio, produces daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as the publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website focused on Kansas State sports, for over 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lie low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Blaine Younger is a singer-songwriter originally from Victoria, Kansas. It was in his home state, near his alma mater, Kansas State, where he toured and released several projects throughout the 2000s. In 2016, Blaine won the Nashville Songwriters Association International song contest with his song "PatiOasis," which introduced him into the Nashville songwriting community. Younger's first studio album since 2010 was recently released, and he has since reformed The Blaine Younger Band, which is touring their home state of Kansas and beyond throughout the year. Blaine currently resides in Nashville with his wife and children, where he writes songs daily for himself and other artists, including more than 30 independent cuts.  *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, appears on TV and radio, produces daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as the publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website focused on Kansas State sports, for over 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lie low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Chad Weiberg assumed the role of Oklahoma State Vice President and Athletic Director in July of 2021 after having spent the previous four years as OSU's Deputy Athletic Director. The timing of his promotion to athletic director lined up with seismic shifts in the national landscape of college sports. Realignment within the Big 12 Conference and the emergence of Name, Image and Likeness both occurred within a month of Weiberg's start date. With that as the backdrop, in the modernized world of college athletics, Weiberg's four years in charge at OSU have piled up team and individual NCAA Championships. Weiberg has made three head coach hires, successfully recruiting Jacie Hoyt (women's basketball), Steve Lutz (men's basketball) and David Taylor (wrestling) to Stillwater. Oklahoma State hosted NCAA Championship events in men's and women's cross country (2022), wrestling (2023) and men's and women's tennis (2024) under Weiberg, providing the Cowboys and Cowgirls with added visibility on the national level. During his tenure as Deputy Athletic Director, he played a pivotal role in successfully navigating OSU Athletics through the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, he developed a partnership with the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences that helped produce the planning and resources to keep Cowboy and Cowgirl student-athletes healthy, safe, and ready for competition. Weiberg was a key figure in several important initiatives that benefited both student-athletes and fans. A little more than a year after Weiberg's arrival, OSU added a director of counseling and sport psychology position within the athletic department to serve the mental health needs of student-athletes better. Weiberg is a 1994 graduate of OSU with a degree in business administration. He earned a master's in business administration from OSU in 2002. After earning his undergraduate degree, he served as the director of corporate sales and donor relations for OSU Athletics until 1999. He served as senior director of field operations for the OSU Alumni Association from 1999-2002 before becoming the director of development for the OSU Foundation/College of Business Administration from 2002-03. He held a similar role for OSU Athletics from 2003-04 before moving to Kansas State. At K-State, Weiberg served the KSU Foundation as Director of Corporate Relations for a year before becoming the Director of Major Gifts for K-State Athletics in 2005. Weiberg assumed the lead role for K-State Athletics' Ahearn Fund in 2009 and, for his team's efforts, was recognized as the National Fundraiser of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors in 2014. Weiberg was the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development when he left K-State in 2015 to become the Deputy Director of Athletics at Texas Tech University, a role he served in for two years before returning to his alma mater in 2017. College athletics have played a key role in Weiberg's life from an early age. His father, Mick, and brother, Brett were both college basketball head coaches and his brother, Jared, played basketball at OSU under Eddie Sutton for a year before moving into the role of team manager. Weiberg's uncle, Kevin, served as commissioner of the Big 12. Weiberg and his wife, Jodi, have two children, Ella and Grant. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. 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

Former Kansas State safety Erick Harper is in his fourth year as athletics director at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, or UNLV, after being promoted to serve as UNLV's 14th permanent Director of Athletics on Jan. 1, 2022. Harper served as UNLV's Interim Director of Athletics from August 16, 2021, to December 31, 2021. As UNLV's AD, Harper oversees all aspects of the athletics department and the Thomas & Mack Center, including general operations, fiscal affairs, facilities, strategic planning, and external relations. Prior to becoming Director of Athletics, Harper served nine years as UNLV's senior associate athletics director for development. Harper has been in university athletics administration for more than 30 years. He joined UNLV as associate athletics director for development in 2012. In that role, he oversaw fundraising efforts for the department and served as a sports administrator for multiple sports, including football and women's golf. Prior to joining UNLV, Harper served as associate athletics director for football operations at the University of Arizona from 2003 to 2011. He began his athletics administrative career at Kansas State University (1990-2003), where he served in development, marketing, and compliance roles, as well as in a sport administrator capacity for multiple sports. Harper earned his bachelor's degree in 1992 from Kansas State, where he was a four-year starter and standout defensive back for the Wildcats football team. He later earned a master's in organizational management and leadership from Ashford University in 2013.  Harper and his wife, Dr. Patrice Hester-Harper, who holds three degrees (bachelor's, master's, PhD) from UNLV and is currently associate vice president for development and principal gifts for the university, have two daughters, Sydney (17) and Avery (8).. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Known as a great offensive mind and developer of quarterback talent, Matt Wells boasts over 25 years of coaching experience. He is in his second season at K-State, serving as the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and associate head coach since 2025. Last season, he served as co-offensive coordinator. Wells hit the ground running in his first season on staff, tutoring Avery Johnson to a school-record 25 touchdown passes, while his sophomore signal caller ranked fifth in school history in passing yards (2,712) and completions (217). Additionally, Johnson was one of only five players in the nation and one of three from Power 4 schools to record at least 2,700 passing yards and 600 rushing yards. He was also one of nine signal callers nationally with at least 25 passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns. Under the direction of Wells, Johnson guided an offense that finished in the top 15 nationally in four offensive categories, including rushing yards per carry (second, 6.08) and rushing yards per game (11th, 215.5). K-State also ranked in the top 10 in school history in 15-game or season categories. Among those were school record for offensive yards per play (6.57) and rushing yards per carry (6.08), while the Wildcats tied for third in passing touchdowns (25), ranked fourth in offensive yards per game (426.8), fifth in total offense yards (5,549), sixth in rushing yards (2,801), seventh in completions (222) and 10th in both passing yards (2,749) and pass attempts (383). Wells, who boasts nine years of head coaching experience, came to Manhattan after spending the previous two seasons at Oklahoma as an advisor to the head coach and offensive analyst. Prior to that, he served as the head coach at his alma mater, Utah State, from 2013 through 2018 and at Texas Tech from 2019 to 2021. In addition to coaching quarterbacks during his 27-year coaching career, he has also spent time tutoring wide receivers and tight ends. In total, Wells has been a part of 13 bowl teams and two conference championships. Wells earned his bachelor's degree in business marketing from Utah State in 1996, graduating cum laude. He and his wife, Jen, have two daughters, Jadyn and Ella, and one son, Wyatt. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Shanele Stires graduated from Salina Central (Kan.) High School in 1990. That is not only Fitz's alma mater, but he also covered high school sports for his hometown newspaper that year, watching Stires excel in multiple sports for the Salina Central Mustangs. After high school, Stires attended Kansas State on a track scholarship but then headed to Cloud County Community College after a year so she could try her hand at college basketball. It worked out perfectly, with Stires returning to Manhattan the next three years (1992-95) to play hoops for the Wildcats, averaging 16.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Stires scored 1,344 career points, grabbed 701 career rebounds, and earned Kodak All-America honorable mention, First-Team All-Big Eight honors, and runner-up in Conference Player of the Year voting as a senior in 1995. After that was a 10-year run as a professional player, including a stretch in the recently formed WNBA with the Minnesota Lynx before entering coaching. Stires' career has led her to San Luis Obispo, California, where she is preparing to start her fourth season as the head women's coach for the Cal Poly Mustangs. Stires, 53, received her bachelor's degree in social science from Kansas State in 1995 and a master's degree in collegiate athletics from San Francisco in 2016. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Hunter Woodhall is an American track and field Paralympian and the first double amputee to earn a Division I NCAA track scholarship, and is married to fellow Olympian and Kansas State assistant track and field coach Tara Davis-Woodhall. In 2024, Woodhall won his first Paralympic gold medal in the men's 400m T62 event in Paris. He also won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Born in Georgia while his father was serving in the military. Woodhall's parents decided to amputate both of his legs at 11 months old due to fibular hemimelia. He was raised in Syracuse, Utah, Woodhall was initially given prosthetic lower legs as a child but switched to carbon fiber "blades" while still in grade school, which unlocked his live for running. Hunter and Tara were wed on October 16, 2022. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Scot Pollard grew up in San Diego, and after considering Arizona as his college basketball destination, he chose Kansas so he could play for Coach Roy Williams. After a stellar college career, Pollard was selected as the 19th pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, going to the Detroit Pistons. Pollard played for five NBA franchises during his 10-year professional career, with the bulk of his career spent with the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers. Except for his first season, Pollard appeared in the NBA Playoffs, including in the 2007 NBA playoffs with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He won a championship in his final season (2007–08) with the Boston Celtics. Pollard appeared as a contestant on the TV show Survivor in 2016. All of those life accomplishments are now overshadowed by the victory he claimed in 2024, when a genetic failure of his heart led to the need for a donor heart, which seemed doubtful at the time. A heart, however, was found, and Pollard continues to recover from the successful surgery at his home in Carmel, Indiana, where he lives with his wife Dawn and their four children. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Chris Klieman followed the legendary Bill Snyder as Kansas State's football coach in 2019. In less than three months, Klieman will kick off his seventh season as head coach of the Wildcats. The K-State program has played in a bowl five of Klieman's first six seasons, with only the chaotic pandemic season in 2020 being the exception. Overall, he is 48-28 as K-State's coach and has won nine or more games each of the last three seasons, winning a Big 12 championship and two bowl games in that stretch. Klieman appeared on Life of Fitz in 2023, and since then, much has changed about college football and more. Welcome to the premiere of Season 6 of the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Blueville Nursery in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsors the Life of Fitz podcast. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Troy Hartman's story is full of tragedy and hope. His story of alcoholism and the horror it brought to his life is powerful, and it's one he shares so people can understand the darkness in which he traveled until the power of forgiveness changed his life. That forgiveness grew from the death of a close friend while attending College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri, where he went to a local church and began to serve. In 2003, Troy had the opportunity to help start North Point Church in Springfield, Missouri, and met his wife, Lacey, while serving. The Hartmans were on staff at NPC for 11 years but felt God asking them to leave a place they loved to start a new church. Troy and Lacey and their daughters Jovi and Jade moved to Manhattan in 2015, knowing one person. In the first few months, they lived in Manhattan, a team of 40 people committed to the launch of Rock Hills Church. Rock Hills officially started September 13, 2015, at the Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan, and over the years, the church has welcomed thousands of men, women, children, military personnel, and college students to find and follow Jesus. Rock Hills relocated to the former Seth Child Cinema in Manhattan in 2017, and after several years of month-to-month rent, the church was able to purchase its "Nine Acres of Hope." The remarkable growth of Rock Hills has now led the church to renovate two theaters into one larger auditorium for their three services per Sunday, which are typically packed with a wonderful congregation of believers of many ages and different backgrounds. That congregation now includes Tim and Becky Fitzgerald, as well as Tim's older sister, Amy, who recently moved to Manhattan to teach at Kansas State. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Jareem Dowling is entering his third season at Kansas State after being the first announced member of head coach Jerome Tang's inaugural coaching staff on March 29, 2022. Dowling was part of a coaching staff that helped reenergize a K-State program in 2022-23, guiding the Wildcats to their third-highest win total (26) and a thrilling run to the Elite Eight despite being picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll after three consecutive losing seasons. The 26 wins are the third-most in school history, trailing the school-record 29 in 2009-10, the 27 in 2012-13, and just the eighth 25-win campaign. An assistant coach with 17 years of experience as well as 12 years of international head coaching experience, Dowling came to K-State after spending six seasons (2016-22) on staff with current Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland at both Arkansas State (2016-17) and North Texas (2017-22). In addition to his time with the Red Wolves and Mean Green, he has also been an assistant at the NJCAA level at Cecil College in Maryland (2005-08), the Division II level at Slippery Rock (2008-11) as well as Morehead State (2011-12) and Southern Miss (2012-15). Dowling also has extensive international experience having served as the head coach for the U.S. Virgin Islands Junior National Team and as an assistant coach on the Senior National Team since 2007. A native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dowling moved to Wilmington, Delaware, during high school. Dowling earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from UMES in 2005, while he added a master's degree in Sports Management from California University of Pennsylvania in 2011. Dowling and his wife, Cierra, have a daughter, Laiya. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Pete Mundo is currently the morning show host and assistant program director at 710AM KCMO in Kansas City, Missouri. Additionally, Mundo owns and operates an independent Big 12 sports digital media outlet, Heartland College Sports. Mundo, a graduate of Villanova University, had previous stops at CBS Sports Radio, Fox News Radio, and Sports Illustrated, and even spent time in Oklahoma, where he gained a love for Big 12 Conference sports. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Bud Elliott graduated from Florida State University in 2007 and then proceeded to law school at the University of Alabama, graduating in 2010. After that, Elliott quickly took a career turn into sports, launching an independent Florida State site that quickly joined the SB Nation network. His time running Tomahawk Nation led him into the world of college football recruiting — acting as SB Nation's recruiting analyst until his eventual departure in 2020. Elliott moved to 247Sports Network in 2020, and he's worked with the national recruiting staff and created content for 247's college football coverage. Elliott is part of the CBS Sports' Cover 3 Podcast panel, one of the top college sports podcasts in the nation. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Jill Shields, a 23-year veteran of the K-State Athletics Department, was promoted to Deputy Athletics Director in 2017 after serving as Executive Associate Athletics Director for Student Services since 2015. In her role, Shields oversees the daily internal operation of the entire athletics department and also serves as the department's senior woman administrator. She oversees the day-to-day operation of the football program while also serving as the sport administrator for women's basketball and volleyball. In fall 2019, Shields was appointed to a five-year term on the NCAA Women's Basketball Committee. She will also serve as the Big 12 Chair of the Senior Woman Administrators for the 2022-23 academic year. Shields had previously worked as Senior Associate, Associate and Assistant Athletics Director and Associate Director of Student Services with stints directing the support services for football, women's basketball and volleyball, as well as Life Skills programming. Shields came to K-State after working at Wichita State for six years, including the final year as a senior admissions representative in the University's admissions office. She spent the previous five seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach for the Shockers. She also had coaching stints at the University of Central Florida, North Georgia College and Florida Southern. She earned her bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Central Florida in 1990. A member of the Golden Knights basketball team, Shields was named most valuable player her senior year. She earned her Master's degree in education from North Georgia College in 1992. Shields, a native of Assaria, Kansas, and her husband, Mark, have two children, Sydney and Sam. Sam is a sophomore offensive lineman for the Wildcats. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Travis Geopfert was named K-State's seventh full-time Director of Track and Field/Cross Country by Director of Athletics Gene Taylor on July 11, 2024. Geopfert was a four-time National Assistant Coach of the Year during two stints at Arkansas across 12 years, with 22 total years of experience also at Tennessee, Northern Iowa and Central Missouri. At Arkansas with the men's team, he was a part of two NCAA Championship teams (2013 indoor and 2023 indoor), 21 top-10 NCAA team finishes and 25 SEC Championships. Geopfert has coached 15 Olympians, including eight who have advanced to this summer's Paris Games. Geopfert was born on August 20, 1978, in Panora, Iowa. He is married to Nicole and they have three children — sons Jones and Jax, and daughter Ellyn. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

K-State Alumni Association president and CEO Amy Button Renz '76, '86 retired on June 30, 2023, from the K-State Alumni Association after more than 45 years of service to Kansas State University. Renz began her career with the Alumni Association in 1977. She was named president and CEO in 1994, becoming the first female alumni director in the Big Eight and later the Big 12 conference. Renz was instrumental in the creation of many programming efforts, including the Student Alumni Board and the K-State Student Ambassadors. She served as the lead fundraiser for the Alumni Center building campaign. The $12.7 million facility was dedicated in October 2002. Under her leadership the Alumni Association has raised more than $6 million for student scholarships and recognition through the K-State License Plate program. Since 1996, the program has expanded to include four states. Additionally, the Alumni Association has raised more than $3.7 million for student scholarships through Wabash CannonBall galas in Kansas City, North Texas, Houston and Colorado. Renz is a third-generation K-Stater. She earned two degrees from K-State, a bachelor's degree in political science in 1976 and master's degree in public administration in 1986. Her husband, Allen Renz '87, is also a graduate of K-State, as are their three children. They have three grandsons and four granddaughters — including one K-State graduate and one current K-State student. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Tim Weiser served as the Director of Athletics at Kansas State University from 2001 to 2008. During his tenure, K-State became the first Big 12 institution to win conference championships in three top-tier sports in a single year (2003-04; football, volleyball, women's basketball). The athletic department generated record revenues in the areas of fundraising and corporate sponsorships under Weiser's direction. Weiser then joined the Big 12 as Deputy Commissioner in 2008. He serves as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) in the day-to-day functions of the Conference office and is also the primary liaison to the board of directors in conjunction with the Big 12 legal counsel. Weiser served as Athletics Director at Colorado State University from 1997 to 2001. He began his career in collegiate athletics administration in 1983 at Wichita State. In 1988, he was named athletics director at Austin Peay before taking the same post at Eastern Michigan in 1993. The Great Bend, Kansas native is a graduate of Emporia State with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in counseling. Weiser has been active on the national level, where he was president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association, in addition to serving on the NCAA's Championships/Competition Cabinet and Division I Baseball Committee. He was inducted into the Emporia State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. 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

The National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF) will soon be in operation in Manhattan, Kansas. Its construction, which took more than 10 years, was recently completed. The facility was turned over to the USDA, which will operate NBAF.  NBAF enhances the U.S. government's research, development, testing, and evaluation countermeasure capabilities by establishing a modern, integrated foreign animal and zoonotic disease research, development, and testing facility. Overseeing the construction was a Kansas State graduate who returned to Manhattan to continue his work for the Department of Homeland Security. Tim Barr was eventually given the title of program manager to lead the facility through the construction process and into the handoff to the USDA. Barr and his wife, Cathy, also happen to be Tim and Becky Fitzgerald's neighbors. When the two couples gather, talk usually surrounds family, music, and their shared interest in landscaping, but Barr's work was rarely brought up because of its nature. Now that his job is complete — the project returned more than $10 million to the state of Kansas after coming in under budget — Barr received permission to discuss the project in depth. Designed and built in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the new facility provides modern, safe, and secure biocontainment laboratories for licensing animal vaccines, defending against high-consequence diseases in livestock, and providing the essential infrastructure for threat characterization, forensics, and detection. NBAF sits on a forty-eight-acre lot in close proximity to the KSU Biosecurity Research Institute to allow for shared learning and research and costs $1.25 billion to build. Replacing and expanding upon the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, NBAF enhances the DHS's and USDA's capabilities to meet mandated national biological and agricultural defense mission requirements by creating an integrated and comprehensive system to rapidly recognize and characterize biological agents in animal populations, food, water, agriculture, and the environment. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Spearheading a defense that has been one of the best in the Big 12 over the last three seasons, Joe Klanderman enters his sixth season at Kansas State in 2024 and his fifth as the defensive coordinator. In addition to running the defense, Klanderman also tutors the Wildcat safeties as he has done so since arriving in Manhattan in 2019. Leading a dynamic shift in defensive philosophy before the 2021 season, Klanderman implemented a three-man front for the first time in his career, and the returns paid off as the Wildcats have ranked in the top four of the Big 12 in both total yards and points allowed each of the last three seasons, K-State's longest streak since doing so the 2000 through 2003 campaigns. K-State has averaged 21.3 allowed points per game over the last three seasons – a span of 40 games – to rank 20th nationally, 15th among Power 4 teams and second in the Big 12, the latter being just 0.1 points per game behind the leader. K-State has allowed fewer than 22.0 points per game each of the last three seasons, the first time doing so since 1991 through 2003. Turnovers are a key factor in the limited points surrendered. The Wildcats have ranked in the top 20 nationally each of the last two seasons, doing so for the first time since 1999 and 2000. The K-State defense has forced 47 combined turnovers in the last two seasons to rank first among returning Big 12 schools. A 2001 graduate from Minnesota State with a degree in social studies, Klanderman also obtained his master's degree in sports administration from MSU in 2004. Klanderman and his wife, Amanda, are the parents of four children: Elle, Corryn, Jarrett, and James. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Colonel Greg McLean serves in the United States Army as an Armored Cavalrymen. McLean was commissioned as an Armor officer in 2001 at OCS after three years prior service as a 19K Armor Crewman. After attending Kansas State, McLean graduated from the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Cavalry Leaders Course, Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies. Col. McLean most recently attended the U.S. Army War College. Before he arrived at Fort Moore in Georgia, where he oversees the training of all scout and tank personnel for the Army, he was assigned to the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, where he served as the Senior Cavalry Trainer for Europe. Colonel McLean holds a Master of Military Arts and Sciences degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star with 2OLC, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal with 5 OLC, the Joint Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, the Army Commendation Medal with 5 OLC, the Army Achievement Medal with 2 OLC, and the Combat Action Badge. COL McLean has also been awarded the Orders of St. George, St. Maurice, and St. Barbara. McLean has been married to Jacque since 2001 and they have two sons and one daughter: Gunnar, Colt, and Grier. Gunnar is a current Kansas State student who recently suffered serious injuries while working on a vintage car. Both Greg and Gunnar are friends with GoPowercat publisher Tim Fitzgerald. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

One of the top offensive line coaches in the country, Conor Riley, is in his sixth season at K-State in 2024, tutoring the Wildcats' offensive front and first serving as the program's offensive coordinator. He was the interim coordinator for Kansas State's victory over NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl before being elevated to the full-time role in early January. A 2003 University of Nebraska Omaha graduate, Riley began his collegiate coaching career at UNO as a student and graduate assistant from 2003 to 2005. He left his alma mater to become the offensive line coach at Concordia University-St. Paul in 2006. The Omaha native enjoyed a standout high school career at Creighton Prep. He began his collegiate playing career at the U.S. Air Force Academy, then transferred to Kansas before heading to UNO in 1999. After redshirting his first season, Riley was named the North Central Conference's outstanding lineman twice in his three-year career. Following his senior year, he earned 2002 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Daktronics All-America first-team honors. Riley was a second-team Division II All-American as a junior in 2001. He and his wife, Christy, are the parents of two daughters, Cate and Claire. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast. 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

GoPowercat publisher Tim Fitzgerald was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018, with his original prognosis predicting death before age 60. On the day of his 60th birthday, Fitz recorded the first episode of his Life of Fitz podcast's fifth season with the doctor who performed his prostatectomy on July 3, 2018. Rosso has expertise in treating surgical removal of the bladder, kidney removal surgery, and prostate cancer, among other conditions. Dr. Rosso graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2008 and is a partner at Associated Urologists in Manhattan, Kansas. In addition to his doctor and surgeon skills, Rosso is an accomplished musician.  *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, 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 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic Stage Four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Dennis Dodd has covered college football for CBS Sports since it was CBS SportsLine in 1998. Prior to that, Dodd worked alongside Fitz publishing college sports magazines for Kansas State, Missouri and Kansas. In 1998, they both sought a different direction, with Fitz and his wife, Becky, establishing Spirit Street Publishing (the publishing company behind GoPowercat.com and formerly Powercat Illustrated), and since joining CBS, Dodd has covered nearly every BCS/CFP postseason in the championship era. He is one of only seven media members to cover all 16 BCS title games. Dodd has chronicled conference realignment as well as the start of the College Football Playoff. He's dabbled in March Madness, NFL, MLB, and Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he believes the College World Series is severely underappreciated. A Missouri graduate and former award-winning FWAA president, he previously worked for numerous outlets including The National and the Kansas City Star. Dodd lives in Kansas City but also owns a vacation home in Arizona, where he was wrapping up his final vacation before the college football season kicks off. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

John Kurtz went directly from being a Kansas State student to joining the media covering Kansas State athletics as a member of the KMAN 1350-AM sports staff, covering K-State and Manhattan area sports. John eventually moved up to sports director and established himself as one of the leading voices in the K-State sports media. Everyone recognized John's talent and knew he would move on, but after 10-plus years in Manhattan, the breaks never fell his way. So, John Kurtz left traditional media and took a corporate PR job in Kansas City. He had, however, started a YouTube channel on the side, and his coverage of Big 12 expansion and conference realignment ballooned his channel into a force in the marketplace. Now, more than ever, Kurtz is at the forefront of covering K-State sports via YouTube. Kurtz left the traditional media to find even great success in an emerging area of the sports media world. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

A Lenexa native who grew up watching channel 5, Marleah Campbell has been with KCTV5 since the summer of 2022. She returned to her hometown after starting her TV career at WIBW, the CBS affiliate in Topeka, where she served as sports director, where she and Fitz quickly became friends. Prior to that, Marleah played Division I basketball at the University of Wyoming. A four-time Academic All-Mountain West team member, her passion for equity in sports led her to write an award-winning master’s thesis on Title IX in her final year of NCAA eligibility. She’d use that framework to create a year-long weekly feature series at WIBW highlighting the pioneers who came before her, titled “IX at 50: The Trailblazers of Women’s Sports in Kansas.” Outside of KCTV5, you can listen to Marleah’s Chiefs coverage on 101 The FOX, 94.9 KCMO and 95.7 The Vibe. She’s a host for KC Sports Network and leads their storytelling channel. In her free time, Marleah enjoys yoga, reading, and spending time with her family, friends, and her cat, Dolly. At least that's her official bio. She also loves living her best life as a young professional living in downtown Kansas City, Mo.   *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Earlier this summer, the K-State Alumni Association board of directors named Adam Walker, Ed.D., ’04, ’09 as the Association’s next president and CEO. Walker began his duties on July 24. In this role, Walker is responsible for the overall management and strategic planning of the Alumni Association. Walker is the staff liaison for the Association’s board of directors and serves as secretary of the board. Additionally, he is a part of the Association’s fundraising team. Prior to returning to his alma mater, the former K-State track athlete served as executive associate athletic director for administration at the University of Memphis. In this role he provides leadership, oversight, and management to various units within the Memphis Athletic Department, working in all phases of departmental management including communications with coaches, administration, Name, Image and Likeness, game and personnel contracts, corporate sponsorships, scheduling, budget, capital projects and policy and strategic planning, and he manages and directs all external units. He also is the sport administrator for the nationally ranked and prominent Memphis men’s basketball program and men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs. Additionally, Walker serves as the department's liaison to University Advancement and the University of Memphis Alumni Association while working collectively on external engagement for Memphis Athletics. Walker also previously worked as associate athletic director for development at the University of Central Florida. During his tenure, he fundraised several six- and seven-figure gifts for athletics. Walker and his wife, Rebecca, have two daughters, Addison Kay and Landree Adele. Rebecca, also a K-Stater, earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations in 2008.   *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Mike Clark, former Kansas State baseball coach, retired from his duties in the K-State athletics department at the end of June. Clark coached K-State baseball from 1986 until 2003, winning 432 games for a program that was barely funded. For 16 of Clark’s 17 seasons, K-State baseball only had a field. Tointon Stadium was built prior to his final season, but for those first 16, there was no stadium, no locker rooms, so plumbing and barely a budget. After retiring, Coach Clark found himself learning the fundraising and banking ropes before being asked to come back to K-State athletics to help with the department’s fundraising efforts following the retirement of legendary K-State athlete and administrator Ernie Barrett. Then at the end of June at the age of 70, Clark retired to spend time with his family and grandchildren. After a brief scare with colon cancer, which was thankfully caught early, Clark realized there was more to life than work, even though he loved all of his jobs in Kansas State athletics, the last of which was serving as K-State athletics’ Senior Director of Development. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Fitz needed to book a guest on short notice so he pulled the card out of his back pocket he's been saving and called his sister, Amy. Amy Fitzgerald is a Kansas State graduate with both her undergrad and master's in industrial engineering. She eventually decided that she wanted to get into medicine, and instead of heading to medical school at age 29, she went to physician assistant school at Wichita State. After many years of working as a PA in area emergency rooms, she returned to school to earn her doctorate and joined the faculty of Kansas State's new PA school, where she serves as academic director and a clinical assistant professor. The mother of two, she also is active in the Bernese Mountain Dog community and spends time traveling the world, both for pleasure and as a traveling medical professional. Amy, who is three years older than Tim, now lives in Manhattan, Kansas, after many years of living in and raising her children in Lindsborg, Kansas. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Award-winning anchor and reporter Jeff Vaughn serves as an evening news anchor KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles since November 2015. Vaughn joined KCAL/KCBS news team after serving as an anchor at WXYZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, since January 2013. A four-time Emmy winner, he won a California Emmy for anchoring Wildfire Relief in 2017, a Michigan Emmy in 2013 for anchoring breaking news, a Texas Emmy in 2012 for anchoring continuing coverage and a Michigan Emmy in 2006 for Best Large-Market Anchor. A Kansas native, Vaughn spent his childhood in Kansas and Colorado and later graduated from Kansas State University in 1989 in political science. He started his career in broadcasting with KNSS Radio in Wichita, Kansas, before making his transition to television news. Vaughn’s broadcasting career includes anchoring and reporting experience with WDIV-TV (NBC) in Detroit, KENS-TV (CBS) in San Antonio, Texas; KSHB-TV (NBC) in Kansas City, Missouri; KCBD-TV (NBC) in Lubbock, Texas. Vaughn loves spending his time outdoors and includes mountain biking, hiking and cycling as his biggest hobbies. A foodie, Jeff loves to eat his way through the Los Angeles culinary scene, trying new dishes whenever he gets a chance. His community involvement includes supporting charity events for those living with multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. Jeff finds his greatest joy in spending time with his wife and their son. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Josh Eilert grew up in Osborne, Kansas, and then played basketball at Cloud County Community College and Kansas State. When Bob Huggins came to K-State in 2006, Eilert was ready to head into his second year as a graduate assistant coach for the program. Huggins kept Eilert on, and when he left K-State after one season to head home to West Virginia, his alma mater, Eilert went him. After 16 seasons at Huggins’ side. Serving under numerous titles, when Huggs retired suddenly this summer after a DUI arrest in Pittsburgh, Eilert was tasked with keeping the roster together. And on June 24, 2023, Eilert was named the interim head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University by Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker. During his time at WVU, Eilert has handled a wide variety of duties, including directing WVU’s wing and post players, on- and off-campus recruiting, on-court scouting, opponent scouting, film preparation, scheduling, coordinating the day-to-day internal operations of the basketball program, travel arrangements, camps, film exchange, fundraising, and other special projects. This past season, Eilert moved into a coaching role as an assistant coach and served as an interim assistant coach during the 2016-17 season. Eilert and his wife, Brandi, have two sons, Brendan and Tristan, and a daughter, Emri. All of his children were born in West Virginia. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Pat Bosco, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., came to Kansas State as a student, became student body president a few years later, and after graduation began to work for K-State. He served the university until his retirement in 2019, working under five university Presidents in a career that culminated in the titles of Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students. In 2004, the Student Governing Association named the plaza outside the K-State Student Union in his honor. It was the only time in the school’s history that a person still employed at K-State received such recognition. His dedication to Kansas State students and to his university played a vital role in K-State’s resurgence under former President Jon Wefald. Under Bosco's leadership, K-State became the No. 1 choice for Kansas high school seniors and remains so today. He is a recognized national leader in student life, enrollment management, and student affairs, with his expertise, knowledge, and perspectives sought by state and national organizations. He’s now a grandfather, youth coach, and poker player, and he will forever be a K-State icon. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Coach Jerome Tang promised to elevate the Kansas State basketball program when he was hired and he certainly kept that promise in his first season. Picked for last in the Big 12 Conference, Tang's Wildcats' competed for the conference title and then ended the season with a run to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight, losing to Florida Atlantic one step short of the Final Four. It was remarkable for Tang, who was selected as the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year after guiding the Wildcats to a 26-win season and its 13th trip to the Elite Eight in his inaugural season. Picked 10th in the preseason Big 12 poll and armed with just two returning players, Tang guided the Wildcats to a 26-10 overall record. Now he's putting together his second roster. He has two open scholarships and is still seeking to fill those openings. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Coach Bill Snyder doesn't really need much of an introduction. After all, he was the engineer of the greatest turnaround in college football history and is now part of the College Football Hall of Fame. Coach Sndyer arrived in Manhattan in 1988 after serving as the offensive coordinator under another legend, Hayden Fry, at Iowa. His long career, separated by a failed three-year retirement in the middle, started in 1989 and by the 1998 season, Snyder had his Wildcats in contention for a national title. That was also the year that Powercat Illustrated, the predecessor to GoPowercat.com, was launched. Coach Snyder retired after the 2018 season and remains a remarkable man at 83 years of age.  *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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

Chris Klieman arrived at Kansas State in December of 2018 after winning four national titles in his five seasons at FCS-level North Dakota State. The athletics director who hired him at NDSU was Gene Taylor, who in the spring of 2017 became the new AD at K-State. Taylor went through the search process and kept coming back to Klieman, not just as a coach who would win football games in the Big 12, but one who could deftly take the reins from the legendary Bill Snyder, fit into the K-State culture and might, just might settle in at Kansas State for a very long time. Well, Klieman is four seasons into his time in Manhattan, his Wildcats won the 2022 Big 12 championship, and he just signed an eight-year new contract offered by Taylor that Klieman says will keep him in Manhattan for the rest of his coaching career. On top of all of that, Klieman is one of the more likable coaches you will ever meet, and he seems to understand how to navigate these changing times in college football. *** Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio, daily YouTube videos, and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for 25 years. Fitz also has metastatic stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, after a brief period of remission, Fitz is back in the fight for his life, but this 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 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