As a fan, sometimes I hate sound bites. It’s always been illuminating for me to hear entire, unedited press conferences in context. In that spirit, here is the entirety of the press conference held on Sunday night at Cal Poly. In it, Don Oberhelman fielded questions about what he’s looking for in the next men’s basketball coach, his meeting with players on Sunday, and what his plans are moving forward to find a coach. 

After a summer hiatus, I sat down with Don Oberhelman last week. We had the recording scheduled for a week or two. On the day before, a Tribune article came out with video, showing an Cal Poly wrestler whose scholarship was rescinded after he used homophobic slurs during a rally. 

Unfortunately, this was not something Oberhelman could comment on when we talked. We did talk about the upcoming Fall season, the football, men’s basketball, and volleyball programs at-length. For me, the most interesting part of the conversation was when I asked Don how his job had changed over the past year or so. 

Folks around Cal Poly athletics are going to be real busy this weekend. From Thursday to Sunday, there are six home games, including one that’s being played in Paso Robles to go along with the Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday night.

Redshirt freshman forward Georgina Stiegeler has been dangerous as an attacker for Cal Poly this season. By Owen Main

The fun starts on Thursday night, when women’s soccer hosts Denver at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, starting at 7:00pm. Alex Crozier’s team is coming off an overtime win on Sunday afternoon and looks to build momentum going into Big West Conference play next week. 

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On Friday, the volleyball team — a squad with REALLY high expectations this season, makes their 2017 Mott Athletics Center debut against conference foe Cal State Fullerton. The game starts at 6:30. The Cal Poly Hall of Fame dinner will take place on Friday night as well next door at the multipurpose room at the Cal Poly Recreation Center. Inductees will include major league pitcher Kevin Correia, Dr. Ken Walker, football running back Craig Young, and probably the best women’s basketball player in Cal Poly history, Kristina Santiago, among others. 

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Cal Poly keeper Simon Boehme is the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Week. By Owen Main

If you didn’t get your fill on Friday, Saturday is even busier. It starts with a rare 11:00am start for the men’s soccer team. They’ll play a “home” game against CSU Bakersfield at Paso Robles Horse Park. With a football game on the same day, the soccer team’s choice to play a game off campus and try to engage the north county community makes sense. It also makes the drive for the Roadrunners a really short one. 

With just four goals in six games played, the Mustangs’ 2-4 record doesn’t seem as bad as it could be. Cal Poly’s offense will look to get going CSUB is also 2-4 coming into the match, but has given up 13 goals in their six games.

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Once the soccer game is over, Sam Crosson’s volleyball team will play their second game in as many days against UC Riverside. Have I mentioned this volleyball team is good? They’ve won six straight, sweeping five of those matches. The only two sets they’ve lost over that span was in a 3-2 win over 23rd ranked Wichita State. They are legitimate contenders in the Big West this year. If you’re a student or will be on campus anyway for football, you should go early and check it out. You will not be disappointed. Saturday’s volleyball game starts at 4:30. 

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I’ll be toast by then and my camera battery may need a recharge, but there’s no rest for the weary. With their playoff hopes maybe already on the line, Cal Poly football will kick off their Big Sky Conference season against a top opponent in Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks might be the toughest opponent Cal Poly has left on their schedule and a win would go a long way toward building confidence for the 0-3 Mustangs.

Khaleel Jenkins and the Cal Poly offense will try to get off to a good start in Big Sky Conference play on Saturday evening. By Owen Main

This game is important for SO many reasons, but one is that it is the first opportunity for freshmen to see a football game on-campus. They’ve been here for over two weeks now, and this is a big chance to make a first impression. Despite an 0-3 start, Cal Poly has an opportunity to go 1-0 in the Big Sky, engage their fanbase on campus, and get on a track toward a playoff berth. Northern Arizona is really good and I expect this game to be close and well-played.

I also expect it to be well-coached. Cal Poly is coming off a bye and whatever kinks offensive coordinator Jim Craft has had over the first three weeks, he’ll need to call a complete game and his offense will have to execute a complete 60 minutes for Cal Poly to win. Kickoff is at 6:05 and the Hall of Fame inductees from Friday night will be recognized at halftime. 

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Saturday night, we’ll all get home around 10:30 or 11:00. And on Sunday, probably with a munchkin in-tow again (what, am I gonna abandon my wife and BOTH kids for four straight days?), I’m likely to be at the women’s soccer game. Expect the pitch to be a little bumpier as the Spanos field absorbs its third game in four days. This is not an unusual occurrence there in the Fall, but it does start to show some wear and tear by Sunday afternoon on weekends like this.

By the end of the weekend, I’m thinking I’ll have put some mileage on my camera, legs, and even my car. I’m estimating maybe 5,000 photos on my camera, 70 miles on my car, and probably a more pronounced farmer’s tan. If I had a fitbit, I’d tell you how many steps. I’m sure it’ll be in the millions. At least it’ll feel like it. 

It’s going to be a fun weekend. 

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Cal Poly Athletic Director Don Oberhelman joined the podcast on this edition. Oberhelman talked about some of the projects going on at Cal Poly, reflected on the 2016-17 school year, and was pretty straightforward when posed questions about conference expansion and conferences in general. 

At the helm of Cal Poly athletics since 2011, Don Oberhelman’s time at Cal Poly has included both the women’s and men’s basketball teams’ first respective trips to the NCAA tournament, the first NCAA baseball regional that Cal Poly has hosted, and a number of other successes.

Don took a chunk of time out of his schedule to sit down with me and talk about what he values in a head coach, what it’s like to be an athletic director at Cal Poly, and what some of his priorities are now. I know I learned a lot on a lot of fronts. It’s an hour-plus podcast, but I had a lot to ask him about and, frankly, Don had a lot to say. Hope you enjoy!

Don Oberhelman has been at the helm of Cal Poly Athletics for nearly two years. Photo courtesy of gopoly.com

This week, Cal Poly Athletic Director Don Oberhelman was kind enough to join the podcast. Oberhelman has been

We talked about Cal Poly athletic facilities, academic standards for athletes, the importance of Big West basketball continuing to get better, and his show of emotion after the football team’s playoff loss to Sam Houston State.