Kyle Steffes, football student-athlete

North Dakota State University

Bismarck Tribune

"When we first heard we were going D-I, I think it was a mixed reaction. There were a lot of kids excited, but a lot of kids didn’t know the work it would take to go D-I, the strength of schedule. I would compare it to playing the top teams in D-II week in and week out.

"You're going to have to play your best game every single week. It’s a mind-set that you’re never going to be able to have a week off. We’ve trained harder than we’ve ever trained."

Lisa Bue, basketball student-athlete

North Dakota State University

Bismarck Tribune

"It was a shock at first — I’d been on winning teams all my life. But at Division I everyone is faster, stronger, bigger. You’re going to lose some games. But no one’s going to transition to Division I and suddenly be a Final Four team."

Chris Carr, clinical sports psychologist

Indiana Neuroscience Institute

Dayton Daily News

"The media reports the high success and high rewards (in sports), but what the media doesn’t report is the stress that 17-, 18- and 19-year-old kids are under. When a 6-foot-6, 320-pound male comes into my office, he looks like a man, but that doesn’t mean his developmental challenges are any different. ...

"Some programs believe having a psychologist on staff would be to admit they have a problem. So you see (issues) surface in other ways, like public-intoxication arrests and DUIs. ...

"If you asked athletes if having a full-time psychologist — with the availability of counseling — would be a positive position, 80 percent would agree. It’s funding. But I have a hard time believing there isn’t enough funding when I see new buildings going up every day."

Ron Verlin, associate basketball coach

University of the Pacific

Modesto Bee

"In recruiting, (txt messaging) is a huge advantage. You can communicate with kids daily. It’s instant, and they get right back to you. If a program doesn’t have it, they’re at a disadvantage. ...

"You’re not supposed to prompt phone calls, but everyone does. So now, instead of one phone call, you have three or four. It helps you build relationships faster. It’s really streamlined the recruiting process."

Laura Tietjen, associate athletics director

Kansas State University

Topeka Capital-Journal

"It’s the perception that women are able to do more in the physical sense than people thought. It was really fun to watch all that happened. I think (athletics competition) does the same things for girls that it does for boys in terms of intangibles and leadership. You see more women in the workforce. It translates into what you do the rest of your life."

Geoff Macdonald, head women’s tennis coach

Vanderbilt University

The New York Times

"I don’t know if the number is 10 or 20 or a certain number per year, but we have to find a way to stop players who basically play a full-time professional circuit until they realize they are not good enough. Then they declare themselves an amateur, accept a scholarship and beat up on younger, less-experienced players."