2023-24 Executive Leadership Book Recommendations

Another year brings another valuable list of book recommendations from athletic directors & commissioners around the industry, as well as past recommendations! Each executive leader has their own profile with recommendations from 2023-24 as well as any past recommendations.


Click the drop down menu below to find each leader’s recommendation.


If you’re an AD or Commissioner who has yet to respond with the best book(s) you read last year, please email anthony@driveandcompany.com.


* indicates new recommendation(s)

^ indicates leader is no longer in their role


Book Spotlights

From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks received the most recommendations with three.

Greg Sankey

Jon Gilbert

Josh Fenton

The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by Admiral William H. McRaven received the most recommendations with three.

Graham Neff

Jared Benko

Eddie Nuñez

School/ConferenceNameBook Title
Abilene Christian Zack Lassiter Hidden Potential
ACC Jim Phillips Do Something Beautiful for God
Arkansas State Jeff Purinton Leadership in Turbulent Times
Arizona Desiree Reed-Francois Outlive
Arizona Desiree Reed-Francois The Comfort Crisis
Army West Point Mike Buddie The Ideal Team Player
Atlantic 10 Bernadette McGlade The Fourth Quarter of your Life
Auburn John Cohen The Bully Pulpit
Ball State Jeff Mitchell Another Round of Presidential Spirits
Baylor Mack Rhoades Tempered Resilience
Big East Val Ackerman Say Nothing
Big Sky Tom Wistrcill I Keep Trying to Catch His Eye
Big West Dan Butterly Results
Bradley Chris Reynolds You Don’t Need a Title To Be A Leader
Butler Barry Collier The Checklist Manifesto
BYU Tom Holmoe How Will You Measure Your Life
CAA Joe D’Antonio Swagger
Cal Poly Don Oberhelman The Last Folk Hero
Cal State Bakersfield Kyle Conder Make Something Wonderful
California Baptist Micah Parker The Bible
California Baptist Micah Parker Anxious for Nothing
Central Arkansas Brad Teague Gambler
Central Connecticut State Thomas Pincince The Ride of a Lifetime
Charlotte Mike Hill Cannery Row
Cincinnati John Cunningham I Keep Trying to Catch His Eye
Clemson Graham Neff The Wisdom of the Bullfrog
Colorado Rick George The Hero Code
Dartmouth Mike Harrity Impact Players
Dartmouth Mike Harrity In Black and White
Davidson Chris Clunie The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
DePaul DeWayne Peevy Rejection Proof
Drake Brian Hardin The Obstacle is the Way
East Carolina Jon Gilbert From Strength to Strength
East Tennessee State Richard Sander Reality-Based Leadership
Fairfield Paul Schlickmann The Quotable Thoreau
FIU Scott Carr The One Truth
Fordham Ed Kull Do Hard Things
Furman Jason Donnelly Stillness is the Key
Gardner-Webb Andrew Goodrich Courage is Calling
George Washington Tanya Vogel How Will You Measure Your Life
Georgetown Lee Reed Danger and Opportunity
Georgia Southern Jared Benko The Wisdom of the Bullfrog
Horizon LeagueJulie Roe LachThe Secret Game
Iowa State Jamie Pollard The Longest Race
Ivy League Robin Harris My Dinners With Ruth
Kent State Randale Richmond Getting to Neutral
Le Moyne Bob Beretta The Carpenter
Le Moyne Bob Beretta All the Colors Came Out
Liberty Ian McCaw Road to Flourishing
Lipscomb Phillip Hutcheson Crucial Accountability
Long Beach State Bobby Smitheran Radical Candor
Longwood
Tim Hall1% Leadership
LongwoodTim HallGoing on Offense
LongwoodTim HallCulture is the Way
Louisiana Bryan Maggard The Power of the Other
Louisiana-Monroe John Hartwell The Captain Class
Loyola Marymount Craig Pintens All Blood Runs Red
MAC Jon Steinbrecher All The Light We Cannot See
Manhattan Irma Garcia Living on Purpose
Marist Tim Murray The Boys in the Boat
Marshall Christian Spears Extreme Ownership
Merrimack Jeremy Gibson Reunion
Miami (FL) Dan Radakovich Hidden Potential
Milwaukee Amanda Braun Game of Edges
Montana Kent Haslam The Bomber Mafia
Morgan State Dena Freeman-Patton Lead to Win
New Hampshire Allison Rich Small Town, Big Oil
New Mexico Eddie Nuñez The Wisdom of the Bullfrog
New Mexico Eddie Nuñez The Standard
New Mexico Eddie Nuñez How Good Do You Want to Be?
New Mexico State Mario Moccia Idaho!
New Mexico State Mario Moccia Washington!
New Mexico State Mario Moccia Utah!
Niagara Simon Gray The Leadership Challenge
North Alabama Josh Looney Let Them Lead
North Carolina Bubba Cunningham Going Infinite
North Dakota Bill Chaves Leadership in Turbulent Times
North Dakota Bill Chaves Eyewitness to Power
North Texas Jared Mosley Everybody Matters
Northern Illinois Sean Frazier Lead Yourself First
Northwestern Derrick Gragg Make Your Bed
Oakland Steve Waterfield The Wager
Old Dominion Wood Selig The Underground Railroad
Oral Roberts Tim Johnson The Bowden Way
Oregon Rob Mullens Discipline is Destiny
Oregon State Scott Barnes Big Two-Hearted River
Pacific Adam Tschuor The Black Fives
Radford Robert Lineburg The Comfort Crisis
Rhode Island Thorr Bjorn To Rescue the Republic
Rice Tommy McClelland The Reason for God
Richmond John Hardt Orbiting the Giant Hairball
Robert Morris Chris King The Communication Code
Saint Francis James Downer The Wingmen
Saint Joseph’s Jill Bodensteiner Notes on an Execution
San José StateJeff KonyaThe Club
SEC Greg Sankey From Strength to Strength
Seton Hall Bryan Felt The Go-Giver
SMU Rick Hart Outlive
South Florida Michael Kelly How Big Things Get Done
Southern Conference Michael Cross Oranges
Southland Chris Grant The Daily Stoic
St. Bonaventure Joe Manhertz Trust-Based Leadership
St. John’s Mike Cragg The Gold Standard
St. John’s Mike Cragg Leading with the Heart
Stanford Bernard Muir The Big Fail
Stony Brook Shawn Heilbron Path Lit By Lightning
Summit League Josh Fenton From Strength to Strength
Sun Belt Keith Gill Raise a Fist, Take a Knee
Syracuse John Wildhack The River of Doubt
Texas A&M-Commerce Jim Curry It Worked for Me
ToledoBryan BlairThe Ride of a Lifetime
Towson Steve Eigenbrot Freezing Order
Troy Brent Jones Banana Ball
Troy Brent Jones The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban
Tulane David Harris The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication
UAB Mark Ingram The Iliad
UC Davis Rocko DeLuca Atomic Habits
UC Davis Rocko DeLuca The Wager
UCLA Martin Jarmond Same as Ever
UNC Asheville Janet Cone The Culture Code
UT Arlington Jon Fagg The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement
UT Chattanooga Mark Wharton The Bully Pulpit
Utah Mark Harlan Riding with the Blue Moth
UTEP Jim Senter Power of Habit
Valparaiso Charles Small Think Like a Monk
VCUEd McLaughlinThe Art and Science of Culture
Virginia Tech Whit Babcock The Little Liar
Wake Forest John Currie Who Moved My Cheese
Washington Troy Dannen The Boys in the Boat
Washington State Pat Chun Legacy
West Virginia Wren Baker Get Out of Your Own Way
Western Illinois Paul Bubb Building a StoryBrand
Western Michigan Dan Bartholomae The Obstacle is the Way
Wichita State Kevin Saal Leadership NOT by the book
William & Mary Brian Mann Raising Empowered Athletes
Wisconsin Chris McIntosh Undaunted Courage
Yale Vicky Chun 2 Chairs