SPEAKER_02 0:00

Of the twenty twenty five Heisman Trophy is Lendel, Lendel.

SPEAKER_05 0:50

Welcome back to the Heisman Trophy podcast. This is our final episode of the season. 2025 has come and gone, and we have our Heisman Trophy winner, and it is Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The junior from Miami totaled 2,362 points in the vote, beating out Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt, who had 1,435 points. Mendoza appeared on 95% of ballots returned, and I would say his margin of victory was greater than was expected going in. A distant third was Jeremiah Love of Notre Dame, who had 719 points. An even more distant fourth, Julian Sayon of Ohio State, 432 points. Rounding out the top 10 was Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech, the linebacker. Jeremiah Smith at number six, Ohio State, a wide receiver. Of course, he was on the show earlier in the season. Number seven, Gunnar Stockton of Georgia quarterback. Number eight, Trinidad Chambliss, a Mississippi quarterback. Number nine, Caleb Downs of Ohio State, a safety. And number 10, Haynes King, Georgia Tech quarterback and alumni of the Heisman Trophy podcast. This could be somewhat of a watershed result in that you had in the top two spots a quarterback from Indiana and a quarterback from Vanderbilt. And those two players beat out a running back from Notre Dame and a quarterback from Ohio State. And of course, this tracks very closely with what's going on in college football at large. Indeed, if you had gone into a coma maybe a decade ago and woke up today, you would probably think the world had turned upside down. But that's not a bad thing in this case. In fact, I think it's great. And the excitement I saw around the internet and social media of Indiana fans reacting, his teammates going crazy. It reminded me a lot of when Robert Griffin III won the Heisman for Baylor back in 2011. And I think it's great that for the first time, fans of a team from a university that doesn't typically win very much have a seat at the table. Now, I've been a frequent critic of the chaotic manner in which college football has undergone all these changes in recent seasons. It feels like to me that there's not a lot of direction, it's not very coherent, and it's caused me to worry a lot about the future of the sport because I think a lot of the traditions that the sport is known for are starting to be diluted or fade away a bit. And I think one of the great things about the Heisman Trophy is that it is kind of the keeper of the flame when it comes to college football's heritage and tradition. Not only is the history of the trophy inextricably linked with the history of the sport, the trophy's focus on integrity harkens back to the amateur ideal which attracted us all to college football in the first place. And then you come to the enigma that is Fernando Mendoza. He's a transfer athlete, the fourth straight transfer and seventh out of the last nine to win the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza is very much a modern college football athlete. He's got NIL deals, he's got an agent, but those things don't seem to matter as much to Mendoza as his idealism over things like uh teamwork and brotherhood. This is an outstanding student athlete, someone who's intellectually curious, he's already graduated with a degree from Cal Berkeley. Fernando Mendoza is someone who decided to maximize his college football experience. He has succeeded both as a student and as an athlete. If you are someone who wants to play college football, why would you not want to use Fernando Mendoza as a model for what to do? He is justly compensated for his labor and his talents. He gets to experience the ultimate rush of competing against the best in the sport and winning. And along the way, he tries to better himself by delving into ideas and concepts that maybe he wasn't familiar with before. I mean, to me, it's about living life to the fullest. I think Fernando Mendoza tries to do that, and I think that's something we should all aspire to do. And Mendoza has made the most not only of his talents, but also of his mind. And talking to him a few times and hearing him speak at the press conferences at Heisman Weekend, you kind of forget just how good of an athlete he really is. He passed for 2,980 yards at a nation leading 33 touchdown passes, also rushed for another 240 yards and six scores, showed a lot of athleticism. Back over the summer when I was looking over the Big Ten quarterbacks and trying to rank them in my mind. I noticed that uh Mendoza's athleticism really jumped off the screen in the highlight tapes. And I wrote next to his name, gonna have a huge year.

SPEAKER_07 5:12

What's up? This is Fernando Mendoza, 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, and you're listening to the Heisman Podcast.

SPEAKER_05 5:22

All right, we are here with 2025 Heisman Trophy winner. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana University. Welcome to the Heisman Fraternity. How does it feel?

SPEAKER_07 5:32

It feels unreal to be a part of this such a prestigious fraternity. One of what I believe is the most prestigious fraternity in all of sports. It is such an honor that to know I just made all these new brothers last night. And not only can I I'm gonna have the opportunity to come back to New York after my pro career is done and come back and shed light and also meet the future Heisman Trophy winners. It's a trophy and a name. You know, I can't, first of all, I can't thank the trust, the voters, and the legends enough, but it's a name that I'm always gonna keep with the utmost responsibility, gratitude, and just overall enjoyment of it to represent the Heisman Trophy in the name that everybody wants it to be.

SPEAKER_05 6:14

Awesome. What did you end up doing last night after you after you uh won the trophy?

SPEAKER_07 6:17

Yeah, so it was a pleasant surprise. I knew some of my teammates were coming, but around 12 of them came and I really think they were. No, they didn't they weren't in the ceremony. Oh, they were? Oh no, they were not. Oh, I was I was trying to get them in. I mean, I don't know what strings he pulled because I was like, I need to get people in, and they're like only immediate family. I was trying to get my grandparents, it was like a whole asshole. But uh, but yeah, they they came and those guys they didn't have it arranged, and they came, they they they came on their own dime. Wow. So I think it really speaks a lot to the brotherhood and then the glue and the connection that we have in the locker room. And so after I went to the press conference, got to see all of them, and we all were out in Times Square, you know, owning the trophy. Yeah, and we like a family and friends after party at a rooftop right there to be able to take pictures, hang out, have a good time. And it was just great, you know, being able to have that trophy, bring it to the after party, and really share with everybody who deserves a trophy.

SPEAKER_04 7:13

Right.

SPEAKER_07 7:13

It's not myself, it's everybody there. Right. It's those teammates who came out on their own dime. It's my friends and family that have been supporting me, not only coming out for the New York weekend, but also the friends and family that were supporting me when I was a backup in middle school and a backup in high school and still coming to the games.

SPEAKER_05 7:27

Right. That's awesome. Uh, you know, I think one of the things that resonates with people about an award like this is that they kind of imagine themselves what it would feel like to be in that situation. Because it's it's an amazing situation to be, you know, coronated, you know, on live television like that. What like if you how would you describe to someone if someone was like, and not just the how did it feel though, but like what what was the sensation like of of like it dawning on you that your life is really changing even more so than it had already?

SPEAKER_07 7:55

I felt like I leveled up a little bit. It was like a video game and I just beat, you know, a really hard, hard level. And now I'm on this level. However, I see that you have to carry this name. You gotta work even harder. You gotta even go even farther in life, whether it's football, whether it's charitable foundations, whether it's just being a good person and good character itself. There are so many things that the Heisman name represents. Especially if we have to get to this level, it can be pretty easy human nature to be complacent. However, at this point, I feel like it's my duty to give them my all. So that I, you know, in the collection of all playoffs and they're like Heisman Trophy winner.

SPEAKER_04 8:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 8:31

You know, that I I live up to that standard. Yeah. Whether it's off the field, character-wise, you know, like people like Tim Tebow, like Mr. Warfel, like all these guys have all these amazing things about them. And so I'm just really trying to live up to that and push myself to be the best and be one of them one day.

SPEAKER_05 8:48

You know, everyone's looking at you now. Yeah. I mean they were look they were looking at you before, but now they're really looking at you. Do you feel that? Do you feel that when you're walking through the crowd? Do you feel that? The the public uh public glare.

SPEAKER_07 9:00

Uh last night I would say I felt the public glare, but I would only say it because my teammates were chanting my name and creating a scene. So I think anybody in New York with security would be like, oh, who's that? And stuff like that. Yeah, no, it was a lot, it was a lot of fun. It was it was a treat. However, honestly, I don't really feel a public glare. I'm not on social media nowadays. A lot of things are digitalized, so you can feel a lot of pressure or meaning like a lot of followers, a lot of you know, support, a lot of hate, and all the different mixed emotions that social media brings nowadays. But I would say in public, Bloomington's a small town. The fans are great. So it's been consistent throughout the season before we played. Hey, good luck this season. And yes, there has been you know more pictures not only for myself, but also my teammates. You know, there's crazy stories of you know, fan interaction my teammates have as well. However, it's uh it's just it's an honor and blessing, and this this pressure, it's a privilege.

SPEAKER_05 9:48

Yeah. Did you meet anybody out, like you know, who was out at a you know, somebody who's famous or somebody who came over? I imagine you held court all night. So people were coming over and said, Hey, how you doing? And do you meet anybody interesting?

SPEAKER_07 10:01

I I had a lot of interesting friends and family. Um I mean, just from ever everybody, people from my journey in middle school, people from my journey over there at Cal Berkeley. You know, former Cal Berkeley quarterbacks came, I think it was like four, including myself, four of us. Yeah, it was you know, high school coaches, yeah. It was people from Indiana University, yeah. It was all these, it was a it was basically it's like a crossover episode. So many people in my life, and they're all us here. I'm like, oh meet me him. You know, I mean, that's one of my best friends. You're one of my best friends. He has never like really met in person before. And so it was it was it was like an insane crossover episode. Plus to have the Heisman trophy there too. It was yeah, I can't even I'm about a word vomit. I can't even explain it.

SPEAKER_05 10:42

You really nailed the speech. I think people are gonna remember that speech for a long time. There's been some great speeches in Heisman history. We had uh, you know, some old soldiers who gave speeches about World War II, and we have John Capoletti, you know, his uh Penn State, yeah, about his about his about his uh brother, and that that really resonated with me.

SPEAKER_07 10:58

And I did research on his speech. Yeah, and you know, really give my hats off, give my hat off to him. And that was one of the speeches that I researched.

SPEAKER_05 11:05

Yeah, I you know, I really like the part where you you you sent the message out to people out there who who need someone to look up to to have hope. And and w was there someone who when you were little or or you know, outside of family, but like who who you who you saw as an example and like, yeah, if that person can do it, I can do it.

SPEAKER_07 11:19

I think as a young athlete, you always hear that message. However, someone that I heard, and it wasn't when I was little as when I was high school, I heard Devontae Smith, former Heisman winner, who I would love to meet someday, look forward to that opportunity. At the end of his speech, he gave a similar little sentiment or hey, everyone's told me that I'm too small, I'm too raw of a prospect, you can do anything you put your mind to, let me be the example. And so now I feel like it's my duty and my honor to carry that because I'm sure that you know if Devontae Smith got that, you know, kind of quota, an idea from somebody else, whether it's a Heisman trophy winner or an athlete that he idolized before then, or just a great speaker, a great character that he idolized before then, I feel like it's my mess, it's my duty and my honor to pass it on. I got it from Devontae Smith to watch his speech, love his speech, and at the end really resonated with myself. I was like, hey, let's keep this ball rolling. I'm I I don't, you know, want to take the credit for it. I'm just gonna I'm gonna keep the ball rolling. I'm gonna give it a little extra push right there.

SPEAKER_05 12:15

Uh you know, when I I first met you uh in person on Friday morning, I said I said you're about to go through a gauntlet. You did. What was like the was there a part where where you were like, man, this is this is getting tired of you know answering the same question? Is the discipline that needed to to maintain because yep, because there are some you get some weird questions out there, and and I remember one in particular was pretty kind of weird, but you know, yeah, and you have to maintain the seriousness, you have to like have have a poker face about these kind of questions.

SPEAKER_07 12:42

You know, the interviews and the gauntlet, I think it's a great I see as opportunity and privilege, see as opportunity to represent Indiana, represent my my family's brand, represent my teammates, and I think it's just such a good platform to have. And I think it's my duty whenever I'm on these platforms, like we've talked about before, talk about my faith, to talk about, you know, how faith has inspired me and helped me to spread awareness on that, spread awareness on, you know, my family, and then also the fight and battle against MS. Right. And then also to praise my teammates, coaches, and all those that have supported me. So I really think the interviews as great. Am I gonna lie to you completely? No, the signing was a you know, that that I can get a lot. My hands a little banged up. I don't know if you can see it because like it's it's a lot better.

SPEAKER_05 13:22

It was already banged up before.

SPEAKER_07 13:23

Yeah, I think a lot better. And so uh just the the signing, my wrist definitely got maybe a little tired. However, at the end of the day, after I'm signing, I'm like, wow, this is so cool because it goes back to the Heisman Trust and their values. We're signing these 200-ish balls so that each of the Heisman winners who attend the event can take home with them 10 each and they give out the charitable causes. And so Mr. Gino Toretta and I were joking, we're like, hey, we can split the Miami causes because he's saying that everyone pulls them in like 50 different directions. Say, I need the I want the balls, I want these balls, like kind of like you know, to for charitable causes. And now we can split it. And and he's also been a great one to talk to and you know, kind of take a little bit of a mentor reroll this weekend.

SPEAKER_05 14:03

Good good motivation to change your signature just to like FM or something.

SPEAKER_07 14:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 14:07

So, what are you gonna do with this Heisman? You gonna put it on uh give it to your mom, give it to man on the mantle place, keep it at keep it at school and pass it around like Stanley Cup. What's what's the goal? What are you gonna do?

SPEAKER_07 14:16

So I didn't realize that there was two. I thought it was just one. I didn't realize the school and the player got one, so that kind of changed everything. However, tonight, look forward to they said we could take it on the plane, pretty sure, who knows? Uh look forward to take the plane, have it in Bloomington, pass it around, take it to practice tomorrow. Yeah. And just like, you know, everybody touch it, take pictures of it. You know, it's like like the Stanley Cup.

SPEAKER_04 14:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 14:35

And then, you know, as the season ends and I go back to Miami, uh, well, probably for like after the end of the season, like for like a little like Christmas vacation or whatever it is, then I'll most likely just bring it, bring it home with myself and I guess keep it as a souvenir right by my, you know, right in my living room. So my parents and everyone, you know, whoever comes over can see it, the trophy.

SPEAKER_04 14:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 14:54

But I think for the time being, can pass around like the Stanley Cup trophy. And I think it's a good we don't want to get complacent on this, and that's why I'm gonna bring it around Monday because Cristinetti says Monday, boom. That's the last day we're gonna join this, and Tuesday we're on.

SPEAKER_05 15:06

Well he said Tuesday, and then you guys said Monday.

SPEAKER_07 15:07

Oh, well, looks like then you told me. It looks like it's gonna be Monday before breakfast. So I mean that was Captain Coogan, and he and he's a man for for a reason. Yeah. But I think it's the trophy's man as a little confidence boost, a little motivation boost. Hey, in the NFO ball scene, people know what we got, but hey, we still need to be humble and hungry to accomplish our goals. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:27

Did you when you woke up in the morning did you when you saw the trophy there?

SPEAKER_07 15:30

I actually trumper was not in my room. Oh, okay. I took it to the the family after party and friends, yeah, and then ate it ended up getting departed at 11:30, which is nice because I want that jumper to be safe. Yeah, who knows? I love my family and love my friends, however, have some, you know, some crazy people on those who are extremely enthusiastic. And who knows? I mean, it could ended up right there next to an Elmo or a Santa Claus on on Dime Square.

SPEAKER_05 16:05

Fernando Mendoza, congratulations once again on a fine season, a great accomplishment getting through the weekend with class, dignity, uh, you know, representing not only your school, your family, but also now the Heisman Trophy. You're gonna be a great Heisman Trophy winner. We look forward to seeing you develop. And good luck against Oklahoma or Alabama.

SPEAKER_07 16:25

Thank you so much. God bless. Go losiers.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

This is Archie Griffin, 1974, 1975's Heisman Trophy winner, and you're listening to the official Heisman podcast.

SPEAKER_05 16:42

We're here with Neil Everett, for former ESPN anchor, current legend. There you go.

SPEAKER_06 16:47

Okay. I like that. I like that. That's that's nice.

SPEAKER_05 16:51

You you uh introduced uh the finalist on Friday night. Yeah. Uh and you're gonna be at the Heisman Legends brunch.

SPEAKER_06 16:59

Yeah, I'm doing we're doing some uh we're doing some introductions and some fun with the with the children that are in attendance. You know, a little trivia, give away some give away some prizes.

SPEAKER_05 17:10

Thoughts on the uh what was a very energetic ceremony last night.

SPEAKER_06 17:15

Yeah, that was uh I mean that kid is uh Fernando Mendoza. I want to say it. I was I've been waiting to say it. Flipping Fernando Mendoza. I've just been waiting to say that. Uh I mean he's uh you know, he makes you re-examine your own self and go like, wow, I I might need to work on my game a little bit. If a kid if a g if a young man that age is so buttoned up and uh just uh you know, really uh, you know, I don't know him, but and I don't know him well. Just I know what you folks out there have seen, you know. But uh, you know, we saw him win the the the big 18 championship game, and then we saw him uh get win the Heisman trophy and just his his relationship with his mom just put a lump in my throat. Um yeah, just uh what a what a great representative uh for Heisman. He seems to embody everything that Heisman looks to embody.

SPEAKER_05 18:11

He uh seems really authentic and comfortable in his own skin. And I wonder are are people ready for that kind of thing? Because, you know, we as uh to quote uh Jeremy McGuire, we live in a cynical world. And uh uh, you know, I think people are might be prone to be like, hey, that's corny or who really believes that stuff. But he seems like he really believes the stuff he believes in.

SPEAKER_06 18:32

Well, you know, I and and that's the the cynic in all of us, but you know, you hope you look at the the Danny Werfels and the Tim Tebows, uh the Marcus Mariotas of the world and realize, no, these guys are really good guys. There are, and and that's not like anybody I named isn't, but you know, there there are there are true guys out there, and uh, and he he appears to be one of them. And he, you know, the the thing about this gig is you you end up meeting guys like uh Fernando Mendoza, who beat the hell out of like I went to Oregon, he beat the hell out of us. So, you know, by just by law, I'm not supposed to like him. And uh, but you end up meeting the these kids and uh are adults, and you're like, you know what, I'm rooting for them from now on, you know, and it's and he's one of those guys.

SPEAKER_05 19:22

I was gonna ask you about that that game up in Austin, which is you know, it's not easy to win in Odson. Yeah. And it's like he, you know, he has proven himself along with his team every step of the way that there's there's a there's this reticence to to fully buy in to programs like Indiana and Vanderbilt until they hit a few markers and and they beat they won an Audsen, and they beat Ohio State, and they they they avoided the let-down upsets against the Penn States and Iowa. And and got through with flying colors. When you're watching that game against Oregon, what was your takeaway after watching Fernando play?

SPEAKER_06 19:59

Uh I underestimated Indiana, that's for sure. And then uh, you know, they I mean they didn't the score wasn't indicative of how they beat up Oregon. And uh yeah, they're you know, they're good. And that that coach is you know, he's got a little he's just gonna he's an old school guy, you know. He's you know, he doesn't want the pats on the back or whatever. And uh and then and you mentioned the Vanderbilt coach too. I mean, there's another guy that's like, wow, you know, this guy is uh solid and and you know, it's funny you you bring a guy in, you know, a program that uh you know hasn't been on the up, so to speak, and they they're able to flip a switch and uh same kids a lot of the time, just changing the environment. It's like it's like you see a quarterback in the NFL go from what you see, Daniel Jones, does nothing with the Giants, then prior to the injury, lights it up with Indianapolis. What's the difference? Well, it's gotta be the people around him and the surroundings, you know. So uh good I I became a fan of Mendoza's. No, I'm not gonna be that fan of Indiana's if they end up playing Oregon again. But we'll see, Oregon's got some work to do before that.

SPEAKER_05 21:07

You know, it's funny on the Heisen weekend, I've typically noticed that players come and and they're usually most of them are pretty unpolished. And then by the end of the weekend they go through the gauntlet, it's almost like the repetitions by the end, like by the time they get to the ceremony, they're they've got a little shine to them and they're they've been through it enough. They had their stump speech down in a sense, they know they know where to hit the points. But Fernando came in, he was already well prepared, didn't have to do it. Uh it seems like to me like his future as a communicator is pretty bright. Is this the kind of guy when his playing career is over, you can see him going into any number of these fields? What do you think? What do you what do you think he needs to be?

SPEAKER_06 21:45

Well, you know what it was, and I mentioned earlier, he's Tebow esque. Uh and uh you know, just you know, you can't help but but root for him, you can't help but expect that good things are gonna happen to him and he's gonna make things good things happen around. Him. So he, you know, I mean, this guy went to Cal. Somebody told me miss one question on the SAT. I misspelled my name on the SAT. You know, so the tough name. Is it two R's, two T's? Right? Yeah, no, it was Neil. I screwed Neil up. I went N-E A L. I had a brain for it. I'm like, oh my God, I'm an NEIL. Come on. Neil Diamond, Neil Armstrong. I'm an NEAL. Um, so uh yeah, I just, you know, listen, the the the world is his. You know, he you know, you tell the young people, dream big. He's well on his way. Yeah. What's your favorite part of this weekend? Oh God, it's so, it's just like what do you wish people knew about this weekend?

SPEAKER_05 22:44

Like, because it's it's a it's a little kind of a scene up here, but it's but it's cloistered.

SPEAKER_06 22:48

You know what it is? It's that the Heisman dudes are really good dudes. There's not not a one of them is standoffish. Uh they'll they'll they'll you know, they'll they'll josh with you. Um, you know, there's a the reverence for the older guys. Uh you know, I see Jim Plunkett, and I just, you know, I want to, you know, put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Uh just yeah, I just just the the the guy the you know they're the these guys, it's the most exclusive club. We talked about this before. It's just like these guys are one of one, all of them, uh when it comes to the Heisman. So just so the most special part to me is that I get a I get to live in their airspace for a few days, you know, and and and and introduce them and and have a drink with them and and rub shoulders with them. And uh, because uh I'm 63, I'm still a fan.

SPEAKER_05 23:44

I'm still kind of scared of a few of them. Just I don't want I just I don't want to mess with them as much. Anyway, Neil Everett, thanks for being on the Heisman Truppy Podcast. You've been on before. Thanks for being a friend, uh, not only of the show, but of the Heisman. Have a great time at the Heisman Legends brunch today.

SPEAKER_06 24:00

It's snowing, we're all gonna go out and make snow angels. I love it.

SPEAKER_05 24:03

Probably Fernand will be the first one to go out, too. He will be. Awesome. Thank you so much. The Heisman Trophy Trust is proud to help support Beat the Streets New York City. It's on a mission to develop the full human and athletic potential of the city's youth through the sport of wrestling. Beat the Streets aims to make a lifelong impact through the lessons learned on the wrestling mat, things like discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility, and a strong worth ethic, a strong work ethic. Since being founded in 2005, it has pioneered a movement that now includes 150 individual wrestling programs, a youth league, and the first ever girls' high school league. Bob Seidel is the executive director of Beat the Streets. He previously spent three years as its director of programming. He comes to BTS with more than 15 years of coaching and teaching experience. Bob, welcome to the Heisman Trophy Podcast.

SPEAKER_03 25:05

Hi, Chris. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be on today.

SPEAKER_05 25:09

Yeah, glad to have you. You know, I guess I want to ask you right off the bat, why wrestling? What is unique about the sport that helps your organization to do its mission so well?

SPEAKER_03 25:18

Sure. What's unique about wrestling, I think, is there's there's a lot of different components. One, you take the mat each time by yourself. Uh you take ownership of your wins, you take ownership of your losses. Um, wrestling is one of those sports where when you're victorious, it's great. It's probably one of the biggest highs, but when you lose, it's one of the lowest lows because it's just you out there. I think the sport of wrestling teaches you not only how to handle success, but also the resilience to handle losses. Uh I think one of the things we do at Beat the Streets, one of the main skills is that skill of resilience and bouncing back from getting knocked down or suffering a loss. And we try and translate what we're teaching on the mat in terms of wrestling to kids' lives now and in the future. Because we all know that at some point in life, every one of us is going to be faced with some unforeseen loss. And hopefully the skills we teach at Beat the Streets will allow those students to cope with that loss and rebound and come back better than ever.

SPEAKER_05 26:35

That makes a lot of sense. What's the origin story of Beat the Streets in New York City?

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Sure. Beat the Streets was started almost 20 years ago. Uh, we have a solid base of people that have been loyal supporters and donors and advocates for Beat the Streets over the past 20 years. It started with uh a guy named Al Bevelaca, a very famous uh Long Island wrestling coach and one of the pioneers of New York City wrestling. Uh Al, along with some others like Bill Crumb uh and Mike Novogratz, uh started BTS and really elevated it to where it is today.

SPEAKER_05 27:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 27:17

We've had so many people that have been a part of the program for 20 years, like Kieran Dave Berry, uh Rich Tovoso, and these people have literally seen Beat the Streets from its inception, which started at a very small level 20 years ago to where it is today, as the Beat the Streets New York City is arguably the largest nonprofit of its kind in the country.

SPEAKER_05 27:43

Wow, that's a tremendous growth for sure. You offer a variety of programs. There's the training center, there's the academy, there's the junior league, there's the public schools athletic league. What do these various programs have to offer? And what's the difference between all of those?

SPEAKER_03 27:56

Sure. They each have their own level of impact. I uh first off with the academy. It's probably one of our most impactful programs because it does what I was speaking about before in terms of not only does it teach this world-class level wrestling, we have guest clinicians coming in that are Olympic gold medalists, NCAA D1 head coaches, NCAA all-Americans. Uh but it couples that training with social emotional learning and life skills uh that will help these students achieve success in wrestling, but also in the classroom and whatever they're going to do in the future. The Academy also does college and career planning, uh SAT prep, peer-to-peer tutoring. So all those things that lead to off the mat success is really what the Academy is all about. And it focuses on our most engaged students, about 200 from all five boroughs throughout each year. Uh the training center offers year-round training about five to six days a week from an Olympian, Joe Rao, who's our new head coach, uh, where the kids can come in. We have tiered practices, and they get to work with Joe for free for an hour and a half session each practice. And then our middle school program is the only one of its kind in New York City. We run the entire middle school wrestling from New York City. It's about 25 teams and about 450 student athletes. Um we do we have do coaches' education for every coach that we employ. They then run their teams through a season in the fall, which includes weekly practices, competitions, and an end of the year junior league championships for all of New York City, which will take place on December 14th this year. And then finally, one of our most valued partnerships is with the PSAL, which is the governing body of New York City Athletics. Uh, we work with the PA PSAL on coaches education. We help funding uh different events. In fact, we're planning a trip to what's called Eastern States, a very competitive tournament in uh uh upstate New York next month, where we'll take the best of the best from the PSAL and have them compete against uh the best of the best from the Northeast. So it's uh it's been a long-lasting, that's where it all started with the PSAL partnership. And uh yeah, that's where we are today.

SPEAKER_05 30:35

Nice. You mentioned uh U.S. Olympian Joe Rao, who you brought in as a coach. Uh, it looks like the wrestling community has a deep connection to you guys. Uh, what kind of relationship is there with the the broader sport, U.S. wrestling, as far as working together to build grassroots support for the sport?

SPEAKER_03 30:50

Well, yes, we have a very good relationship with USA Wrestling. Um, we partnered with them in recent years uh to host uh our annual event, which is Final X at the Prudential Center, where it is the final wrestle off for Team USA at the senior level, both men's and women's freestyle. Uh USA Wrestling has been a great partner for us in every aspect of what we do. Uh from holding events when we did events throughout our history in Times Square, on the Intrepid, Grand Central Station to Final X, they've been with us every step of the way. So uh Rich Bender and Pete Isaias have just been great advocates for Beat the Streets.

SPEAKER_05 31:38

When you hire coaches or mentors, what matters more to you? Is it their wrestling background or is it their ability to connect with a kid who might be dealing with some heavy stuff?

SPEAKER_03 31:47

It's a great question. As someone who's coached uh basically my entire professional life, uh a background in wrestling is important, but what we look for in our coaches is more that deeper meaning of why they're there. Uh this is a great I actually had this conversation with our head coach Joe Rao the other day, and it's yes, Joe's an Olympian. Uh he was a former college coach, he was a national champion. But the real reason we hired Joe is when speaking with him, you knew his heart was aligned with our mission. He wanted to go in to New York City and interact with these kids from all five boroughs that may not have the best background coming in and make a difference in their lives. And that's what we're really all about. It's definitely more than just the wrestling resume. It's uh you have to be a special kind of person to dedicate your life to coaching and helping the kids in all aspects of their life and making a difference. And I think that's really what we look for in our coaches.

SPEAKER_05 32:52

Got it. You know, wrestling's a pretty old school sport. How have you had to modernize or change your approach to meet kids where they are today?

SPEAKER_03 33:00

Uh yeah, it's definitely, I mean, it is an old school sport. I think not using a cookie cutter mentality or training method when dealing with students today is probably uh the biggest adjustment I try and tell young coaches as they're progressing through uh coaching at the high school level. I think treating each individual kid with an individualized plan and realizing what their goals are. Uh every kid that comes to beat the streets doesn't have the same goal. We have kids that want to be national champions, want to wrestle D1, go to an ID League school. And we have kids that are literally doing wrestling for the first time. And it may be an escape from whatever is going on at home. Uh, it may be a way to make friends and socialize. So we try and use a non-cookie-cutter approach for every student that walks through the door. And I think that's the flexibility in coaching and teaching and mentoring that has shifted over the years.

SPEAKER_05 34:04

Yeah, it seems like you get these kids at really key points in their lives. Do you have any examples of someone whose life genuinely took a different turn because they found this program?

SPEAKER_03 34:15

Absolutely. I mean, there's thousands of examples just in the four years I've been here. Uh, Beat the Streets has impacted so many individuals in so many ways. Uh one that comes to mind is a young man who I met when I first took over at Beat the Streets. He was he came from a relatively uh rough background in the Bronx. Um whether it was the crowd he was hanging out with, uh family issues, and he really dedicated himself to Beat the Streets in the sport of wrestling. Uh I'd watched a young man grow from a freshman uh all the way through his senior year. Uh, and Beat the Streets helped him not only uh with wrestling, instruction, and education, we also helped him to uh further his education by going to some very good prep schools in both New Jersey and New York throughout his career. This young man today is uh attending uh a D1 university where he's on the wrestling team and he is doing fantastic academically. Um I get weekly updates from him still as he's in college. And for me, I think that's one of the uh best things about Beat the Streets is that we get to watch these kids progress from where they start to where they get to in the end of their high school career, their college career, and their professional career.

SPEAKER_05 35:45

So that's pretty awesome. You mentioned the Bronx, you know, there's uh so many neighborhoods in in New York, um, and they're wildly different from one another. How how do how much does the city itself shape the kind of work you do?

SPEAKER_03 35:58

Uh I mean, the city is it's great. Uh I'm originally from New Jersey, so I didn't grow up in the city. Uh I obviously went there a lot, just visiting, but I think the city shapes everything about Beat the Streets. Uh, we have such a range, as you said, of students that are coming in to the wrestling room. And it's just creates this energy and this diversified community where these kids from all different backgrounds, all different socioeconomic levels. They're coming in there and they are all united by one thing, and that's getting better at wrestling. So for me, I think that's the character of our program. It's sharing backgrounds, bringing people together for one common goal, which is to improve on the mat, to improve in the classroom, and to improve in whatever their future endeavors might be.

SPEAKER_05 36:52

You guys launched a girls program. Seems like it's doing well. What surprised you the most when you launched it? And how would you assess it uh since it's been launched?

SPEAKER_03 37:00

Sure. We beat the streets. New York City was one of the pioneers of girls' wrestling. Again, uh supporters like Kira Barry were a major advocate for the growth of women's wrestling. And I think for us, we've kind of addressed the how fast women's wrestling is growing in the country and really focused on making sure that our girls have the best opportunity to succeed. Uh, we brought in a former Princeton wrestler, Chloe Ayers, to help out on our staff. She comes in and runs a girls-only practices uh throughout the entire year. Um and we also, again, with Joe, we have a large number of girls that are attending our practices regularly. So it's I think it's been very successful. I think New York City moving forward, our goal is to have it be a hotbed for girls wrestling in new in New York State. And we're really, we're really pushing that.

SPEAKER_05 38:01

Wrestling's considered uh one of the martial arts. How much has the the growth of mixed martial arts in general uh helped you guys and as far as visibility and interest from from the youth?

SPEAKER_03 38:12

I think it's definitely helped. I've uh just being a high school coach in New Jersey, Maryland, and Hawaii, watching the growth of the UFC and other MMA organizations has really kind of popularized uh wrestling because in a lot of these competitions, you're seeing the wrestlers succeed. Um, as a Jersey Shore guy, we've got to watch Frankie Eger uh go on and win world championships. So I think that just builds a whole new generation of people that want to get involved in the sport. Um the UFC has been great uh advocates for Beat the Streets. And uh we have one of our board members, Megan O'Leavey, who's an announcer for the UFC, has been super supportive and helped out just uh raising awareness about our mission. And yeah, I think they they grow the sport tremendously.

SPEAKER_05 39:08

You're pretty early in your tenure as executive director. What kind of vision do you have uh for the future of Beat the Streets?

SPEAKER_03 39:14

Uh well, I have been with the organization, although I just started as executive director, and over the past three years, we've tripled in size in terms of the number of kids we're having at our practices, our academy size. Um, my goal is to keep moving on that upward trajectory, but also making sure we're keeping our impact at a high level. Uh, I'd like to expand Beat the Streets further into the five boroughs for kids who might not have access to our training center on a daily basis. Um, we've already started doing satellite practices to far-out places like Staten Island or uh far-out places in Brooklyn or Queens.

SPEAKER_04 39:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:53

So I think expanding the size and scope of Beat the Streets and really making it a model for sports-based youth programs throughout the country and even the world.

SPEAKER_05 40:04

Yeah. What's the hardest part about growing the way you've grown without losing that personal gritty heart of what you guys started as?

SPEAKER_03 40:12

Yes. I think the one biggest thing and that you have to focus on when we're growing so fast is to make sure that the quality and the goals stay very direct when you're in that room and you're working with the kids. We have this talk with our kids, with our coaches. Uh, it's great to grow, but you want to grow in a measured way where that impact and the lessons we're teaching those kids and the skills we're teaching those kids are still the same shared goals that we've had from the beginning. Um and again, we we don't want to grow too fast so it gets watered down. We want to make sure everything is direct and we're making that impact and creating lifelong winners.

SPEAKER_05 40:57

If you could wave wave a magic wand and uh have something uh, you know, in your at your facility or as far as program-wise, what what would it be? Like what would be the one thing that you would add to your operation that would really help you guys?

SPEAKER_03 41:12

I think for us, right now we're at a uh a pivotal point in BTS because of that rapid growth over the last three years. I think right now we're focusing on adding to the infrastructure. We want to add some more coaches uh so we can go out and expand more and more into the five boroughs and reach more kids. Uh but I think to be quite honest, if I would wave a magic wand three years ago, it would have been for us to have a standalone facility in the center of Manhattan. And due to the support of all our donors, as well as uh some very specific board members, uh, we were able to achieve that. And that's made a world of difference for us. So yeah, I think now it's just building and kind of addressing the growing pains. I know we I've seen it in your other podcast. There's always that nonprofit issue of the fundraising aspect and being able to keep up, keep the expansion with the fund development going the same way. So I think that's it for us, just being able to address the growing pains of expanding our impact.

SPEAKER_05 42:20

Yeah. Well, before we go, uh let our listeners know how they can get involved with or support Beat the Streets financially or, you know, or donate things. Like what's what's the best way for them to do that?

SPEAKER_03 42:32

Yes, uh, we have lots of ways to get involved with Beat the Streets. If you're around New York City and you have a wrestling background, we love to have volunteer coaches come in. Uh, we also have um a career day for professionals to come in and speak to our students about their own career path and how our students can kind of uh approach their decisions as they move forward in the world. And I think in terms of uh supporting us financially, we are in the middle of our end-of-year fundraising campaign right now. Every dollar we get goes directly to these programs that we talked about for the kids and trying to make a difference. Um if you can support us in some way financially, please go to btsny.org backslash donate. Uh again, every dollar counts, and you could really make a difference in one of these student athletes' lives.

SPEAKER_05 43:31

Well, that is uh uh great to hear that uh you guys are doing so well. This is an amazing program. All you listeners out there, be sure to uh check it out at btsny.org, right? Yes. Okay, uh, get out there and support uh this great organization that the Heisman Trophy Trust also supports. Bob Seidel, executive director. Thanks again for coming on the show. The Heisman Trust is excited to be a part of what you guys do. We wish you and your organization the best of luck moving forward and uh happy holidays to you.

SPEAKER_03 44:01

Thank you so much, Chris, and thank you to the Heisman Trust for all their support. They have been great for Beat the Streets and its mission. Happy holidays to you as well.

SPEAKER_05 44:35

That was the great Barry Sanders. You just heard, you know, uh, my favorite stat about him is that he's the only player in the history of college football to return the first kickoff of the season back for a touchdown two seasons in a row. He returned the first kickoff of the 1987 season back for a touchdown, and then he returned the first kickoff of the 1988 season all the way back for a touchdown. And if you go listen to our opening theme song of the podcast, you can hear in the background the Oklahoma State radio announcer making the call of the second touchdown and saying afterwards, just like last year. Well, I hope just like last year you enjoyed this season of the Heisman Trophy Podcast. I hope we returned the kickoff for you when you needed it. And I hope you come back next season to listen again. I think, however, we might have some more off-season content. Uh if you are interested in that kind of thing, I hope you come back. So be sure to like, subscribe, review, tell your family, tell a friend, we'd appreciate it. And of course, if you prefer the moving pictures, you can go over to our YouTube channel and see all kinds of great video content. Or if you like uh you know shorter form content, go over to our TikTok channel and see all kinds of great video content and clips there as well. It's probably going to be a big year for the Heisman Trophy in 2026, so be sure to stick around and we'll give you the latest on what's going on in the Heisman world. I'd like to wish everyone out there a happy and healthy uh holidays and a very prosperous new year. See you soon. The Heisman Trophy Podcast streams every Wednesday during the college football season and is hosted, produced, edited, and engineered by Chris Houston. The pod is available on all streaming networks, including Spotify and Apple Music, and features video interviews and bonus content on YouTube and TikTok. We also have a Reddit community. Special shout out to Isaac Lovencron, and big thanks to Rob Whelan, Tim Henning, and the Heisman Trust for their support. Reach out to us via email at pod at heisman.com for feedback and commentary.