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Carter Boyle Duke: How K-Ville became a Duke Tradition

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Many university campuses around the country feature iconic landmarks. Harvard has Harvard Hall, MIT has the Great Dome, and most state universities have classical buildings called “Old Main”. In contrast, despite its beautiful Collegiate Gothic architecture, the campus of Duke University is also known for something traditional yet transient at the same time: the tent city that Duke students call Krzyzewskiville. How did K-Ville come about? Lining up for tickets has always been a tradition among college students in schools with traditionally excellent sports teams. At Duke, for example, students used to wait for hours to get tickets for games against UNC; some brought sleeping bags. In 1986, though, a group of students decided to reserve their places in line by putting up tents outside Cameron Indoor Stadium. What started as just four tents became a whole campsite of 75 tents in just two days. The phenomenon was featured on NBC News, and after a huge win over the Tar Heels, tenting f...

Carter Boyle: Potential Replacements for Coach K

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Duke basketball is synonymous with Coach K who is the public face of Duke basketball. With forty seasons, twelve Final Fours, and five NCAA championships under his belt, Coach K is the type of person Duke fans wish would stay forever. However, at 72, the iconic coach is not getting any younger; sooner or later, the school has to look for a replacement. Luckily, Coach K’s coaching tree is very extensive, with nine head coaches in NCAA Division I and one in the NBA. When the time comes to name Coach K’s successor, they might not have to look further than these three names. 1) Jeff Capel (Pittsburgh). Capel’s ties to Duke and Coach K are extensive. He was a part of the 1993 team that lost to Arkansas in the NCAA championship game and served as an assistant to Coach K from 2011 to 2018. He also served as the de facto head coach whenever Coach K was out. Before coming back to Durham, Capel was named VCU’s head coach at 27 and coached an Oklahoma team led by Blake Griffin to the Elite Eigh...

Carter Boyle: Ohio State’s football team off to an impressive start under Ryan Day

Carter Boyle’s favorite college football team, Ohio State, is off to an impressive start to the 2019 college football season under the helm of new head coach, Ryan Day. Day took over from legendary coach Urban Meyer at the start of the season. Meyer lost only nine games in seven seasons, which is enough reason for his successor to be intimidated, but Day is unfazed and remains positive that the team will be able to maintain its excellent standing. At the Big Ten Conference’s football media day, he said, “When you start to think of it that way, you get overwhelmed in a hurry and you start to focus on things that really don’t matter. The expectations are so high here that if you don’t win them all, the minute you lose a game, you can’t just come crumbling and fall apart. It’s one of those things you have to think about and have a plan for." Day inherits the well-oiled machine built and coached by Meyer, as well as a formidable team that lost only one game in a 13-1, Big Ten Cham...

Carter Boyle: Coach K on the Fair Pay to Play Act

According to Carter Boyle, Mike Krzyzewski, coach of the Duke Blue Devils and commonly referred to as Coach K, is known for being honest and straightforward, especially during interviews. In a recent interview, Coach K expressed his support for the controversial Fair Pay to Play Act, which was passed in California on the 20 th of September. The Act, which was signed by California governor Gavin Newsom, allows student athletes to earn from the use of their name, image, or likeness, sometimes abbreviated as NIL. Under the Act, they are also allowed to sign endorsement deals despite the NCAA’s current policies that forbid them from doing so. The act was partly driven by legislators’ desire to ensure that student-athletes, who contribute much to their school’s bottomline, receive fair economic perks for their endeavors. In what Carter Boyle would describe as characteristic Coach K fashion, the Blue Devils coach expressed his approval of the Act. “I’m really happy this is hap...

Carter Boyle: Who will Replace Coach K?

Carter Boyle obtained both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Duke. From the time he entered until he eventually left the school to pursue a career in finance, Coach K was coaching the men’s basketball team—the Duke Blue Devils. Indeed, Coach K has been with Duke for almost 30 years, and many are looking ahead and wondering who might eventually replace him. Mike Krzyzewski became the Blue Devils’ head coach in 1980 and his nearly three-decade-long tenure has been anything but unremarkable. Among the highlights of his time at Duke are five NCAA titles, 12 appearances in the Final Four, and a large number of ACC conference honors. Many call him a legend because of his achievements. Coach K is now in his 70s and many are speculating that he may be retiring in the next couple of years. There has been a buzz going on, wondering who might replace him as the Blue Devils’ head coach. H is successor certainly would have big shoes to fill. Besides winning games and maintaining...

Carter Boyle: The Dangers of Micromanagement

Experienced leaders like Carter Boyle know how tempting it can be to micromanage your subordinates. Many times, you may have felt like the only way to achieve your goals is to control your organization members’ every move. Seasoned leaders also know, however, to resist this impulse as micromanagement can have very dangerous results. Micromanagement is a style wherein the manager closely monitors the work of employees. While there are instances when this approach works, it is negatively perceived because of how it reduces employees’ freedom. Imagine someone breathing down your neck all day. If a manager is not careful, too much micromanagement can lead to the following: 1.        Your organization loses the element of trust. When you become too controlling, your employees begin seeing you not as a leader, but as a despot. At the same time, you begin to doubt your employees’ commitment and competence. Both are dangerous to an organization. 2. ...

Developing Empathy for Better Leadership

Someone like Carter Boyle, who is experienced in leadership, knows that being a leader is more than just giving out commands. It’s also being able to understand and relate with your subordinates. A good leader must, therefore, develop empathy and be able to understand how people around them feel. If you think you need to improve your ability to share other people’s feelings, here are tips to help you become more empathetic: 1. Learn to listen Understanding begins with knowing how others feel and what circumstances they’re in. You will learn all these by listening. When your people talk to you, give them your full attention and do not focus on anything else. Try not to interrupt so that they will be encouraged to express themselves and explain their side. 2. Pay attention to body language Listening – and consequently, empathy – requires not just the ears, but also the eyes. Even as you listen to what people say, watch their gestures, mannerisms, and tics, too. These will tell ...