Launched in October 2023 by Notre Dame sophomore Jimmy Collins and athletes Reece Sanders and Isaiah Dunn, the podcast “The Golden Ticket” allows student-athletes to share their experiences. However, the aim is to dismantle the stereotypes surrounding student athletes.
“We want to give our student-athletes a platform. That's kind of our motto,” Sanders said. “There's a lot of things that can get twisted and stereotyped in the script, so we just want to give athletes an opportunity to speak and share their stories.”
Sanders, a sophomore psychology and film, television, and theater (FTT) double major, and Collins, a fellow FTT major, are working on a project that focuses on personal stories that are often overshadowed by athletic accomplishments. started. Later, Dan, who had been scouted from Sanders' acting class, joined, completing the trio. Dunn is a cornerback on the football team, and Sanders is on the track team.
“[The podcast] It's also about bringing out the person behind the athlete,” Collins explained. “There's a lot of stereotypes in terms of, 'Oh, they're just athletes, they don't come here to go to school.' They come here to play their sport. 'But in the end, there's a story behind these people, there's a personality, and we get to see both of them. ”
Athletes who spoke on the podcast included pole vaulter Olivia Fabray, soccer players Jaden Mickey and Benjamin Morrison, hockey player Jake Boltman, and soccer player Sophia Fischer. Masu.
“I'd love to see Hannah Hidalgo on the podcast. I think she's only going to get better from here,” Sanders said.
The podcast covers a variety of topics, including brand image as an athlete and mental health issues.
“Some athletes talk about their mental health struggles on podcasts. We love hearing stories of struggles because when we see how well they're doing on the field or court, we're like, 'Wow, they did that. It makes you feel like, “I went through it and got through it, so you can do it too,'' Sanders said.
Initially, the team took a grassroots approach by recruiting athlete speakers, but the popularity of the podcast has now led to interest from coaches looking to tell their athletes' stories.
“At first it was just reaching out to people I knew…but it’s gotten harder lately because some coaches have been reaching out to me asking if they could have their players involved,” Collins said.
Drawing on his own experience as a student-athlete, Sanders emphasized the importance of addressing the unspoken challenges athletes face.
“Being a student-athlete myself, I understand the struggles that athletes don't normally talk about, whether it's stereotypes or mental health issues, because of the sport and the pressures. [or] Even if it's on social media,” Sanders said. “We just want to provide information about the resources that Notre Dame has, but we also want to build this community.”
Looking to the future, the team envisions hosting athletes from all 13 college sports at Notre Dame on the podcast, as well as expanding the podcast to host college athletes from other schools across the country. doing.
“We want to expand our platform to other universities and other athletes, so the schedule is pretty tough, but that's what we want to do,” Sanders said.
