Introducing A New Era For Extra Points

Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points.

Way back in December, I announced that Extra Points was seeking new ownership.

That was just another step in a complicated process. Extra Points started as a completely independent operation, then moved under the D1.ticker umbrella, then hit the market. After a long process, full of false starts, twists and turns, I can finally announce that this publication finally has an official new home.

So who owns Extra Points now?

I have partnered with Dennis Alshuler, a former Princeton athlete and current media and tech entrepreneur, to purchase Extra Points back from D1.ticker.

Wait, who is that?

Alshuler was a former team captain with Princeton’s volleyball team, as well as a 4-year football walk-on. I’d like everybody to know that his career stat line for the Tigers was one catch for exactly zero yards.

After deciding to go pro in something other than sports, Alshuler worked in investment banking, then started working at various high growth tech companies, most notably ZipRecruiter.  As an early employee, Alshuler built the finance department and then led the business development team for ZipRecruiter.

Alshuler then focused on more entrepreneurial efforts, investing in a few companies, co-founding a company that focused on the future of entertainment, and looking at various opportunities to empower creators…which eventually led him to me.

“Matt is a trusted source of news and analysis within the college sports ecosystem and has built an amazing community.  I see an opportunity to double down on what’s working, provide more resources to Matt and invest in the business to see where we can take this” says Alshuler.

So what’s the plan now?

The good news is, I’m not going anywhere. My plan was to find ownership that had strong experience in all the things that go into running a mature media company that have nothing to do with actually writing the newsletter, so I can focus my time on writing, reporting, speaking, teaching, and building. I think that’s exactly what we’ve done.

Some of the immediate short-term goals here involve stuff that you, the reader, won’t see as much. That includes growing our internal infrastructure operations, sales team, and other back-end stuff. The less time I’m spending on tech support, outbound sales and automated email sequences, the more time I can spend on the phone, on the road or behind the microphone.

But some of those other goals you will see. We also want to

• Continue to invest, support and grow Athletic Director 4000 and other gaming products. We actually bought the IP rights to the game back from D1.ticker, and to celebrate, I plan to release a major questions update in the next ten days. We’ll continue to look at how we can make this game, and future games, more complex, engaging and fun.

• Bring back a new and improved FOIA Directory. I get emails about this multiple times a week now, and I promise, it’s coming back. We want to give you a better user experience than just “here’s a bunch of PDF files in a Google Drive.” I also plan to update the type of documents and data we have in that directory…to include things like bylaws, feasibility studies, historical documents, and more.

• Feature new voices with new perspectives and expertise. I’m probably always going to do most of the writing around here, but I’m only one guy, and there’s a lot of stuff I just don’t know as much about. While we’re always happy to discuss (and pay for) freelance newsletters, we’ll also look at bringing in new voices on a more formalized basis.  Have a pitch for a story? Shoot me an email and let's talk. 

• New products to better serve our audience of industry leaders, practitioners, researchers and insiders. I LOVE that Extra Points has so many different kinds of readers. We have thousands of folks who don’t work in college athletics and just want to better understand the industry. I love you guys and want to continue writing for you. But we also have thousands of readers who work in college sports, study college sports or cover college sports. We want to create new products to better serve that audience as well.

We’ve already made a few changes. You might have noticed a visual refresh of our website and newsletters. We’re sharing more on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We’re also now including a free digital copy of What If, my book on college football history, for all of our premium subscribers.

We want to take some big swings to really help Extra Points grow into something unique, sustainable and special. Let’s do it together.

If you have thoughts about what you’d like to see out of ADS4000, future game projects, the FOIA Directory, or the Extra Points business in general, I’d love to hear from you. My email is [email protected].  And Dennis would love to hear from you as well at [email protected].

I’ve been writing this newsletter at least four times a week now since April 2020. I haven’t had to get a “real job” because right from the start, thousands of you stepped up and showed that you’re willing to support independent sportswriting with your time, attention, wallets and love. I remember that every time I sit down at my desk to write. Serving you…from power conference commissioners to Minnesota State undergraduates to Reddit realignment degenerates to D-III athletic directors…has been a privilege and a blessing.

I’d love to do more. Tell more stories in different ways. Bring more people into the community we’re trying to build. Be a force for good in the college sports world. Make people think, and if we’re lucky…make them laugh a little bit too.

I need help to do that. That’s where Dennis comes in. I’m thrilled he’s here. I hope you’ll continue to be a part of that journey too.

Together, we’ll keep working to make a better Extra Points.

Thank you. I’ll see you in your inbox again soon.

-Matt