Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to Kendall speaks. I am Dr. Brian Stewart, Kendall campus president.
And today, Kendall speaks with our athletic director, Mr. Mike Bellotto.
Mike, it's great to have you here today.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Dr. Stewart. Thank you for having me. I appreciate you.
[00:00:20] Speaker A: I'm excited for this conversation. I think we have a lot of things in common, and we'll talk about that as we go. But let's first talk a little bit about you. Talk about your athletic background, how you got here. I know you coached a little in a couple of amaz. Amazing places. And go back as far as you think comfortable and tell us about your athletic prowess, if you would.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Well, I appreciate you saying athletic. I was never told I was really athletic, so. But look, athletics has been a part of my life and my family's life ever since I can remember. You know, early on in my days, my dad always told me that he didn't have a lot of money to pay for college. So either I got an academic scholarship or an athletic scholarship. And sports was a lot of fun to me at the time. Basketball was a sport that I picked up at an early age, and I was lucky enough to play at a good school, Cursive at Columbus High School, and went on to St Thomas University on a. On a scholarship there and successful program, great coach. That was where I really started to kind of fall in love with the game and think maybe that that would be a. A path that I wanted to go down as far as coaching. I knew at some point I wasn't good enough to play at the highest levels. Right. We all come up to that sad, sad day.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: We wake up. We wake up.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Yeah. And. And that. That day came probably right after my senior year, and my coach got a job and asked me if I could go with him to be his assistant and he'll pay for my master's. So that's how it all started. It's funny enough how that path helped me get a degree that helped me later on in life, you know, and that's something that I'm sure we'll talk about later.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: Now, didn't you just recently get honored by your high school?
[00:01:49] Speaker B: I did.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Tell me about that, yeah.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: It was. It was a great, you know, opportunity to. To be inducted in the hall of Fame at Columbus and also, you know, to be able to go speak at the school a couple weeks ago. My wife is a teacher there. She teaches leadership, so I was able to speak to all her classes that are mostly sophomores. And it's always good to connect, you know, with the young crew in that school, they. They all have the same mindset I did. Like, they hate putting tie on, they hate waking up in the morning. And they don't really realize they can't sleepwalk through the next four years because the person is sitting next to them could be the President of the United States, you know, could be a president of a company. And I try to make them understand, like, as tough as it is. So it was a great honor. It's a prestigious institution, and it was great that they were able to do that for me.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: You didn't embarrass your wife while you were there, did you?
[00:02:35] Speaker B: Oh, I always do that. But come on, if I did it, what fun would it be? No.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Talk a little bit about your path to the Kendall campus. I know you were here maybe in another role, and talk about that, if you would.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: Well, you know, when I realized that coaching was kind of something I wanted to do, my original idea was I wanted to be a sports psychologist. So I mastered kinesiology, and then I got my bachelor's in psychology. And I was shocked how much the psychology degree helped me in coaching. You know, there's so many different characteristics, so many different types of personalities that you try to get one message across the 15 guys, and they all think differently. So I think it was pretty cool to have that background a little bit. We as coaches become counselors as well. And then, you know, I went to grad school and I coached high school for a while, and I said, you know what? I really want to go back to the college game. And really, the first job that gave me the opportunity, opportunity to really understand college athletics was here at Miami Dade College. I was an assistant Coach here from 2003 to 2005. I was an adjunct professor, and I taught SLS that I miss tremendously. That was so much fun for me being in the classroom. I really missed that part of it. But those two years really, really taught me how to recruit, how to work, you know, things that took for you to be dedicated to the time if you really wanted to get to the highest level. And that was really kind of what put clarity from me. The story was I was a finalist for the head job with a guy named Butch Estes, who had way more experience than I did, and we were the two finalists, and he got the job. But funny enough, he calls me after he gets a job and says, hey, listen, I know we were competing, but I need somebody that has connections down here. Would you be interested in being my assistant? And I thought from him to make that Call was somebody with such a humble approach, you know, because usually when you look at somebody as competition, you're like, oh, I don't want to bring them up. But he went the other way. We're close friends to this day. He's actually the head coach at Barry University, and we talk weekly. And for me, that opportunity is the one that really kind of got me started. But I know we only got a little time, but I'm just going to go Cliff note version. Miami Dade, two years. FAU with Matt Doherty for three years to 2008, 2008 to 2009. University of Miami with Frank Hath, 2009 to 2012. High Point University, Division 1 school in North Carolina with Scott Cherry, who played at Carolina, who won a national championship in 93 after high point one, not even one year. Eight months in 1213 with Richard Pitino at FIU. Really successful. We go to Minnesota for four weeks. Rick Pitino's assistant gets a head job. I got close to Coach P through that year. He liked me for whatever reason. I fooled him. He calls me, you know, I don't know, April of 2013, and offers me a job at the University of Louisville, one of the most premier blue blood programs in the country. So I was with him under his tutelage for four, and I was lucky enough to get the head job at Division I Arkansas State for six. And then now I'm here as the AD and trying to bring all my experiences from coaching and, you know, mentoring young kids and mentoring coaches to build this program to be the best it could be in the country.
[00:05:40] Speaker A: Well, some impressive coaches there on another podcast. We need to talk about some of those guys.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: I like it.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: But talk now a little bit about the director of athletics here. What is the role of that? And talk a little bit about your philosophy in that role.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: Yeah. So the number one thing that people need to understand when it comes to athletics, and especially in my position, is you want to make sure that you got to understand if it wasn't for the student athletes, we wouldn't have a job. The coaches wouldn't have one. I wouldn't have one. So we have to take into consideration and understand that they're the most important people in the room. You know, we. We have to make sure they're taken care of. And I've said this from day one at the Kendall campus, starting from you, the leadership up top, all the way down to. I mean, even the custodial staff, it's the best team I've ever been around. They really Take care of the athlete, they and the student for that matter. They really want to make sure they're taken care of academically. They got all the stuff that they need. If they don't have it, how can we help them? So my job is to make sure that the path that they have when they're here, they're really enjoying the time that they are at this institution for multiple reasons. One mainly is they want to use the resources that they have here to be successful. Right. Everybody thinks they come here to play whatever, basketball, baseball. Yes, God gave them a talent as a path to allow them to be successful in academics. That that's going to be their life for the next 50 years. They'll be done playing at 35. God hope 40, but what are they going to do from 40 to 80, you know, and this time in academics is what's really going to mold that. So the sport is just a path. So my job is to make sure that all these young men and women enjoy the time that they're using on the field, on the court. Do we give them everything they need? Do they have the right mind space? Do they have the right coaches in place academically? Are they sound to make sure they're successful? Because a lot of them wouldn't be in college if it wasn't for sport.
And that goes for a lot of different areas. So my job is to make sure that they understand that life after sports is here, it's now. What are you doing in the now? You know, I always say you're here from one year to this year. So let's say it's 2024 to 2026. That's the two years you'll be on Miami Dade. That's great. The start and the end is one thing. What are you, the dash in the middle? What are you doing during that dash? That's the important part. Are you, are you really taking advantage of the resources you have? And we want to be the number one athletic program in the country, not just in wins and losses, but recognition nationally and also academic awards. We want our kids to graduate, want them to go to four year schools. We want them to have good grades. It's not, you know, that's not the message that we send. And we have all the resources here to do that.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: Very good answer. I love that answer. Talk a little bit about what athletics contributes to our overall student experience here at the Kendall campus.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Miami Dade College, because we're, we're the athletic program for the college.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: Yeah. So that's the number I'M glad you said that because I kid around with all the different campuses. You know, I don't remember back in the day, the Barracudas were against the Jaguars and we were south and you were north. You know, that's awesome. Like that. That's great competition. However, we have now come together as one family. You know, we represent Kendall because we're stationed here, but we represent North West, Homestead, Padrone. I mean, everybody the same. Because no matter what, if you walk on Wolfson's campus and you see our logo, it's the Sharks. It's not another animal. We're all the same. So I'm trying to kind of like build that bridge back where all the campuses are kind of like behind the athletic department. You know, we all compete with admissions and we all compete with, you know, credit hours and all that. That's great. That's good. It makes us better. But at the end of the day, when there's a basketball game, we represent everybody and the students, we give them that, that experience because I think not only can they come in and enjoy a good sporting event, if we recruit the right kids, you're going to see kids on that court or on that field that will be playing at high level institutions after they leave here. So they might turn the TV on one day and see Facundo Ochoa, who, who's going to be an All American in soccer. And if he shouldn't, there needs to be some questions asked, right? He's a freshman, two years. If he's playing at the University of North Carolina and a kid turns on a tv, hey, I know him. He was in my English class. How cool is that? That's a network. That's a connection. So besides being that, besides having good quality, we bring a lot of opportunities for kids in the classroom. We have games that are live streamed. If you're involved in broadcasting, communications, come see us marketing during games. If you. That's an area you want to touch. Business, come, we can help with that. Because athletics builds that bridge with those kids that maybe didn't play the game but love watching it and want to be a part of it, ticket sales, finances, compliance, everything in the athletic world touches all these different areas. So if you're a student on the Kendall campus, or any campus for that matter, that just loves watching sports but doesn't know how to get involved because they can't play, that's fine. We'll put you behind the scoreboard and you can help us market the game. That's coming up. Social media, you know, so I think that's a connection that I think students and faculty need to understand that we're an avenue to help them build their brand, whatever class that may be. English. We write stories for every game. Come help us write a synopsis of the week's calendar events. You know, those are all things that I think people need to. That's what it brings to the school. And it brings a little bit of clout. You know, when they run into somebody that goes to Santa Fe, their buddy that left them and was. And comes down and says, by the way, we beat you three times in volleyball. You know what I mean? That's the fun part. But for me, I think it's a connection with academics and athletics on the campuses that they. That we should continue to build.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: Yeah, a lot of great opportunities. Well, let's get to the nitty gritty. Let's talk about our sports team. So we got three teams that are doing pretty well this fall. So talk a little bit about volleyball and then about our new men's and women's soccer team, if you would.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm extremely proud of the way the fall semester has gone so far. You know, it's almost like a Cinderella type story when you start two new programs. One that we had before, another one that we just started, and then volleyball, who's been a powerhouse for a while now, that's no surprise. I think it's harder for people to understand they've always been good, but how hard is it to stay good like that? People don't understand how hard that is to be successful year in and year out, you know, but we have all the resources. Kiko Benoit is our head coach. He's been here for 23 years, 17 as a head coach. This is his 17th season. He's won two national championships, and he's won more as an assistant. Ideala Madero was the coach prior to here. Cookie Stevens was at before. They were both successful as well. So he's kind of kept that pipeline. And right now we're undefeated. We're 18 and 0. We're number one in the country. You know, the volleyball team, when you sit down and look at guidelines or the Cliff Notes to be a successful program at any level. I think our volleyball team is that we have girls that come from different countries that leave their families to come to United States. They're all really good students. They were the second highest team GPA in our department last year with a 3.5. We have girls graduate from that school to go on. We had six Girls last year go on to division one institutions and then we win, you know, so I don't know what else you can ask for besides that. And that's where volleyball is sitting right now. We're number one in the country. Our toughest game is going to be next week against the number two team in the country. And we beat them at our place and we got to play them over there. So, you know. But I'm really pleased with the process that Kiko has taken this year. He's taken a business approach. He's got great girls and, you know, it's showing so far. And then you move to soccer. When I get the job here, they're like, oh, hey, by the way, we're starting soccer. Oh, hey, by the way, we're building a stadium. Oh, hey, by the way, you need to hire two coaches. Oh, hey, by the way, we need to recruit 30 athletes. You know, it was all at once and it was exciting and we got two really good coaches. Men's side, Giuseppe Depaulo, who came from Inter Miami, they're number six in the country. They're also undefeated. They're 10 and oh. So between those two sports, we're perfect in the win column. And he's built that from scratch. He had nobody on the rock. We did not have a pencil. When he got here on campus, we had to get him a desk, we had to get him a computer, we had to get him his first set of cleats. Like it was literally started from zero. The great thing about men's soccer here is we got some tradition. We won two national championships here. So there's some back there where you have alumni that really wanted to bring this back and it were successful and it was surprising to a lot when they did away with the program, but they were even more happy when we brought it back. So the men's team is doing great. We have a lot of first year guys. We are not going to lose a lot of players for next year. Not starting about talking about next year yet, but knock on wood, but they all stay. We only have a couple sophomores. We have two kids that have an opportunity to play after here, in my opinion, maybe more, you know, and I don't know much about soccer, about the strategy. I just love watching it. But I can tell an athlete and a good player when I see one. So we have a couple that have a chance to play after here for money someday and make, you know, all American grades wise. We get progress reports, they're great. Even the kids that aren't from this country. They're really working hard to do well in school. And then the women's program is sitting at nine and three. So yeah, those are the three losses we have between the three sports. But yet coach Romero Vengochea, who won state championships at Lord's, who runs one of them a premier programs in South Florida in Pine Crest Soccer Club, they got three losses, but yet they've had injuries left and right. For him to get nine wins in his first year and being ranked, you know, in the top 20 from year one again, he didn't have a pencil either. I don't even think he still has a pencil. I think he's just trying to figure find his pencil now. But what he's done in his time here is amazing. So when you look at all the, all the records, you got 18 plus 10, that's 28 plus 9, that's 37, you're 37 and 3 in the three sports that are competing right now. And I'm going to add men's and women's basketball to that in the fall because they play in the fall as well. So really excited. I know it's a long winded answer, but you know, I can't talk enough about those three sports so far.
[00:15:09] Speaker A: Very much proud of all those athletes and coaches and I appreciate all that on it talk. Now you mentioned basketball. We also have men's and women's basketball and our softball and baseball teams are going through fall ball and matter of fact, first games are this week. Talk a little bit about those four programs if you would.
[00:15:23] Speaker B: Yeah. So men's and women's basketball teams are officially in season. They just haven't started the official games yet. Their official start practice was October 1st. So they're kind of rolling through now. Their first game will be November 1st and they play a couple exhibitions prior to that. But baseball and softball have their fall season really more so to see what players they will keep for the spring semester and then hone the ones that they've signed on. Scott. So it's kind of a preseason type deal for them and then they play the abundance of their games in the spring. You know, again basketball with George Fernandez. I worked with him at Miami in 2008. Way back he was associate head coach, University of Miami. Successful, really great recruiter, excellent coach, really gets along with the guys. Funny as all get out, you know, the guys like that. Coach Summons is a legend. She's been here for I think we're going on 296 year. I think something like that. But she's amazing. She's. She's been a professor here. She's got her doctorate. She speaks motivational conventions all the time. She approaches things the right way. And she was gone for a little bit and came back. So she's kind of trying to rebuild this whole thing between the time she left and the time she's. She's returned. So we're hoping that they have a great year, but I'm really excited about those two teams. Both have brand new teams from last year. Eight new players or more minimum on each team. And then baseball right now has a roster of 40. Yeah, we can't keep 40, but there'll be 28. So we'll see from those 40 who are registered, who won't make it, who sit out, you know, that type of thing. And then Gina Diaguero, our women's softball coach, she has about 24 on the roster right now, and she brought a ton back from last year. So I'm excited about all of them. I mean, I can't wait. I can, because I know the year will be over with when there's no more games. But I love when that time comes to look back and see how good our teams are going to be.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: Yeah. You mentioned recruiting. Talk a little bit about how we recruit athletes here in general here at the college.
[00:17:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, let me start off by saying that, you know, we. We do have a certain criteria that we look for. And every coach, we've come to an agreement. And number one, the character is a number one thing that when it comes to bringing kids to Miami Dade College. So let's throw talent out the window because if you weren't talented enough, we wouldn't be talking about you as a recruit. So that's a given. Right. They have to be good enough to play at this level. And what level are we competing at? At the national level, Not Citrus Conference, great schools, not Region 8 great schools. We're talking about teams in Utah, California, New York, Texas. We want to compete with. With them nationally. So when you talk about understanding the talent is there, the next thing is character. You know, we look at their approach to academics, we look at that. Their approach to teamwork. You know, can they be flexible with teammates? You know, is it about them? Is it about the team? I say it every year in our student athlete orientation. And I. And I stole this from Coach Patino, one of the best models I ever saw. He says, if you play for the name on the front, the name on the back will prosper. Meaning, yes, the nas Name technically supposed to be in the back of the jersey. However, you got to don't play for that name because if you play for that name, it's selfish, you know, especially in the team sport. We don't have any individual sports here. Not zero. There's no tennis, there's no golf. It's all team sports. So it's not about the last name. It's about Miami Dade. And if you play for Miami Dade, what happens is everybody prospers. You win, then you get your teammates scholarship opportunities because they come see you and they go see somebody else. The coaches prosper, the assistant coaches end up getting better jobs, right? The assistant coach you and they get a head job somewhere else. Our coaches get national recognition, the school gets national recognition. You know, so every wins, everybody wins. So the character is number one. You know, when we talk about their background, what is the reason why they're coming and if they say, oh, because I want to go play pro one day, if that's your answer, this is probably not the right place for you. Because during that process, you're also going to get a high quality education. I'm talking about faculty members that are renowned nationally here. We have them here at the Kendall campus. We have great programs when it comes to business and it comes to education. One of the best in the state of Florida. We're top four public universities right now in the country. Like those are things that we need for them to take advantage of. So academics is extremely important. Are you going to come here and be prepared for the rigors of the academics? And then the last thing is, will you represent yourself, the school and your family when you're not around your teammates? You know, when they're at the movie theater and a person spills a bag of popcorn on them, how will they react? Are they going to be wearing a Miami Dade basketball shirt? Are they going to get upset? Are they going to throw their hands up and they're going to embarrass themselves? Or are they going to say, listen, it's okay, I apologize, hey, what's your name, you know, that type of thing. So we have to trust that character wise in the community. They're going to represent our school well. So when it comes to recruiting and when you throw talent number one, one A is character, one B is seriousness to academics, and then, you know, one C is probably how they are with their teammates. You know, you look at all that and if all those components fit, they're probably the right person for here. If one of them doesn't, can we work on that quality to improve because nobody's perfect. So the perfect recruit is one through, you know, A through D or C. But if C is missing, can we help them get to where C is important? And if we can do that, then it's a good place for them.
[00:20:24] Speaker A: That's a great answer. Talk a little bit about international students. We're in a very unique location in Miami. How do you recruit international students and do we have a game plan with that?
[00:20:33] Speaker B: Well, what I do is I send them a live video of the beach and they all come. No, I'm. That got me here right now. So when you look at obviously the city, Miami is probably the biggest besides New York and Chicago, the biggest potpourri of different types of nationalities in one place and being feeling comfortable, you know what I mean? English is probably the second language of Miami. So people that come from other countries that speak Spanish don't feel uncomfortable when they walk in Miami because they can still communicate. You know, the deterrent of that is they continue to speak Spanish. We got to speak English. Right. So we have a unique situation where our international department and I've dealt with ton of them at nine different universities. I can't believe how willing they are to help the student forget just the athlete. Because I've seen them work with students in general when I've been over there waiting for Jennifer or, you know, waiting for Brusada. I just see how they interact with regular students and I'm floored at the attention they give them. So the our academic office is excellent when it comes to getting your Sevis visa appointment, helping you get all your paperwork, your i20s. Like, that's a smooth process. Never seen it before in my entire life. Either they have a cheat sheet that nobody else has or they just work harder. It's probably the second one, you know. So our international students, when they get here, they feel really comfortable because academically and school wise, they feel like they're wanted because you have a department that once they first see them, they got to report to them first. The first people they see is Brusaid and Jennifer. So how are they going to react? Oh my gosh, thank you for all your help. Then they meet their coaches and then they meet their teammates, and then they meet the professors and then they meet, you know, so it becomes this easy transition. And I'm sure it's hard for a lot of them when you're leaving your family 1,000 miles away. I get it. But how can we make it more comfortable for them and this campus with the amount of international kids that we have, we have a great opportunity for more international kids to want to come here because we have all the things that you need to be successful and support them.
[00:22:25] Speaker A: That's a great answer. I know you've only been athletic director on your second season, but what are, what are some of the things that you're most proud of in your accomplishments so far?
[00:22:33] Speaker B: You know what my proudest moment was? And I didn't think it would be this, right, Because I'm going to say it right now. I'm on a podcast and we're all speaking truth here, right? I was a terrible student.
I was, I think not until I got to college did I really start to focus on the academic side. I mean, I struggled. I struggled for a couple reasons. Because I didn't ask for help. I was too proud to ask for help. That's one of the things that I tell all the student athletes. Do not be too proud to ask for help. I wish I wouldn't went back, you know, doesn't make you dumb. It doesn't make you less than somebody else. It actually, you become more of a. Of a person that will be willing because once you receive the help, you're going to help somebody else. So I say that because my most proudest moment, honestly, has nothing to do with any wins, making the national championship game, starting soccer. My proudest moment was when I stood on stage and was able to shake and hug every student athlete as they walk by to get their AA degree. Honestly, like, that was the coolest thing for me, all of them. So when they get up, I sit on the stage, and when they get up, I stand in that line and I. I try to either high five or hug every single one, because I. That journey to see them get through and last year was kind of weird because it was only one year. This year, I'll get to see a bunch of them that was here for two. So that, to me so far, has been my proudest moment. You know what I mean? And that moment will resurface again, you know, next May, right? Or April, whatever. So besides the wins, those come and go, those are fun for an hour. And you get home and you got to win the next game, you know, you're worried about the next one. But those kids, when they walk across that stage and they feel that accomplishment, you know, they high five you and you see them smiling and you see their families in the, in the stands like that, to me, is the proudest moment.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: Well, we'll do that together. This May, because it also is one of my favorite things too to see students come across. We have a lot of other facilities on campus to support our athletes, like our fitness center, our racket complex, our aquatic center. How do those facilities support our athletes in our programs?
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Well, I'll say number one, it's funny. It's a great day for you to ask me that question because I just walked around campus with a gentleman named Kyle. Kyle is doing an event here on December 6th. They're doing made basketball, which is one of the top premier tournaments in the country. We're going to have five of the top 10 teams here on December 6th and 7th. So I say that to give them a little plug. But the interesting part was you talk about facilities. Kyle was the AAU coach for a gentleman named Dior Johnson, playing in the NBA by University of Cincinnati, really successful out of Ohio. He walked around campus, he walked up to our gym for the first time, saw our soccer field, saw the baseball, walked him around our. Where the kids live, the apartments, talk, you know, showed him the weight room and he was like, if I would have known about this place, I would have sent all my players to this juco.
So that shows you, number one, our facilities helps in recruiting. Just by somebody, I'd never seen it. Now that word. He's going to talk to a friend of his who has players who they're going to come in up in conversations, hey, this kid needs to go. Juco. Miami Dade. I just got there. I just saw it. Unbelievable. Call Mike, call Coach Fernandez, whatever, you know what I mean? So recruiting is big because kids like to be comfortable where they play. They want to have resources. And that's why we're continuing to build the facilities here. When they come, they see that they're going to have everything they need. My answer, when I sit with in exit meetings with all the athletes, because I sit with all of them when they leave, I never want to hear, man, Mike, if we just had this, I would have been more successful. That that's what I never want to hear. I want to give them everything they need. So if they don't reach their goal, it's not because Miami Dade did not provide them with what they needed to be successful. So the facilities plays a big part, you know, to. And by the way, our facilities used for a lot more than basketball.
You know, we have the Mexican festival and there we have graduation in there we have. I mean, that's great when we have those, even though our teams can't play, we love the opportunity that the Community can come in and see the gym and be a part of it.
[00:26:14] Speaker A: Well, and even today we have Jackson Health 1100 employees. Their leadership team is here, who I've worked with at the medical campus. And they couldn't get over how great a gym it was and awesome facility. So that's a great answer if you pull out your crystal ball. Where would you like to see the program in the next five years? Or what's your vision for Miami Dade College athletics?
[00:26:33] Speaker B: I have a, I have a really, really steep expectation when it comes to academics. We've talked about it in cabinet meetings. My goal is to have 100 graduation rate and 100 transfer rate. Some people say that's impossible. Great, you know, try me. I mean, I'm okay with it. That's my goal. I want every kid that finishes here in their second year of participation receive their AA and or go to a four year school and play or just attend. So that's academically, in five years, I want to be able to say that we've done that or we're consistently close to that number, right? So athletically, I would like our program to be the staple for other schools to say, man, what is Miami Dade doing that they're so good every year in every sport, you know, what is it about that place that makes them special? So maybe we can mirror that because again, it's not about us kind of holding the secret. If we share the secret, we're still going to have it, we're still going to work towards it, but we can help other institutions become competitive and then maybe they'll graduate 100% of their kids, right? So it's about helping each other and it's about the competition. But we want in five years for us to be number one in every sport, top five in every sport, win conference championships consistently, win state championships consistently. When it doesn't happen, it's a surprise. Not, oh, we did it right and we got to get there first. But I want to be able to be able to sit in a room with other ads and say, hey, listen guys, this is what we did. This worked for us. Maybe that's something you guys can do and listen to them, you know, so we want to be the staple for every junior college in the country to look at this place and say, what are they doing academically and athletically to make them so good every year, year in and year out? And again, you can mirror all you want. I tell people all the time, the thing that separates everything, you can have all the answers to the test it's the person taking the test. It's always about the people. You know, you got to hire the right people, you got to have the right people around you on a consistent basis. Positive, wanting to do the right thing, wanting to help. We have that here. So I don't know how many places you can find that. You know what I mean? Now, can you work towards it?
[00:28:32] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:28:32] Speaker B: Good luck. Right, but we're good, so we have that part. So our hope is to be top in every program for years to come.
[00:28:40] Speaker A: Well, you had pretty good success this last year. Tell our audience those numbers from this last academic year.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: Yeah, we had 90% of our student athletes go on to four year institutions. I was actually doing the numbers today. We had 88.8% graduation rate.
We had one fall at the end of the summer that we just found out about, so I had to drop the number. But, you know, 88% still pretty darn good. I think the year before was 85. So we're still working towards that. That high number.
Our volleyball team went to the national championship game for the second year in a row. Hopefully get back there again. You know, baseball would finish third. And we want to improve on that. So, you know, there's a lot of accolades. We had a bunch of kids that were all academic, both NJCA nationally and also fcsaa, which is a region.
So there's a lot of things, a lot of great things. Are there things we need to improve? Sure. And there's never going to be a perfect year. Like we can win every game in every sport and graduate every kid. And you sit in my office and we have a podcast. I'm going to find some. Because there's always something to improve on. We're never perfect. You know, I could improve. Maybe it's me, maybe I. I'm the one that needs to get better at certain areas, you know, so there's always room for improvement.
[00:29:47] Speaker A: And you had two of your athletes in baseball that were drafted, right?
[00:29:51] Speaker B: That's correct.
[00:29:51] Speaker A: So, you know, would have graduated. But hey, they're in Major League Baseball.
[00:29:54] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And by the way, successful. I spoke to both of them and I said, I expect them back this summer.
[00:29:59] Speaker A: That's great.
[00:29:59] Speaker B: You know, I told them when, when you're in the off season, one six credit short, the other was nine credit short. Please, I'm not hearing it. And if I have to raise money to help pay for it, I will like that. That's what I try to explain to these student athletes. Like our relationship doesn't end when you walk through the door, it doesn't end when you, you know, you walk out and say, hey, Mike, thanks for everything. Like, I want to be the person myself, their coaches that get invited to their wedding. You know, I mean, like that, that to me is, is a consistent. Because one of those players might be the owner of a team one day.
[00:30:29] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: You know what I mean? One of those players might be the head of a company one day, you know, and, and she's the most successful female in the United States because she plays softball here. I'll tell you, Fowler, I'll tell you, Fowler is going to have a huge business. She does the shoes. She, she draws on shoes and all that. We got her some, a connection in Wynwood. Like when she be, when she gets it big, I'm tell her, like, yo, you don't forget my number. Like, you know, I mean, I want to, I want to act cool. Like, I know you, but I was.
[00:30:52] Speaker A: Here to help you.
[00:30:52] Speaker B: Yeah, but that. And not really, but that, that's more. So that's what it's about, you know, it's about the relationship that continuously gets to foster even after they leave here. And that's something I hope we can build.
[00:31:03] Speaker A: My last question. What would you say to an aspiring athlete, future student, future athlete, who might want to attend Miami Dade College? This is your recruiting time, right?
[00:31:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, here's what I'll say. How many times do you get the opportunity to compete at a top five public institution, top five athletic institution, one of the only schools in the country, maybe the only one at our level, that gets sponsored by a global shoe brand in Adidas, gets to travel and make nil money. We're the only, think junior college or one of the only ones that have an nil deal with Adidas, that they can actually make money if they wear Adidas stuff. And then you have a team of people that are going to help you graduate academically and get you to where you're supposed to go. Because if you look at our numbers, for the past two, three years, we've had 88% graduation rate. We have 90% people go on. And we want that to get 95. So that's why we need you to come to our school to help us continue to build that number. And we would not be recruiting you if you weren't a good person. And if it's going to be too hard for you, if you don't want to go to a place that cares about the student that has a real college experience and has great academic and athletic school. It's probably not the right place for you playing to go somewhere else. But if you want those challenges and you want to compete and push yourself, Miami Dade is probably a good spot.
[00:32:16] Speaker A: Very good. Very good answer. We like to end our Kendall Speaks podcast with turning the microphone back the other way. Any question you'd like to ask me and, and turn it back toward me?
[00:32:26] Speaker B: No, you know, no questions, but more, more comments. So thank you for your leadership since you've been here. I, I think that people don't understand the importance of the support from the administration makes athletics go. And with Madeline and yourself and your background in athletics, you know, we kind of speak the same language sometimes, you know, and the great thing is I have a great buffer because you're on the other side, you know, you're on the academic side as well, where I haven't been on it as a lot. So maybe some things that I say, you're like, you're nuts. You can't do that. And that's great. That helps me learn. But, you know, as far as the leadership that's going on here, just keep doing a great job, you know, that's all I'll say. And I'm hoping that we can continue to build this relationship, to have our athletic department be great.
[00:33:07] Speaker A: I appreciate that. I really hope for a tough question, but I won't turn down a compliment.
[00:33:11] Speaker B: Or two for it, so.
[00:33:12] Speaker A: Well, Athletic director Mike Bilotto, thank you for being here today. This has been a very enthusiastic podcast. We appreciate all you're doing and we're looking forward forward to the rest of this season and looking at the great success. So I want to thank everyone for listening today. I want to thank our head writer, Christine Saenz, Paul Klein, our executive producer, and Alex Bello, our producer on the program today. Thank you all for joining us and goodbye for now.
[00:33:45] Speaker B: It.
