Joe and Tom are joined by Ben Mathis-Lilley, Senior Writer at Slate Magazine and author of his new book, The Hot Seat. In this episode, Ben talks about his motivations for writing the book and how he was able to embed himself in the Michigan football community to truly understand the perspectives of different stakeholders, especially the fans. He discusses the state of college football and explains how it differs from the general sports landscape. Ben shares his insights on the nature of fandom and whether the new NCAA’s transfer portal policy will impact it in the future. He also offers his opinion on the positives and potential risks of the college conference realignment. Finally, Ben talks about what it is like to be a journalist in 2022 and gives essential advice on improving writing skills for students and professionals. You do not want to miss out on this engaging and insightful episode on The CUSP show. The CUSP Show is a production by the faculty of Sports Management at Columbia University. You can get in touch with the program on Twitter @CU_SPS_Sports. The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR). The show is produced by Yash Agarwal ’22 (@yashagarwal655) and Sam Marks ’22 with Jillian Quinn ’22 (@JillianMQuinn) and Dominique Smith ’22 managing social media efforts.