Donald Wine II on Duke Basketball, World Cup Experiences, and Building Sports Communities
What turns a passionate sports fan into someone who helps others find their place in the game? Donald Wine II joins Nick Elam to share his journey across law, Duke basketball, soccer media, supporter groups, and the 2026 World Cup. Then Nick examines a promotion-and-relegation model for professional golf and explains why he gives the concept a positive 8 on his Good Idea Scale.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
• How Donald’s experience leading Duke’s Cameron Crazies influenced his work organizing soccer supporters
• What he admires about the leadership approaches of Jon Scheyer and Kara Lawson
• Why he supports college athlete compensation and transfer opportunities while questioning the structure of NCAA tournament expansion
• How accessible broadcasts, affordable tickets, and community ownership can help grow sports participation
• Why Nick believes promotion and relegation could make golf’s events and standings more compelling
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
00:00 Introducing Donald Wine II and this episode’s sports innovations
01:30 Connecting law, career development, and removing barriers
08:55 College athlete compensation, transfers, and tournament expansion
17:15 Duke coaching leadership and life with the Cameron Crazies
27:35 World Cup experiences, soccer rules, and growing the game
45:25 Golf promotion and relegation: The model and Nick’s +8 rating
53:55 Unlayered: Reactions to Sydney Sweeney’s Novig advertisement
58:35 Next to Last: Buffalo’s drive before the Music City Miracle
MEET DONALD WINE II:
Donald is an attorney, manager of Stars and Stripes FC, host of USA Soccercast, and co-host of Duke Basketball Roundup. He also works in soccer reporting and supporter-group organizing and serves as board secretary for The Sports Creative, which helps communities create safe spaces and opportunities for children to play.
KEY TOPICS AND IDEAS:
Sports leadership and community: Donald reflects on learning from mentors, organizing fans, and giving communities ownership of youth sports programming.
Soccer rule changes: The discussion covers World Cup expansion, hydration breaks, VAR, offside decisions, and extra time.
Golf promotion and relegation: Nick explains the Championship and Challenger series structure described in the episode. He sees opportunities to reward strong performances and increase interest throughout the standings, with concerns about injured players and support for the lower-tier series.
Unlayered: Nick examines the underlying questions beneath reactions to Sydney Sweeney’s Novig campaign, including women’s agency and the volume of betting-related advertising in sports.
Next to Last: Revisit Buffalo’s late scoring drive and the coaching decisions that preceded Tennessee’s Music City Miracle in January 2000.
Growing a sport takes more than attracting attention. It takes giving people access, a sense of belonging, and opportunities to help shape the experience.
Got a sports rule change or innovation you’d like to see implemented? Send your ideas to Nick and vote on other suggestions on Sports Rule Pod: https://act-3-agency.link/srp-rule-spotify
