Pepp Talk

In an era where NCAA student-athletes are being given a bigger voice in the process of shaping the future of college athletics, James Gehrels is in the right place at the right time. The senior on the Pepperdine men's volleyball team, who aspires to become an athletic director one day, is a member of the Division I national SAAC and is playing a major part in determining policies regarding student-athlete time demands. We discuss his role and his life as a volleyball student-athlete with the Waves.

With the Pepperdine women's volleyball team about to get the 2016 season underway, this week's episode is a conversation with head coach Scott Wong. The Pepperdine alum was also a standout men's volleyball player back in the day for the Waves. We discuss his life in volleyball and this year's team.

Doug Christie is a Pepperdine basketball legend who earned two-time All-American honors before going on to a 15-year career in the NBA. We talk about how he's stayed close to the program, his playing days in Malibu (which includes a couple of good Tom Asbury and Marv Dunphy stories) and his time in the pros, and in particular with the Sacramento Kings.

Marty Wilson is heading into his sixth season as the head coach of the Pepperdine men's basketball program. We discuss welcoming the newcomers to the squad, the quality of his veteran returners, recruiting, schedule-making and being the head coach at his alma mater.

Water polo icon Terry Schroeder is in his second stint and his 24th season as the Waves' head coach. But on the eve of the Olympics, we primarily discuss his incredible history with USA Water Polo, which includes being named to four Olympic teams as an athlete and being the head coach at two others. We also talk about a newly released book that focuses on his life and USA Water Polo called "Swimming Through Life."

Sean Rooney is one of just a handful of Waves who have won a gold medal at the Olympics as an athlete. The Pepperdine men's volleyball standout was a National Player of the Year before joining the U.S. National Team, and after the conclusion of his playing career, he returned to Malibu as an assistant coach. We talk to him about playing for the Waves and USA Volleyball.

Merrill Moses is headed to his third Olympics as the starting goalkeeper for the USA men's water polo team. He won a national championship at Pepperdine and is now the Waves' assistant coach. He talks about his history with USA Water Polo, being one of the veterans on a young 2016 Olympic team, playing for Terry Schroeder and representing Pepperdine on the world's biggest stage.

Marv Dunphy is a legend in the sport of volleyball. As head coach at Pepperdine University, he's won four NCAA titles, and he's about to head to his seventh Olympics with USA Volleyball (he was the head coach of the USA gold-medal-winning men's team in 1988, and he's a scout coach with the USA women in 2016). He's the first interview subject of the Pepp Talk podcast as we discuss his Olympic history.

What is the newly created Pepp Talk podcast? We're bringing the best of Pepperdine Athletics to our fans in an interview format. Here's a quick introduction, plus some clips from our first few episodes.