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Rus Bradburd

Courtesy of Rus Bradburd

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose sits down with Rus Bradburd—former UTEP and NMSU assistant basketball coach turned author—to discuss his debut novel, Big Time (Etruscan Press, 2024). This sharp satire delves into how money and sponsorships are reshaping higher education in America, all through the lens of the fictional Coors State University.

Bradburd, who coached Division I basketball for 14 seasons (including eight at UTEP), is no stranger to compelling stories. He’s the author of four acclaimed books, including 40 Minutes of Hell, the biography of El Paso sports icon and former University of Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson. After 16 years as a writing professor at New Mexico State, Bradburd brings his insider perspective to his first foray into fiction.

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To download the podcast version visit wordsonawire.org

Originally aired on January 5, 2025

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Will Rose is a longtime technology and marketing executive based out of NYC and Texas. He is the co-founder of Words on a Wire’s publishing imprint, eRadical Books, and now spearheads marketing strategy for the Words on a Wire podcast. He also serves as Chief Technology Officer at the EdTech startup, Student Select, and as Head of Data Science at the artificial intelligence company, Harqen AI.
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