Layer 3: Governance & handoffs

Execution gap — enablement vs. cabinet intent

Annualized drag between executive clarity and what programs can execute without local workarounds—relevant to oversight, donors, and NCAA posture.

DFR: 8.42

Estimated friction tax

$2.4M

Diagnostic truth

Section A / causal imbalance (where the play breaks)

Driver: communication80%

Constraint: capacity36%

Diagnosis: the unfused mandate

The call from the AD chair is heard upstairs, but travel, compliance, and staffing bandwidth can’t line up fast enough every snap.

Yellow card: friction is already showing up as delayed decisions, blown handoffs, and burnout on the support roster.

Section C / symptom cascade (how drag runs down the depth chart)

Level 1-2

AD / senior staff

4.4

Level 3

Sport supervisors / senior ops

3.1

Drifting on friction

Level 4-6

Assistants & frontline staff

1.6

Critical

Consult note: steepest decay is from sport leadership downward—your depth chart feels the hit first.

Section D / adjustment simulator (workbench)

Sandbox: predictive ROI

Simulate capacity upgrade (tools, headcount)Current: 1.8

Simulate priorities & messaging clarityCurrent: 4.2

Predictive ROI

$1.1M

Potential friction-tax relief

Section E / secondary friction monitors

Execution gap

+0.4

Signals / week

Priority shifts increase task-switching and slow handoffs between sports.

Cohesion gap

+0.8

Escalations / week

Coordination still runs through the AD office or a few trusted HCs.

Meaning gap

+0.2

Drift / week

Purpose thins as ownership and roster clarity get muddled.

Section F / strike coordinates

Primary target

Frontline capacity reinforcement

+0.7 in 30 days

Lift throughput before the next recruiting or championships sprint.

Signal target

Decision pulse remediation

Cut approval lag ~35%

Turn approval stacks into SLA-based routing with fewer replays.