[lawrence-newsletter]As Suzanne Gilreath sees her Wisconsin career come to an end on the floor, she has already begun her career off of the hardwood. Gilreath has aspirations to take that on-court experience and translate it to the world of sports media. The Wisconsin guard, who just finished up her senior season with the Badgers, recently started a podcast called “Beneath it All” that features in-depth interviews with Badger athletes past and present. Her podcast guests include Nigel Hayes, Rashard Griffith, and Madison Cone among others. BadgersWire caught up with Gilreath to talk about her podcast and her best memories as a Badger basketball player.
BadgersWire: What was your favorite part about being a Wisconsin student-athlete?
Gilreath: My favorite part about being a student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was making an impact on the bigger community such as fans and outreach on campus. I loved that every game I would be making a child’s dream come true by showing them they can be a women’s basketball player one day.
BadgersWire: What is your best on-court memory from your time at Wisconsin?
Gilreath: The best memory I had on the Kohl Center court was Kelly Karlis’ game-winning 3 pointer against Nebraska with .7 seconds left on the clock. The Kohl Center was sold out that game too, so it was an amazing atmosphere to play in.
BadgersWire: What inspired you to start your podcast?
Gilreath: The inspiration behind my podcast was Oprah Winfrey, and my passion for storytelling and want to always ask questions. In the summer of 2018, I would listen to her podcast episodes every day and I realized then that I need to start my own podcast. I begin to understand that I love the aspect of knowing who an athlete is because we often define a student-athlete by what they are producing in their respected sport, but I want to highlight the aspect that athletes have stories to tell that have shaped who they are today. The name was inspired because I want to understand the athlete beyond their sports and focus on the non-obvious things about them.
BadgersWire: What has been your favorite moment from the podcast so far or a great memory from episodes you’ve done?
Gilreath: A great memory I’ve had so far with the podcast is with Montee Ball because his story was intriguing to me and he came into the interview with such great energy about inspiring those who are going through problems of addiction. But to be truthful, every podcast episode I’ve done is my favorite because I love the fact that I am able to provide a platform for these current and former athletes to tell stories or experiences that have shaped who they are today.
BadgersWire: What are your future goals?
Gilreath: My goal is to continue playing basketball overseas post-graduation and receive my masters while playing too.
A link to Gilreath’s podcast: Beneath it All