{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirst-to-15.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fpeter-grandbois-2fEQ0OaP","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Peter Grandbois on Starting a Collegiate Fencing Program from Scratch","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/a8d2b4f5-c5f7-4551-96c3-da97624a1a99/000073d5-433a-4667-b3e4-924276c48e6c/peter-20grandbois-20podcast.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"College fencing programs aren’t built overnight — and varsity status can take years of persistence, patience, and a campus community that believes fencing belongs.\n\nIn this episode of First to 15, Bryan Wendell sits down with Peter Grandbois, the force behind Denison University’s fencing growth from a small club reboot to a thriving program: a women’s varsity team since 2019 and a men’s team moving from club to varsity in 2026. Grandbois shares what it actually takes to start and sustain a collegiate fencing program from scratch — from recruiting students who’ve never fenced before to building culture, securing budget, and proving long-term stability to administrators.\n\nThey also dig into Grandbois’s own fencing path — sparked by a single college flyer — his veteran-level return to competition (including Team USA’s trip to Dubai), and the overlap he sees between fencing and creative writing: risk, creativity, rejection, and resilience. Plus, a rapid-fire recruiting segment on subject lines, what coaches watch (hint: not just the score), and what surprises most fencers when they arrive on campus."}