When Mark A. Emmert took the stage on Wednesday afternoon to address the 3,000 or so athletics officials who have gathered here for the NCAA’s annual meeting, he exuded charm and more than a bit of self-described “hokey” enthusiasm.
But the NCAA’s new president—who has spent many of his first 100 days on the job defending the association from a barrage of criticism for its handling of two recent high-profile events—soon adopted a sober tone.
Mr. Emmert urged athletics officials to hold fast in challenging times to the “values” that make the collegiate model of athletics unique: protecting the amateur status of college athletes, for starters, and helping those athletes succeed in sports and in life. The sustainability of the entire enterprise depends on it, he said.
“Behaviors that undermine the collegiate model, wherever they occur, are a threat to those basic values,” he said. “If we believe in those values ... we need to be ready to defend them. And if we don’t, then we have to be ready to suffer the criticism that comes from not doing so.”
During his 35-minute speech, Mr. Emmert did not utter the name of Cam Newton, the Auburn quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner whose eligibility was in question over allegations that his father solicited money when the player was being recruited. After a brief investigation, the NCAA upheld Mr. Newton’s eligibility, and he went on to lead Auburn to a national title on Monday. (On Thursday evening, Mr. Newton, a junior, announced he would skip his senior year at Auburn and enter the NFL draft.)
Nor did the NCAA president mention the case last month in which the association, in a decision that puzzled many, suspended five Ohio State football players for the first five games of the 2011 season after they were found to have broken NCAA rules—but allowed them to play in the Sugar Bowl days later.
But even without naming names, Mr. Emmert’s message was direct.
“Let me be really clear about some things that I think require some clarification,” he said, speaking without notes. “It’s wrong for parents to sell the athletic services of their student-athletes to a university, and we need to make sure that we have rules to stop that problem. And today we don’t. We have to fix that.”
What’s more, he said, college athletes will have no chance of being paid on his watch. “They’re not professionals,” he said. “And we’re not going to pay them. And we’re not going to allow other people to pay them to play.”
Quick Action
In the coming months, Mr. Emmert said, he will work with a group of athletic directors, conference commissioners and others across the NCAA’s three divisions to identify the most urgent threats to what he called “the integrity of the collegiate model.” By April, he said, he hopes to have ready for the top legislative groups in each division a package of proposals that would revise NCAA rules in those areas.
The working group will focus on five topics at first, he said. Officials will look at limiting the influence of third parties, particularly athletes’ relatives, in the recruiting process; finding more timely ways for colleges and conferences to report potential NCAA rules violations; and creating a way for athletes who aspire to compete professionally to have “constructive” relationships with agents without compromising their status as amateurs.
The group will also deal with academic fraud and the criteria for determining participation in bowl games and NCAA championships.
Mr. Emmert acknowledged that creating more rules for an enterprise already governed by a maddening tangle of regulations would not solve all problems. Instead, he vowed to work with coaches, athletic directors, and student leaders to bring about changes in behavior as well.
“It’s work we have to get done,” he said. “We have to take those deliberate steps.”