Mark A. Emmert, the NCAA’s new president, talked with reporters on Wednesday about some of the key issues facing college athletics. The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced yesterday evening that Mr. Emmert, president of the University of Washington since 2004, would assume the association’s top post on November 1. Below are a few snippets from this morning’s conference call.
On whether the University of Washington’s budget situation influenced his decision to leave:
Those budget issues actually make it much harder to leave the university rather than easier. The university is facing a lot of challenges, and I very much would have liked to stay and manage those issues a bit longer.
On how he will he handle the so-called spending crisis in college sports:
The solutions are going to be idiosyncratic. Each school and college is going to have to make determinations in their best interest.
The role of the NCAA in overseeing or constraining budgets is a highly limited role, and we’ll have to use the bully pulpit and our ability to discuss these issues and provide leadership.
On how hard the job might be:
Running a major university is also an area that’s got lots of challenges these days, so I don’t shy away from challenges. In this particular case, I know I have the support and collegiality of university presidents around the country.
On how he will he approach the enforcement of NCAA rules:
I take that extremely seriously. Whether it’s a high-profile or a low-profile institution should be irrelevant. Rules have got to be managed fairly and equitably … the process has to be thoughtful.
It’s the part of the job that many people don’t like. They see the NCAA sometimes as akin to the IRS in the enforcement of rules. But the reality is that’s part of what we do, and the most important principle is that we’re doing it in order to maintain the quality of competition.
On what he can accomplish as NCAA president that he couldn’t do as a university president:
It will allow me to leverage the enormous impact and clout of sport in America. We understand the impact of athletics on society is enormous. It can be a force that provides students with great leadership opportunities … or it can have some negative impacts. What I want to do is maximize those positive impacts and minimize the negative impact.
2 Responses to Thoughts From the New NCAA Chief
11159995 - April 28, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Yes, “negative impacts” like seeing your swimming team disappear, in favor of having more money to pay a football coach, as happened under Mr. Emmert’s watch at Washington. I confess to a bias here as my colleagiate sport was swimming.—Sandy Thatcher
looksioux - April 29, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Big time college football and basketball programs are all about money and entertainment. It’s a well known charade that has been going on for decades, and the colleges cannot resist the exposure, publicity, and glory. The public seems to love it more each year. The NCAA can be nothing more than what the member institutions decide; it seems evident that the 120 or so “major” programs want it just the way it is. Mr. Emmert is a highly qualified insider; if anyone is so naive to believe that big time college football and basketball will somehow be diminished in the future, or that money will not continue to drive all the NCAA does, I have this bridge in Brooklyn….