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NCAA names new president to succeed Mark Emmert
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker is set to become the next president of the NCAA following Mark Emmert’s resignation in 2022.
Baker will serve as governor until Jan. 5, 2023 after deciding not to run for re-election. The moderate Republican will assume NCAA presidential duties on March 1, 2023.
Linda Livingstone, President of Baylor University and Chair of the NCAA Board of Governors, released a statement on the news Thursday morning. She was at the head of the committee searching for a new president.
“We are excited to welcome Governor Charlie Baker to the NCAA and eager for him to begin his work with our organization,” said Livingstone. “Governor Baker has shown a remarkable ability to bridge divides and build bipartisan consensus, taking on complex challenges in innovative and effective ways. As a former student-athlete himself, husband to a former college gymnast, and father to two former college football players, Governor Baker is deeply committed to our student-athletes and enhancing their collegiate experience. These skills and perspective will be invaluable as we work with policymakers to build a sustainable model for the future of college athletics.”
Here is Baker’s statement, via an NCAA press release.
“I am honored to become the next president of the NCAA, an organization that impacts millions of families and countless communities across this country every day,” said Baker. “The NCAA is confronting complex and significant challenges, but I am excited to get to work as the awesome opportunity college athletics provides to so many students is more than worth the challenge. And for the fans that faithfully fill stadiums, stands and gyms from coast to coast, I am eager to ensure the competitions we all love to follow are there for generations to come. Over the coming months, I will begin working with student-athletes and NCAA members as we modernize college sports to suit today’s world, while preserving its essential value.”
Baker will be the first NCAA leader with no previous work experience at a college or educational setting.
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.