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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will be the next president of the Indianapolis-based NCAA, the association announced Thursday, replacing Mark Emmert as the head of the largest college sports governing body in the country.
Baker, a Republican, has been governor of Massachusetts since 2015. He announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. He will start the job in March 2023.
“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,” Baker said. “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.”
Emmert announced he would step down earlier this year after 12 years of leading the NCAA through a tumultuous time.
Battered by losses in court and attacks by politicians, the NCAA is going through a sweeping reform, trying to decentralize the way college sports is run.
College sports leaders, including Emmert, have repeatedly asked for help from Congress to regulate name, image and likeness compensation since the NCAA lifted its ban in 2021 on athletes being paid endorsers.
Now the association will be led by a politician for the first time.
Baker was born un upstate New York, went to high school in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard, where he played on the junior varsity basketball team. That’s the extent of his personal experience in college sports.
The last two NCAA presidents, Emmert and the late Myles Brand, moved into the job after being university presidents.
Before that the job had typically been held by former college sports administrators.
But with the NCAA moving into a new phase and college sports becoming more professionalized, it was clear the role of the president of the association was also changing.
“Governor Baker has shown a remarkable ability to bridge divides and build bipartisan consensus, taking on complex challenges in innovative and effective ways,” said Linda Livingstone, president of Baylor and chairwoman of the NCAA Board of Governors. “These skills and perspective will be invaluable as we work with policymakers to build a sustainable model for the future of college athletics.”
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Hopefully he is less woke than the current.
My thoughts exactly Doug.
What does woke even mean? It’s a completely made up word by angry white Christian heterosexual men seeing their lockdown on power slowly slipping away.
Please provide those of us who don’t listen to right-wing media a full explanation of all of the “woke” actions taken by the outgoing NCAA president.
Woke = Identity Politics
Donnie W., “woke” means “to be aware.”
It is derivative of “awake.” The opposite is “unaware.” While the right-wing of politics thinks the word is a pejorative it is actually a compliment (who in their right mind would prefer to be considers “unaware” of the life around them?)
Robert and Steve effectively answered their own question through their fake indignation.
Brent’s (and Robert’s and Steve’s) world is fiction. Brent and his cult merely assert their fiction aggressively, often violently, so people shut up. Solzhenitsyn said it perfectly: “they’re lying. We know they’re lying. They know they’re lying. They know we know they’re lying. . .yet they are still lying.”
Keep making excuses for the obvious escalating collapse of society brought about by this mindvirus, Brent! When your comrades punch you in the face for not going far enough with them, the rest of us will be laughing after you’re apologizing to them with your bloodied nose.
Most cultists think they’re the ones who understand and everyone around them–i.e., the enemy–are not aware.
Do you enjoy modeling yourself after Jim Jones? Hey, at least he was Hoosier. Not the best Hoosier to model one’s self after. I’d prefer Kurt Vonnegut, but what do I know? I’m just a far right-winger.
Yes Virginia, (Robert, Steve) There is a thing called “Wokeness” that the right has now pledged allegiance to. The fact you are acting as though it does not exist proves its existence. But I will still wish you and yours a Merry Christmas.
I wonder if he will actually move to Indy.
Tax-wise there is little difference between Massachusetts (with a per capita tax burden of 8.80%) and Indiana (8.42%). The real advantage for Indiana is the lower cost of housing. Indianapolis mansions sell for significantly less than their Boston counterparts. I would assume that Gov. Holcomb will sell Gov. Baker on the many other good things about living in Indy.