The NCAA has chosen Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker as its next president, succeeding Mark Emmert. Here’s what you need to know:
- Baker, 66, will assume the role on March 1, 2023. His second term as governor ends Jan. 5, 2023; he did not run for re-election.
- In April 2022, the NCAA announced that Emmert would step down by the summer of 2023 at the latest, characterizing such a decision as a “mutual agreement.”
- Emmert is winding down an NCAA tenure that spanned more than 12 years. He will serve in an advisory role until June 2023.
Backstory
Emmert’s tenure will largely be remembered as a time of seismic shifts in the collegiate model, as the NCAA’s overall influence began to wane significantly and various lawsuits challenged the organization’s business practices.
Those in and out of college athletics have been critical of Emmert and the NCAA’s overall ability to lead in areas such as name, image and likeness (NIL) reform. The Supreme Court’s resounding 9-0 ruling against the NCAA in the Alston case will also be a lasting legacy of Emmert’s.
The announcement that Emmert would step down came less than a year after the NCAA’s Board of Governors — the organization’s highest governing body — extended Emmert through 2025. That extension received immediate backlash…
