NCAA Leans Into Politics
The appointment of Republican Governor, Charlie Baker to head the NCAA turns heads
The appointment of Gov. Charlie Baker to lead the NCAA is not as big a head scratcher as some would think. Baker is a former Ivy League athlete, he’s married to a former athlete and has two children who played college sports. I may not agree with my departing Gov’s political party, but he’s a rare find in the 2022 GOP - a bipartisan leader who listens to and even appoints Dems to his team (he had a bit of a bromance with former Boston Mayor, Democrat Marty Walsh - they spoke daily - and were largely cordial).
Politically, Baker was associated with a possible Senate run challenging Liz Warren. While the Trump worshiping Massachusetts GOP party leadership may not support him, Baker would have won a GOP senate primary and would have had a very good shot of beating Warren. For Warren’s camp - I presume the NCAA announcement resulted in a sigh of relief as there is not another GOP candidate with the crossover appeal that Baker has.
The NCAA is a mess. And it is embroiled in so many legal and political battles it makes sense to appoint someone who can navigate that world better than a traditional college president or Athletic Director. Communicating via text message with a college and current DIII Athletic Director, who has held NCAA leadership roles, said it well “this decision tells you the state of the organization.” He’s correct.
The appointment of Baker means the NCAA has an experienced executive leader who has led a state and complex private corporations with a decade of experience in healthcare administration. He has not had a perfect record, the MBTA (Massachusetts public transit) has steeply declined under his watch, and while he was provided with largely positive reviews in his management of the pandemic, mismanagement that resulted in the death of over 75 residents of the Soldiers Home residents sparked a Boston Globe spotlight investigation . But for business leaders Baker is much beloved, and the NCAA is a business with a political and PR problem.
From first hand DI athletic department administrative experience and supervising a DIII department, I will tell you - the NCAA is the most incredibly messy and political organization I have ever seen. And - if you love regulations that make ZERO SENSE, the NCAA has you covered. Baker is going to have to surround himself with experts on the NCAA and manage the space with a new level of competence that the outgoing president Emmert has failed to do. And, he will have to rocket the NCAA into the present … immediately. The NCAA moves at a pace that makes HigherEd look like a Silicon Valley start up - which could be Baker’s Achilles Heel. Healthcare and state government are not exactly innovation nation. However, this may provide for Baker what the 2002 Olympics did for another GOP Massachusetts veteran, Mitt Romney. Possibly bringing him back to politics with a stronger national profile.
Bottom line, as a lover of college sports, especially DIII sports - I hope he has it in him to fix the NCAA.
It is encouraging to hear that a competent leader may be heading the NCAA - the entity needs fixing, to be sure - lots of room for improvement. Hope you can use those political skills to great effect.