NCAA President Mark Emmert will host a Division I
Presidential Retreat August 9-10 in Indianapolis, Indiana to examine today's
most critical issues in intercollegiate athletics.
"The retreat will be centered around three broad topics -
financial sustainability, institutional academic success and institutional
academic integrity," said Emmert. "The
purpose of the session is to advance discourse among presidents, chancellors,
campus leaders, and colleagues in order to prioritize the necessary changes in
college athletics of today and to identify those areas that require immediate
action."
The Western Athletic Conference will be well represented at
the retreat. In attendance will be Utah
State President Stan Albrecht; Utah State Athletic Director Scott Barnes; and
WAC Commissioner Karl Benson. The WAC will
be the only Division I conference represented by a president, athletics
director and commissioner.
With the Division I Presidents and Chancellors in
attendance, Emmert plans to discuss how growing pressures of Division I
athletics challenge the infrastructure of today's mainstream college
athletics. In Emmert's opinion,
"Incremental change is not sufficient."
"Presidents and chancellors clearly understand that college
athletics is seriously challenged today by rapidly growing pressures coming
from many directions," stated Albrecht, chair of the WAC Board of Directors and
a member of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. "It is clear that more than incremental
change is necessary to meet these challenges.
The WAC and its members universities fully support President Emmert and
his 'call to action'."
Benson, along with three other Division I Commissioners,
will work with Emmert in addressing the relevant challenges of today's Division
I athletics. The other three Division I
Commissioners in attendance will be Dan Beebe, Big 12 Conference; Ted Gumbart, Atlantic
Sun Conference; and Thomas Yeager, Colonial Athletic Association.
Benson and Beebe will represent the Football Bowl
Subdivision (Benson representing the five BCS non automatic qualifying
conferences and Beebe representing the six BCS automatic qualifying conferences). Yeager will represent the Football Championship
Subdivision, and Gumbart will represent those conferences that do not sponsor
the sport of football.
"I look forward to working with my colleagues to take on
these challenges as we continue to emphasize high expectations for
student-athlete academic success; while at the same time fortify the integrity
of intercollegiate athletics as an enterprise," stated Benson in regards to the
upcoming retreat.
Click here for a full list of attendees for the retreat.