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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker will become the next president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the organization announced on Thursday.
Governor Baker will step into his role as NCAA president in March 2023. His term as governor will come to an end in January 2023.
Governor Baker is a former college athlete himself, playing on the men's basketball team at Harvard University from 1977 to 1978.
"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," Governor Baker said in a statement. "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."
The NCAA said Governor Baker will be stepping into the role at a significant time, as changes in individual state laws in college sports have made it challenging for the NCAA to "serve as an effective national regulator for college athletics." In partnering with Governor Baker, the NCAA is making it a top priority to develop a legal framework to address common issues student-athletes face across the nation.
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"We are excited to welcome Governor Charlie Baker to the NCAA and eager for him to begin his work with our organization," Linda Livingstone, president of Baylor University and chair of the NCAA board of governors said in a statement. "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."
In the NCAA's announcement, they said Governor Baker's history of "successfully forging bipartisan solutions to complex problems" made him stand out to them, as the NCAA needed a president with that skill set to help them face the current needs of the organization and the nearly 500,000 athletes involved in college sports each year.
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