Baker talks growing fanbase, gambling in first address

PHOENIX » NCAA President Charlie Baker addressed the membership Wednesday for the first time since taking over the job, laying out goals for growing the college sports fanbase, dealing with issues related to the rise of legal wagering and continuing the conversation he started with a proposal to create a new tier of Division I where athletes would be paid by their schools.

Baker, who started as NCAA president in March 1, gave his state of college sports address at a packed symphony hall in the Phoenix Convention center. The speech came a little more than a month after he sent a letter to more than 350 D-I member schools with a bold and potentially ground-breaking idea for a new subdivision at the very top of college sports.

“We have received excellent feedback on these proposals from student-athletes and all of you,” Baker said in his speech. “Some may quibble with the details, but they are glad we are finally talking about the elephant in the room.”

Baker also met with a small group of reporters Tuesday night to take questions about some of his top-line priorities. DIVISION I PROJECT » Baker said there was “overwhelming interest” among membership in the idea of creating a new subdivision of Division I for schools with the largest budgets. Baker’s idea would require schools in the new subdivision to pay athletes at least $30,000 per year through a trust fund.

“I worked in government for a long time and in government you set the table, right?” Baker said. “You file a bill. You don’t expect to get it back the same way you file it, you don’t think it’s written on a stone tablet. It’s a place to start.”

SPORTS BETTING » Baker said the growth of legal sports betting, especially among college-aged people, is increasing stress on athletes.

He said the NCAA is trying to modify “draconian” penalties college athletes face for breaking rules regarding betting on sports while also trying to better monitor and address what he called ugly blowback on social media directed at athletes, coaches and officials — often linked to wagering.

“Basically tracks ugly, nasty stuff, that’s being being directed at people who are participating in their tournaments and we’d use it the same way,” Baker said. “And it can shut it down or basically block it. And in some cases even track back to where it came from.”

Baker said a threat made to a team that was participating in an NCAA championship last year was credible and aggressive enough that the team was given police protection. Baker declined to identify the team and the championship event.