USA TODAY International Edition
New NCAA boss in charge
Former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker formally replaced Mark Emmert as the NCAA’s president Wednesday, and during a roughly 30minute interview with USA TODAY Sports earlier this week, what Baker didn’t say was just as notable as what he did say.
Amid what he described as a listening tour of college sports stakeholders that already has been underway and will continue during his first 100 days, Baker did not dismiss out of hand the concept of college athletes becoming employees of their school. He also did not adhere to the idea that the association’s only path to clarifying its most urgent underlying issues is the passage of new federal laws.
Those notions have been articles of faith for Emmert and many other college sports leaders as Emmert’s morethan- 12- year run with the NCAA has been drawing to a close. His departure also ends an era in which the association has been led on a permanent basis by either a former college president or former college sports administrator.
In addition to his background in politics, Baker enters from the worlds of business, healthcare and government administration. He played basketball for Harvard, his wife was a gymnast for Northwestern and his sons played Division III football.
He inherits an association facing pressure on numerous sides regarding the environment surrounding college athletes’ dealings to make money from their name, image and likeness. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Alston antitrust case and the NCAA’s subsequent dramatic loosening of its rules in July 2021, athletes have been engaging in endorsement and other commercial activity that ranges from social media, to autograph signings, to getting money from multimillion- dollar collectives that backers of specific schools have developed ostensibly for the purpose of arranging NIL deals for their respective schools’ athletes.
It also faces legal and regulatory challenges that create the possibility of athletes becoming employees of their schools.
In opening remarks of his interview, Baker said: “Part of what made the job interesting was we are in an unusual
place here. I mean, there’s a lot going on in the world of college sports. There’s a ton of change. I certainly believe that change is necessary and required going forward.”
He later addressed five important issues confronting him at the start of his tenure.
College athletes as employees
Asked whether he is opposed to the notion of college athletes becoming employees of their schools, Baker said:
“I guess it depends a bit on what the frame looks like and how it’s organized. I certainly think things need to change, but I worry a lot when I hear athletes constantly say to me they want to be student- athletes, which is what I’ve heard from most of them.”
So, that’s far from endorsing the concept, but in discussing the issue alongside his view on what is appropriate compensation for athletes, he said: “I think the question about additional benefits is certainly one of the conversations, and it’s part of what I would describe as the change ( in college sports). I’ve actually had a lot of student- athletes tell me they would rather be student- athletes than be employees for a whole bunch of reasons. I think that will be, in fact, a big part of the dialogue going forward.
“But from my point of view, the goal here should be to figure out how to deal with this issue in a way that actually addresses some of the concerns people have about the very successful and financially successful programs, recognizing that there are literally hundreds of thousands of student- athletes who don’t play in those programs and for whom the idea of being an employee is really not an attractive one. And I think people need to keep that in mind.”
NIL solution in Washington, yes – but also the NCAA itself
The NCAA’s recent emphasis on seeking federal legislation stems, in part, from varying laws that states have passed regarding athletes’ NIL activities, and, in part from an interest in getting a shield from lawsuits such as the Alston case, which followed a similar case filed on behalf of former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon and has been followed by another similar action on behalf of Arizona State swimmer Grant House and former Oregon women’s basketball player Sedona Prince.
But with a politically divided Congress seemingly stalemated on everything there becomes a question of at what point should the NCAA membership take action in an attempt to standardize the NIL environment.
While working toward a federal solution, Baker said, “I think the NCAA should probably have a conversation with its members simultaneously. … Whether it’s a conversation with Washington or a conversation with the membership, I think you’ve got to work it on both tracks.”
Recognizing that the NCAA and its membership have concerns about facing legal action if they act on their own regarding NIL activities he said: “Well, I think the goal has been to do something where we don’t get sued. But I do believe that when you’re talking about trying to protect student- athletes and their families and creating what I would describe as an accountable and transparent marketplace, I’ve got to believe there’s a way to do that that works legally. We’ll see.”
Pressed on when the NCAA should give up on the prospect of congressional action, Baker replied: “You want a date? I mean, that’s a hard question to answer. … I think your question about when is enough is a good one. But I can’t answer that today.”
Framing NIL issue as ‘ consumer- protection’ matter
Baker’s success as a Republican governor of a state that usually leans Democrat is among the reasons the NCAA board of governors hired him. Political adeptness is said to be among his greatest strengths. In his opening remarks, he sought to provide another impetus for action connected to the NIL environment.
He said he has had early conversations with athletic directors, athletes, college presidents, conference commissioners and others, and: “The thing that was on almost everybody’s mind was NIL, not surprisingly, and especially just the fact that there kind of is no transparency at all about that.”
In other words, in the minds of many college sports leaders, there is little verified, specific information about payment amounts, what athletes are obligated to do for those payments, and agent activities – although many schools do collect and attempt to vet for NCAA- rules compliance athletes’ selfreported NIL activities.
“Whether that’s a federal fix or something the NCAA and its membership organizations do together,” Baker said, “I just think ... it’s going to be really important that there be some kind of something that looks like what I would call consumer protection for student- athletes and their families.”
Two tough audiences to work with
While Baker faces challenges in dealing with members of the U. S. Senate and the House of Representatives, he potentially has some equally tough discussions ahead with the commissioners of the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac- 12 and Southeastern conferences. The Power Five schools have their own set of issues, compared to those facing the rest of the NCAA membership, and their conferences’ revenue and influence over the future of college sports now rival the NCAA’s.
Asked which he sees as being a tougher group to work with: Congress or the Power Five commissioners, Baker said:
“You know, one of the things about a big piece of my professional career is I’ve spent a lot of time around people who don’t agree with me about everything or agree with each other about everything. And … I know and I’ve talked to a bunch of people in Congress about some of this stuff. And I know and I’ve talked to a number of members of the Power Five conferences about this stuff, too. And, generally speaking, there’s usually – if you ask questions and you spend more time listening, less time talking – you learn where your opportunities for common ground come from. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and generally speaking, you can usually find some – and that’s going to be my goal.”
Basketball tournament expansion
The Division I board of directors in January endorsed a set of wide- ranging recommendations regarding the future of major college sports. Among them was allowing for the expansion of championship events, including the now 68team basketball tournaments.
Baker said there will be discussions this summer about whether to do this in basketball, “But I’m not going into it with any preconceived notion. I just know that the tournament as it currently exists is terrific.”