New leadership position will put Brand in national sports spotlight

When IU President Myles Brand takes over as president and chief executive officer of the NCAA on Jan. 1, 2003, he will be the first of the group's four leaders without an athletic administration background. \nBut according to current president Cedric Dempsey, Brand's presidential experience will help him work with the 16 members of the executive committee.\nBrand was unanimously selected to the position by the executive committee, which is composed of 15 university presidents and one chancellor. It is Brand's experience with other university officials that made him an obvious choice.\n"The board is comprised of his colleagues and peers from other universities," Dempsey said. "He will have the acceptance of the board. He will have their support in moving their agendas forward."\nAs CEO of the NCAA, Brand will be in charge of running the national office in Indianapolis. In addition to running the main office, Brand will have two main responsibilities:\n• Brand will be in charge of negotiating television contracts with the national networks. \n• He will also be heavily involved in licensing and promotions of the NCAA.\nDempsey said the NCAA has been headed in a new direction since it switched from a one-school, one-vote policy to a representative structure. The executive committee are the policy makers. Dempsey said that Brand's goal will be to lead by persuasion.\nThis new position will place Brand in the national spotlight on a more consistent basis. Brand said he is comfortable with the new position and the responsibilities that it will bring.\n"If I wasn't willing to work at the national level, I wouldn't have taken it," Brand said. "But I have had national exposure for some time as the President of American Universities, which is the leading organization for college presidents."\nIn addition to the new title, Brand can also expect a significant pay increase. Brand currently makes $307,660 a year as president of IU. Dempsey made $609,041 last year plus $146,671 in benefits according to a January 2002 CNNSI article.\nThe announcement Thursday afternoon was a shock to many. This past Tuesday night, Brand hosted an informal faculty advisory group for dinner and a discussion. The group consisted of 20 people including IU Athletic Director Michael McNeely, IU Vice President for Administration J. Terry Clapacs and the Chair of the IU Athletics Committee Bruce Jaffee. \nCoincidently, the topic chosen for the dinner by Brand was intercollegiate athletics. At the time of the dinner, none of the attendees thought anything about what would possibly happen in a matter of 48 hours. \nAccording to Jaffee, the discussion was broad and wide ranging, hitting on three major points -- the integration of student-athletes into academic life, Title IX, and new student requirements to receive an athletic scholarship.\nBrand has made his opinion known about reforming college athletics in order to reestablish the student in student-athlete, and by accepting this position he will have the ability to enact these reforms with the help of the NCAA Executive Committee.\nHis last point made Tuesday night was about raising the academic requirements for scholarship eligibility. The current standard is for students to take 13 core courses and maintain a specific GPA. Brand wants to raise the number of core courses to 15 or 16 and make a minimum GPA approximately 2.5. These, along with the student-athletes college entrance exam scores will determine the students ability to receive a college scholarship. \nBased on Brands previous remarks about collegiate athletics reform, the NCAA is allowing him to lead the nation's universities in a manner in which academics will be a priority. Brand said he hopes to make sizable changes in the structure of the NCAA.\n"I hope to better integrate the athletic mission of the institution with the academic side," Brand said. "I think both should work hand in glove with each other."\nWhile the decision may have come as a surprise, Jaffee believe that the NCAA Executive Committee has made the best selection.\n"It is a great choice," Jaffee said. "This is a potentially significant signal that (the NCAA) wants leadership whose experience is in academia. They are recognizing their priorities of academics first"