The NCAA News - News Features

Potential sites for headquarters narrowed to four

Four communities have been selected as finalists by the NCAA in its review of potential future locations for the Association's headquarters facility.

The communities include the metropolitan areas of Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Indianapolis, and Kansas City.

A working group of university presidents and athletics administrators selected the communities from a list of 10 that were invited in August to respond to a request for proposal (RFP). Meeting December 11-12 in Kansas City, Missouri, the working group reviewed the proposals and an analysis prepared by Arthur Andersen Consulting.

The other communities included in the list of 10 included Orlando, Florida; Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; San Antonio, Texas; and Phoenix. All 10 communities responded to the RFP by the November 7 deadline.

"All of the communities that received the RFP were locations where we thought the Association could be successful," said Cedric W. Dempsey, NCAA executive director. "The proposals certainly confirmed that belief. This was a list of relatively comparable communities.

"All of the communities took this project seriously and gave us responses that indicated their seriousness," he said. "The NCAA has had a long relationship with all 10 of the cities, and we look forward to those relationships continuing. We appreciate the time and effort that was put into the responses."

Dempsey said that the proposals from the four finalists stood out from the others because of the impact on cost of operation combined with the potential for a successful relationship between the communities and the NCAA.

"This is consistent with our two overarching concerns from the beginning -- cost of operation and quality of environment," he said. "That latter component includes the potential for a close alliance among the Association, intercollegiate athletics and those four communities.

"Each community on this list of four had something special to offer," he said. "We look forward to visiting with each of those communities and reviewing the proposals in person."

Although a specific schedule has not been set, site visits to the four communities are planned for after the first of the year, probably in late January or early February. The working group expects to make its recommendations sometime in the spring of 1997 with a decision short-

ly thereafter by the NCAA's Joint Policy Board.

Chairing the working group was Robert Lawless, president of the University of Tulsa and NCAA Presidents Commission Division I chair. Other members of the working group are Charles S. Boone, athletics director, University of Richmond, a former Executive Committee member; David G. Carter, president, Eastern Connecticut State University, Presidents Commission Division III chair; Lynn L. Dorn, athletics director, North Dakota State University, Division II vice-president; and Milton A. Gordon, president, California State University, Fullerton, Presidents Commission.

There also are three ex-officio members: Samuel H. Smith, president, Washington State University, Presidents Commission chair; Eugene F. Corrigan, commissioner, Atlantic Coast Conference, NCAA president; and Phyllis L. Howlett, assistant commissioner, Big Ten Conference, NCAA secretary-treasurer. Corrigan was unable to participate in the December 11-12 meeting.