The NCAA News - News and Features

August 18, 1997

Foundation's Gavitt plans to leave position in January

NCAA Foundation president David R. Gavitt has announced that he will step down from the post January 1, 1998, to fulfill a personal desire to concentrate on other commitments and interests.

Gavitt, former vice-chairman of the board of the Boston Celtics and former commissioner of the Big East Conference, became president of the Foundation in June 1995.

"We are grateful to have had Dave's leadership and experience at the head of the Foundation for the past two years," said James Morris, NCAA Foundation board chair and chairman of the IWC Resources Corporation. "He has been instrumental in moving the Foundation forward with new efforts to meet the needs of student-athletes."

Gavitt's departure in January will be five months short of his original three-year commitment but will provide time for the Foundation board to fully review the position. Morris said the board would begin that process at its next meeting in October.

"I feel the Foundation work is in a good position," Gavitt said. "A great deal of effort has gone into redefining the Foundation and its future role, and I believe closure of this will be completed in the next few months.

"On the personal side, it is no secret that my career and passion has been in the sport of basketball. In May, I was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Basketball Hall of Fame at the outset of an extremely ambitious $94 million expansion. This commitment, plus a desire to explore some other initiatives to help the college game, compel me to change my professional direction at this time."

The NCAA Foundation, a nonprofit tax-exempt corporation that works closely with the NCAA but is a separate organization, was established in 1988 "to generate and award funds in support of programs that enable student-athletes to participate fully in the college community, to achieve successful academic and athletics experiences, and to prepare to be effective citizens and productive contributors to society."

During Gavitt's tenure as president, the Foundation continued to support efforts related to student-athletes. A major new initiative was the Student-Athlete Leadership Conference, which was held for the first time in May 1997 and is designed to provide a forum for a select group of student-athletes to gather and discuss current issues affecting their academic and athletics careers.