More than three dozen presidents and chancellors convened June 9-10 in Tucson, Arizona, to signal that the next stage of athletics reform will be as presidential-driven as the last.

A CEO task force, the same tactic used to drive academic reform over the past three years, has been assembled to take an even broader look at Division I athletics to ensure the health of the enterprise in the years to come. The group -- officially dubbed the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics -- met under the direction of University of Arizona President Peter Likins and emerged with two themes that will guide future discussion:

Strong presidential leadership will fortify the athletics enterprise, and intercollegiate athletics serves its highest purpose when it is fully aligned with the educational mission.

The group composed of 39 sitting Division I presidents and chancellors, seven presidents from Divisions II and III institutions, two recently retired presidents and two members representing university board interests was established earlier this year by NCAA President Myles Brand. Its overarching charge is to examine the alignment of Division I athletics with the mission, values and goals of higher education in such areas as fiscal responsibility, presidential leadership and student-athlete well-being.

The task force expects to make known its recommendations in about a year. The group is targeting the 2006 NCAA Convention to start airing suggestions, but it will not be working in a vacuum -- whatever ideas or concepts develop will be well-vetted, both through internal and external constituencies. Any legislative proposals that emerge would proceed through the NCAA governance process; best practices would be developed with input from groups the practices are designed to affect.

"We're not just going to go away for 12 months and then come back and say, 'This is our report,'" Likins said. "We're not alone in our continuing efforts to make sure athletics develops in healthy ways. We'll have a continuing dialogue with other groups who are similarly disposed to the reform effort."

But presidents clearly will lead the way.

NCAA President Brand said, "We'll have the substantive underlying directions determined by presidents, then work through the NCAA processes and have the concepts well-vetted with other constituents as well." Among groups to be consulted, Brand said, are the faculty-based Coalition for Intercollegiate Athletics, the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association, the Collegiate Commissioners Association and the Division I-A Athletics Directors' Association.

While it is too early to determine what those specific directions will be, Brand reiterated the central thematic guidelines will anchor the project.

"Presidential leadership, which is not the same as presidential control, adds vision and strategic direction, and does so in a way that engages the many constituents to find a solution that works for all," he said. "The other theme presidents universally agreed upon at this meeting is the need to align athletics with the academic missions of institutions and ensure that the entire enterprise is of one with the academic goals of the university.

"Presidents are poised and ready to lead. We are in the middle of an academic-reform effort, which also was presidential-driven, and we have guideposts to follow through the NCAA strategic plan. The time is right to have presidents set the agenda for future reform and change in intercollegiate athletics."

Not fighting fires

Because of the size of the group, and because its scope of study is wide-ranging, the task force is dividing into four subcommittees to better address specific issues.

In addition to chairing the entire group, Likins also heads a subcommittee on fiscal responsibility. The other three subcommittees are:

* Implications of Academic Values and Standards, chaired by University of Texas at Austin President Larry Faulkner;

* Presidential Leadership of Internal and External Constituencies, chaired by Southern Methodist University President Gerald Turner; and

* Student-Athlete Well-Being, chaired by Ohio State University President Karen Holbrook.

"We're trying to project the longer-term trends in several domains, recognizing that financial issues are in some sense fundamental to all the rest of it, but this is not exclusively about finances," Likins said.

He also emphasized that the task force is more about longer-term planning than it is about repairing damaged goods.

"This is not an exercise in fire-fighting," Likins said. "This is an exercise in strategic thought, playing the role that presidents and boards are expected to play -- looking ahead, making data-based decisions that reflect favorably on athletics 15 years down the road. We've assembled to protect something we value -- intercollegiate athletics -- rather than to fix something we perceive as broken.

"The system of intercollegiate athletics in higher education is under stress but not in crisis. However, we see the trends of recent years as not sustainable."

Much of the future focus, particularly from the fiscal responsibility subcommittee, will be on how Division I institutions reconcile the Division I philosophy statement -- which puts a premium on self-sufficiency -- with the NCAA educational mission, which demands that athletics be integrated into the educational experience. The primary challenge many institutions currently face is funding. Data show that increases in athletics budgets are exceeding those of overall university budgets at a rate that economists and presidents alike believe cannot be sustained.

Other issues the task force subcommittees will examine include the relationship between university presidents and chancellors and boards of trustees regarding leadership in intercollegiate athletics. Because presidents typically report to boards, high-profile personnel decisions, cost-savings initiatives and other top-level athletics policy decisions are sometimes strained by that relationship. Southern Methodist President Turner's subcommittee is charged with examining that and other issues, including relationships with boosters and faculty.

Ohio State President Holbrook's student-athlete well-being subcommittee undertook an examination of current regulations affecting student-athlete well-being and agreed on three top priorities: eligibility issues, financial aid and student-athlete time commitments. Other priorities include health and safety issues, particularly student-athletes' physical and mental health.

Diversity and inclusion, sportsmanship, and commercialism in football and basketball are other areas of study the task force will undertake.

"We're trying to guide leaders to make long-term management decisions in all of these areas," Likins said. "We're determined to make sure whatever recommendations we submit ultimately are evidence-based, so we're spending a lot of time initially making sure we understand the data and the facts."

The subcommittees likely will conduct much of their future business through conference calls rather than in-person meetings. The groups also have established list-serves to facilitate their work.