In 1952, a young executive assistant from the Big Ten Conference named Walter Byers christened the first NCAA headquarters in a small office located over a saloon at 11th and Baltimore in Kansas City, Missouri.

That doesn’t sound like much of a defining moment in NCAA history, does it?

But after five decades of NCAA history being shaped by Byers and his three successors, it’s no wonder that moment was identified as one of the top 25 in Association lore.

Wayne Duke, one of Byers’ first hires, said because that first office had no air conditioning and little ventilation, the three-person staff would open the windows and brave the exhaust fumes from city buses that worked their way up 11th Street every few minutes. "I suspect that if the truth be known, there were probably many collegiate sinners out there who wished we would’ve just taken that gas early on," Duke said.

But Byers, Richard Schultz, Cedric Dempsey and Myles Brand have taken turns driving the NCAA bus, or at least providing directions, for more than 50 years.

The NCAA Executive Committee appointed Byers in 1951 after realizing that the Association had grown too much for membership volunteers to manage NCAA business by themselves. Upon opening the headquarters doors, Byers immediately began to fortify — if not mold — four areas regarded as the early pillars of the NCAA structure: enforcement, television activities, the men’s basketball championship and football postseason bowl games.

Those remained mainstays even after Byers retired in 1987, but many other areas rose in importance, including the administration of women’s sports, academic integrity, fiscal responsibility, athletics certification and presidential leadership. Byers, Schultz, Dempsey and Brand have led the 1,000-member NCAA through it all.

But how they have led has differed. The role of the NCAA president (or executive director, as Byers and Schultz were titled) — and that of the NCAA staff in general — is oft debated. How does the NCAA president and his or her staff provide leadership? Through service? By commanding the bully pulpit? With persuasive influence?

Joe Crowley wrote in his book "In the Arena: The NCAA’s First Century" that Byers did not crave the spotlight and was instead a behind-the-scenes leader. Byers believed that the Association’s officers and committee chairs were its spokespersons. "He emphasized that they were the leaders, the out-front individuals," Crowley said. "The staff did not make the policy. They implemented it. Byers included himself in the implementing category. Neither he nor his staff were decision-makers. The members made the decisions, and that was that."

But Duke, who went on to become a longtime commissioner of the Big Eight Conference and the Big Ten, said Byers was much more than just a "service guy."

"Walter in fact was very influential in directing activities that shaped college athletics," Duke said. "He was a silent leader who worked behind the scenes with great dignity and tremendous foresight."

As behind the scenes as Byers might have been, Schultz and Dempsey shone a brighter light on the presidency and the staff. Schultz in fact was the first to deliver a State of the Association address at the Convention, and he also was more visible in the membership than Byers, routinely spending two-thirds of the year on the road.

Dempsey, dubbed "the student-athletes’ president," encouraged flatter leadership within the staff, and he, too, made frequent membership rounds. A former student-athlete himself before blossoming as a Division I athletics director, Dempsey was perhaps more comfortable in student-athlete settings than he was playing a political gambit in advancing college sports. He lamented leadership lapses in the governance structure that were based on individual interests more than the greater good. But his own leadership was grounded in his unflagging belief in the student-athlete ideal.

"I’ve often felt that part of the responsibility of a professional is to be a good mentor; I hope I’ve had a positive effect on young people in that regard," Dempsey said near the end of his eight-year tenure in 2002. "Being around student-athletes and seeing them mature, and seeing how articulate and understanding they are, is special. When you get depressed by all the problems and issues, being around young people like our student-athletes gives you hope for the future."

Regardless of who’s in charge, the position itself is sometimes seen as limited by the lack of legislative authority and veto power. Some people think the NCAA president and staff must be service-oriented by design — after all, neither can set eligibility standards, determine enforcement outcomes or regulate conference alignment.

But Brand, the first to ascend to the NCAA presidency from campus presidential ranks, sees the role as a continuum rather than simply service and leadership end points. Like Byers, he holds firm in the "members as decision-makers" belief, but he is more visible and publicly influential than even Schultz and Dempsey. An indefatigable advocate for the values of intercollegiate athletics, Brand can hold court in a number of venues, be they informal gatherings or Congressional hearings, and the post-meeting Q&A is his specialty. In that way, his leadership style in the four years he has held the job is more active than any of his predecessors.

"While some people are critical of athletics, my office is obliged to lay out in a clear way on a national basis the benefits of the enterprise," Brand said. "I’ve tried to do that both in my interactions with the media and on the occasions in which I address constituents and publics. Often during these speeches I’m simply opening people’s eyes — they simply don’t know enough about athletics issues because they might be biased about what athletics is or what it isn’t. I just lay out the facts."

As for leadership, Brand reiterated that the NCAA is foremost a membership-driven organization. Nonetheless, he said he has tried to take advantage of the strength of the staff in a number of areas, as well as the office itself, to represent intercollegiate athletics nationally.

"You never want to run up the hill by yourself," he said. "You always want to make sure your membership is well informed and comfortable with the direction you’re heading, and that they see the initiative as helpful to their own athletics departments."

Brand cited as an example empowering the membership services staff to make preliminary decisions on eligibility and reinstatement waiver requests, which saves the membership time without compromising the integrity of the process. The staff handles the obvious cases, then seeks committee assistance at the appeal level or to decide policy. "But the routine work can be done by the staff rather than impose upon the membership. That is service-oriented but it also shows greater leadership in what affects student-athletes directly," Brand said.

The former University of Oregon and Indiana University, Bloomington, president also has aggressively and successfully sought leadership collaboration opportunities with faculty, commissioners, athletics directors, coaches and national governing bodies. The most recent success story is his involvement with the NBA, major shoe companies, USA Basketball, AAU programs and other groups to address the pre-collegiate basketball environment. Those constituents have pledged to explore a national oversight body to act on young athletes’ behalf and provide long-term benefits to all stakeholders in the game.

"It doesn’t take long to see that we’re not in this alone and that there is a lot of common cause we can make with organizations that are different from us but share some of our goals," he said. Including shoe companies in the discussion is a good example. "Though it is early in the conversation, the fact that we have recognized that they have a role to play is a different approach," Brand said. "There’s not much to be gained by setting ourselves

Issues/accomplishments

NCAA Football Television Plan is created.

National rules enforcement program is developed.

Academic initial-eligibility rules enhanced, starting with creation of 1.600 rule.

Freshmen permitted to compete.

Membership classifications of Divisions I, II and III are created.

NCAA challenges how Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 is to be interpreted.

Agreement with ESPN reached to televise series of NCAA championships.

Governance plan approved that allocates NCAA Council positions to women and creates the sports committees necessary to conduct women’s championships. First women’s championships approved.

Proposition 48 approved at 1983 Convention; strengthens previous initial-eligibility standards.

Involvement of chief executive officers increased; NCAA Presidents Commission established in 1984.

Federal court rules NCAA Football Television Plan violates Sherman Antitrust Act; decision upheld by U.S. Supreme Court in 1984, leading to deregulation of college football television.

Catastrophic-injury insurance provided for all member institutions.

NCAA drug-testing program established in 1986.

"Death penalty" imposed on Southern Methodist University football in 1987, the only time an institution has been required to shut down operations for rules violations.

Byers retires in 1987; University of Virginia Athletics Director Richard D. Schultz is named as his replacement.

Issues/accomplishments

States that a major priority of his administration will be to improve the public’s perception of intercollegiate athletics.

Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics is established in 1989; report issued in 1991 states that greater chief executive officer involvement in intercollegiate athletics is essential.

NCAA signs $1 billion television contract with CBS in 1991; NCAA revenue-distribution plan is subsequently established to distribute the revenue as equitably as possible.

Congress approves the Student-Right-to-Know Act, which leads to the annual NCAA graduation-rate reports. The first graduation-rate study in 1992 shows that student-athletes graduate at about the same rate as other students but that black student-athletes graduate at lower levels, especially in revenue-producing sports.

Proposition 16 approved at 1992 Convention; further strengthens initial-eligibility standards.

NCAA defeats state "due-process laws" that are designed to undermine the NCAA enforcement program.

Five conferences and the University of Notre Dame reach agreement in 1992 with postseason bowl games to make a national championship football game more likely.

First NCAA gender-equity study in 1992 shows significant differences in the treatment of male and female student-athletes.

Division I athletics certification program and NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse established in 1993.

Schultz resigns as executive director in 1993 after an independent fact-finder concludes he knew of improper loans provided to a student-athlete while he was athletics director at the University of Virginia. University of Arizona Athletics Director Cedric W. Dempsey is named as his replacement.

Issues/accomplishments

Conference commissioners announce a plan to restructure NCAA governance and eliminate the one-school, one-vote principle for Division I.

NCAA and CBS agree on new $1.725 billion, eight-year television contract.

Federal judge rules that NCAA restricted-earnings coaching position is illegal. The NCAA and the plaintiffs eventually reach a $54 million settlement.

NCAA opens governmental relations office in Washington, D.C.

The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education issues a document clarifying the three-part Title IX compliance test.

New "super alliance" bowl arrangement announced, guaranteeing a match-up between the top two Division I-A football teams.

Final part of governance restructuring approved at 1997 Convention; federated structure takes effect in August 1997.

National office relocates from Overland Park, Kansas, to Indianapolis.

Plaintiffs challenge legality of Division I initial-eligibility standards.

The NCAA reaches an 11-year, $6 billion bundled-rights agreement with CBS Sports.

Football Oversight Committee formed to examine Division I-A membership requirements, postseason bowl issues and enhancement of Division I-AA football.

Knight Commission produces a second report that seeks action on academic reform, financial pressures and excessive commercialization in intercollegiate athletics.

11-year agreement reached with ESPN to televise the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship and 20 other NCAA championships.

The Bush Administration conducts a series of public hearings to determine if changes are needed in the way Title IX is to be applied to athletics.

Dempsey announces in January 2002 his plans to retire at the end of 2002. Indiana University, Bloomington, President Myles Brand is named as his replacement.

Issues/accomplishments

In his first State of the Association address, Brand says his presidency will be structured on two platforms: serious reform and strong advocacy.

The NCAA co-sponsors a sportsmanship summit that produces a series of best practices regarding pregame and postgame behavior.

The NCAA Executive Committee approves a comprehensive strategic plan that includes a core ideology, an envisioned future, and three-year and five-year outcome-oriented goals.

An NCAA-commissioned study by economists at the Brookings Institute shows little correlation between increased athletics spending and winning.

Division III delegates at the 2004 Convention adopt reform proposals that include creating an electronic financial aid reporting process and the elimination of redshirting.

A membership task force on recruiting develops emergency legislation to clean up official visits.

The NCAA addresses the "diploma mill" issue by establishing a review process for suspect preparatory schools.

Division I adopts the Academic Progress Rate and the Graduation Success Rate as part of a comprehensive academic-reform package that holds institutions accountable for student-athlete academic success.

The Executive Committee urges institutions not to use an e-mail survey suggested by the Department of Education as a way to comply with the third prong (assessment of interest) of the three-part Title IX test.

The Executive Committee adopts championship restrictions for institutions with Native American mascots and imagery deemed hostile or abusive.

The NCAA purchases the rights to own and operate the preseason and postseason National Invitation Tournaments.

Division I’s Football Bowl Subdivision adopts legislation to allow for a 12th regular-season game.

Division I changes the names of its football subdivisions to the Bowl (formerly I-A) and Championship (formerly I-AA) Subdivisions.

The Presidential Task Force releases a report calling for moderation in athletics spending and continued integration of athletics into the university mission.