The Big West Conference’s Rob Halvaks was never an NCAA student-athlete, but he’s been an integral part of intercollegiate athletics since college and throughout his career. Now he’s in a position of influence the new Division I governance structure.   

Halvaks, a senior associate commissioner at the Big West, recently was selected as chair of the Division I Administration Cabinet, a group charged with addressing governance issues, the Division I membership process and all committee selections. The group reports to the Division I Leadership Council on policy issues and the Division I Legislative Council on legislative matters. The Honors, Postgraduate Scholarships, Research, Initial-Eligibility Waivers and Walter Byers Committees report to this cabinet.

Halvaks began his career as a reporter for the student newspaper and as a football and ice hockey broadcaster at Michigan, his undergraduate alma mater. He spent 10 years at UC Irvine before serving as associate executive director of the Orange County Sports Association, which oversaw the Disneyland Pigskin Classic and the Freedom Bowl at Anaheim Stadium.

Halvaks has been at the Big West for 16 years. He also counts a stint on the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet on his NCAA committee resume and currently chairs the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel.

“I feel like I’ve seen intercollegiate athletics from the various perches one might view the whole industry,” he said.

That kind of well-rounded experience will serve Halvaks well in guiding the Administration Cabinet. So, too, will his interest in growing the profession, especially through working with young people and his ability to keep the athletics enterprise in proper perspective.

“We all have a job to do, but at the end of the day, we’re in the entertainment business in intercollegiate athletics,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the same as being a surgeon and making life and death decisions.”

That’s not to say there won’t be some tough issues and decisions ahead for the cabinet. One of the biggest challenges Halvaks believes this group will face has to do with how Division I decides to manage its membership.

First things first, though. Halvaks said the early key to the cabinet’s success will be making a smooth transition to the new governance structure, in which one group – specifically, the Administration Cabinet – is responsible for the entire Division I committee appointment process.

“The transition to that type of system with 21 people trying to fulfill all the needs of the Association in the committee environment will be an initial challenge as we establish how we’re going to go about that business,” he said.

The Administration Cabinet’s first meeting is September 10-11 in Indianapolis.