NCAA Executive Vice President Bernard Franklin will be the keynote speaker at the Lincoln (Pennsylvania) annual athletics banquet this Sunday.

Franklin served as president at Virginia Union before assuming his position at the NCAA national office in 2003. Lincoln is in the process of reclassifying to Division II and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

“Dr. Franklin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in regards to collegiate athletics,” said Lincoln Director of Athletics Dianthia Ford-Kee. “As a former CIAA college president and having served as the president of the CIAA board of directors, which governs the conference in which Lincoln plans to hold membership, I am sure he will share with our student-athletes and constituents the benefits of being a member of a conference, advancing to NCAA Division II membership, and the future opportunities and exposure these affiliations brings to Lincoln.”

In his role at the NCAA national office, Franklin assures the development of policies and procedures that support the effective functioning of the governance groups, He also works closely with NCAA President Myles Brand to support the NCAA Executive Committee.  Administrative areas reporting to him are governance, academic and membership affairs, educational affairs, and research.

A graduate of Simpson, Franklin has a master’s degree in education from McDaniel and a Ph.D. in education from Columbia. He is a former member of the NCAA Division II Presidents Council and the Executive Committee.

Founded in 1854, Lincoln is the first historically black institution of higher education.