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Publish date: Oct 5, 2010

Check out a biography, calendar of appearances and more for NCAA President Mark Emmert at NCAA.org/president. Share your thoughts with him on Facebook here.

A greeting from NCAA President Mark Emmert

By Mark Emmert

When I walked through the front doors of the NCAA national office Tuesday to officially begin my tenure as NCAA president, it was the first time since before I went to college that my life didn’t involve being on a campus.

Since being named in April, I have lightheartedly referred to this appointment as my “halfway house” – a place that is not directly on campus yet is tied to so many. Rather than root for several hundred student-athletes as president of an NCAA institution, I will now cheer on more than 400,000 as president of the NCAA.

I can’t begin to tell you how good that feels.

What they're saying about Mark Emmert

“Mark Emmert had a profound impact on LSU, both academically and athletically. He recognized the value of athletics to the mission of the university and often spoke of athletics as the ‘front door’ of the institution. He saw the value of investing resources into athletics as one tool in achieving excellence for the entire university. He was a visionary who was instrumental in setting in motion a decade of success – both in athletics and academics -- at LSU.”
– Joe Alleva, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics, LSU

“Along with my colleagues from across the country, I am very pleased with Mark’s appointment as President of the NCAA. Mark fully understands the important relationship between academics and athletics. I look forward to Mark’s progressive leadership of a critical institution.”
– Michael Martin, Chancellor, LSU

“During his years at UConn, Mark Emmert demonstrated an understanding of the interconnection between academics and athletics and the importance of the highest ethical standards in each. Throughout his time here he showed himself to be an energetic, articulate advocate for this university and higher education in general, and I’m sure these traits will serve him well in his new position at the NCAA.”
- Philip E. Austin, Interim President, UConn

What I can begin to tell you is that being committed to the educational success of the student-athlete is a transferrable skill. My interest in helping shape the lives of young people isn’t tied to the school colors on their uniforms. It is a passion I share with each of you who work in this enterprise we call intercollegiate athletics.

The NCAA exists to promote a high-quality, high-integrity experience for all of our student-athletes. The thread that ties us all together is why we’re here in the first place, which is to create educational and athletics experiences for young people that will serve them well beyond their playing days.

And now as your president, I have the wonderful opportunity to help all of us do just that.

While I have a good deal of practical experience in shaping those experiences, I also fully understand there is much to learn about what works for our member institutions. I’m going to attend to you and your needs so that together we can work on that singular focus of ensuring that this is all about the student-athletes.

Some people have asked me if anything has changed in the time between my being selected in April and actually taking office in October. What’s changed is my level of knowledge about not only the people who work full time for the Association – the deep commitment from those who volunteer on the councils and governance bodies – but also the presidents, athletics directors and commissioners who work at the local levels on behalf of our student-athletes. I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of the issues and of people’s commitment to making the NCAA successful. If anything, my enthusiasm and excitement for this adventure has risen since April.

During these first few months, I want to continue getting to know all of you and strengthen my relationships with internal and external stakeholders. While I certainly will talk about myself and my interests, mostly I will be listening to what you have to say and to what you need from your Association. My job is to enable both the national office and the membership itself to address and resolve the issues that are before us. Those issues may be plentiful and some may be difficult, but they are not insurmountable.

In short, I have much to learn, but I am invigorated by the challenge.

Perhaps I’m still on a campus after all.

Mark Emmert is president of the NCAA.