May 3, 2010 8:31:02 AM

Len Elmore, former University of Maryland and NBA star and current ESPN and CBS Sports announcer, has been named chief executive officer of iHoops, the joint youth basketball initiative of the NCAA and NBA.

Elmore, also a member of the Knight Commission, replaces Kevin Weiberg, iHoops' inaugural CEO who left in March to become deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the Pacific-10 Conference.

Jointly established by the NCAA and NBA in 2009, iHoops is committed to providing a structure and creating programs to improve the quality of youth basketball in the United States to enhance the athletics, educational and social experience for boys and girls, parents, coaches and officials.

"Basketball has played an integral role in my life and I am honored to lead iHoops' mission to improve youth basketball and provide safe and supportive opportunities for youngsters to play the game they love," Elmore said.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Elmore was originally appointed to iHoops' board of directors, helping to steer the initiative's progress since its inception. Other board members include Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, NCAA Senior Vice President Greg Shaheen, NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Adam Silver, and NBA Executive Vice Presidents Stu Jackson and Kathy Behrens.

"What Len Elmore brings to youth basketball and iHoops is love for the game, integrity of character and a claim on the absolute necessity to get this right," said NCAA Interim President Jim Isch.

Since the initiative's inception. Nike, adidas and Right Guard have joined iHoops as founding partners, and iHoops.com, the premier online resource for youth basketball, was launched. Additionally, as part of iHoops' goal to unify the game's stakeholders, new partnerships were formed with USA Basketball, the Amateur Athletic Union and the National Federation of State High Schools, among others, to further support educational and basketball programming efforts.

Elmore will oversee the expansion of original content and special offerings on iHoops.com, which currently provides supporting services and resources for players, parents, coaches, officials, teams and event organizers including skills training, educational programming, events registration, instructional videos, highlights, blogs, social media, and eventually online education courses for coaches and officials.

Elmore also will maintain his role as color analyst for men's college basketball games on ESPN and CBS Sports.