The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has bolstered its composition with eight new members, including four women.

Joining the 20-member commission are:

• Val Ackerman, president of USA Basketball and founding president of the Women's National Basketball Association;

• Bill Asbury, vice-president emeritus for student affairs at Pennsylvania State University;

• Anita DeFrantz, president of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles and member of the U.S. Olympic Committee;

• Janet Hill, vice-president of Alexander & Associates;

• Steve Largent, former Oklahoma Congressman and current president of CTIA-The Wireless Association;

• Andrea Fischer Newman, chair of the board of regents at the University of Michigan;

• Jerry Porras, professor emeritus of organizational behavior at Stanford University; and

• Judy Woodruff, CNN contributor, former correspondent and anchor for CNN, PBS and NBC, and trustee emerita at Duke University.

Also, Charles E. Young, president emeritus of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Florida, is rejoining the commission after spending two years as president of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

Of the eight new members, four are former student-athletes. Ackerman played basketball at the University of Virginia, and Asbury and Largent were former football student-athletes -- Asbury at Kent State University and Largent at the University of Tulsa. The latter two also played professionally. Largent, in fact, was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. DeFrantz, a rower and basketball student-athlete at Connecticut College, is a member of that school's athletics hall of fame.

In addition, Largent and DeFrantz are former NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipients. DeFrantz also is a member of the NCAA Leadership Advisory Board, a group composed of high-profile corporate citizens who support NCAA educational programming.

DeFrantz said she believes that the success of intercollegiate athletics "is dependent upon the accountability of the programs to those served as well as commitment to the integrity and educational purposes of collegiate athletics." She said the Knight Commission plays a vital role in monitoring the academic and financial integrity of programs for all student-athletes.

The new members also signal a move away from the commission's reliance upon university presidents for its membership. While there still are six current and three former presidents on the commission roster, none of the eight new members has university presidential experience.

Knight Commission Chair Thomas K. Hearn Jr., president emeritus at Wake Forest University, said the new members help signal the commission's move into what he calls "a new era of examining the alignment of athletics and academic missions on our nation's campuses." He said the new members also offer a different perspective that the commission needs to complete its task.

"These individuals are busy people who did not need another task on their plates," Hearn said. "They answered our call because they, too, believe the job is important to the future of higher education, and that the job is not done."

The commission also welcomed Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as an ex officio member. Ibargüen, former publisher of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, became the Knight Foundation president in July.

Hodding Carter III, the foundation's former president, will remain on the commission as a regular member. Beginning in 2006, Carter will be university professor of leadership and public policy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Carter joined the commission as an ex officio member in 2000 and was instrumental in the development of "A Call to Action," the commission's 2001 report.

The commission next meets November 8 in Washington, D.C. On the group's agenda is a review of NCAA academic-reform efforts. The commission also has meetings scheduled for January 30, 2006, and May 22, 2006.