Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will take over as the NCAA president on March 1, the organization announced on Thursday.

Baker, 66, will succeed Mark Emmert, who has served in the role since 2010. Emmert announced last April that he was stepping down.

“I am honored to become the next president of the NCAA, an organization that impacts millions of families and countless communities across this country every day,” Baker said in a news release. “The NCAA is confronting complex and significant challenges, but I am excited to get to work as the awesome opportunity college athletics provides to so many students is more than worth the challenge.

“And for the fans that faithfully fill stadiums, stands and gyms from coast to coast, I am eager to ensure the competitions we all love to follow are there for generations to come. Over the coming months, I will begin working with student-athletes and NCAA members as we modernize college sports to suit today’s world, while preserving its essential value.”

Baker played basketball as an undergraduate at Harvard in the 1970s.

“We are excited to welcome Governor Charlie Baker to the NCAA and eager for him to begin his work with our organization,” said Linda Livingstone, Baylor president and chair of the NCAA Board of Governors, who helmed the presidential search committee.

“Governor Baker has shown a remarkable ability to bridge divides and build bipartisan consensus, taking on complex challenges in innovative and effective ways.

“As a former student-athlete himself, husband to a former college gymnast, and father to two former college football players, Governor Baker is deeply committed to our student-athletes and enhancing their collegiate experience. These skills and perspective will be invaluable as we work with policymakers to build a sustainable model for the future of college athletics.”

Baker, a Republican, did not seek re-election to a third term in Massachusetts. Democrat Maura Healey won the gubernatorial election in November.

Emmert will continue to work the NCAA as a consultant through June 2023.

–Field Level Media