Total Campus Report - Efficient & valuable curated higher ed developments delivered once per week. |
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Publication Update: Total Campus Report will be taking a break until January 8, 2023. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! |
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NCAA Selects Next President |
SBJ & The Athletic broke the news Thursday morning of the NCAA selecting Massachusetts Governor Baker to succeed President Emmert in the role starting March 1, 2023. Baker, a former MBB student-athlete at Harvard, has served two terms as governor and is credited with bringing bipartisan leadership to the commonwealth. Baker: "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.” (link)
+ More from Baker during his intro presser thanks to Sports Illustrated’s Dellenger: “I think it’s worth doing. Yeah, it’s big and complicated, but so have been a lot of things I’ve done in my life. [...] I've always believed sports have tremendous power to bring people together. We are in a bit of a pivotal period for the NCAA. [...] I think the transfer portal is one element of a whole series of elements that needs to be part of the conversation going forward.” (link)
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Insights & Reactions…
+ Knight Commission CEO Perko via the AP’s Russo on a key challenge for Baker: “The NCAA receives zero dollars from the CFP, but it remains liable for the legal and health costs of FBS football. The explosion of revenues, just for FBS football, is at the heart of much of the controversy about the future of all of college sports.” (link)
+ SI’s Dellenger: “The NCAA targeted several former governors in the search. The organization wanted someone politically connected and got it.” (link)
+ The Athletic’s Auerbach: “This hire — and finalist pool — certainly signals the priorities of the NCAA's highest governing body right now. Success in other sectors a plus. Political experience key. The position goes to someone who had not previously worked in college sports (like recent P5 commish hires).” (link) + D1.ticker/Fox Sports’ Fischer: “Charlie Baker turns 67 next year and replaces a 69 year old retiring Mark Emmert. Does not portend to be a long term hire by the Board of Governors, but one chiefly focused on one issue only: getting that antitrust exemption.” (link)
+ The Athletic’s O’Neil: “This is the NCAA’s idea of out-of-the-box thinking. As transformations go, opting for a politician over a university president is like splitting the last hair on a bald man’s scalp. [...] He hits all of the W columns, and no, that’s not wins. He’s White, well-educated and wealthy, thanks to his job running a healthcare company. (He’s also about to get wealthier. His government job paid just $185,000; Emmert made $2.99 million.) [...] The NCAA chose him for one reason: not to transform the NCAA, but to protect it.” (link)
+ Extra Points purveyor Brown: “We're about to enter what should be an especially polarized legislative environment. Will Baker be able to make friends with lawmakers that he could afford to ignore while he was Governor? Could he replicate his governing coalition to ignore extremist types? Is such a thing even possible now? [...] It's still a complicated and quirky industry, but it's clear that the skill sets have shifted. Baker has a lot of experience in delegating and getting up to speed on new industries. How big of a deal will it be that he's never led a university or an athletic department before? Will he be swallowed up by the proverbial system, or will he have the 'juice' to push through any changes?” (link)
+ ESPN’s Thamel and Connelly on Baker’s position, with Thamel noting: “I think the first problem that Charlie Baker is going to have is you don't have control of football and football controls everything. … Also, Charlie Baker, welcome to your job, you have the single worst television contract in the history of college athletics – the NCAA basketball television contract which runs through 2032.” Connelly: “This job matters a lot and could matter and if Charlie Baker can come in and not just basically beg Congress to save all the things that NCAA is doing wrong, right now, if they're going to actually create a path moving forward … It would be amazing if the NCAA actually just sort of with whatever power it had actually stepped in and tried to provide leadership and a vision.” (link)
+ U.S. Representative Trahan (D-MA), a former Georgetown Volleyball student-athlete: “Governor Baker has been an extremely effective leader in Massachusetts, having steered our Commonwealth through some of the most difficult moments in recent history. The NCAA is at an inflection point where athletes and the millions of fans who root them on have largely lost faith in it as an organization. The association desperately needs a proven leader who personally understands the unique needs of the nearly 500,000 college athletes it serves and who is prepared to do what’s necessary to right the ship.” More from Sportico’s McCann & Caron. (link)
+ Interestingly, per Morning Consult, Baker is America’s most popular governor. (link) |
Here’s the full transcript from yesterday’s intro presser with new NCAA President Baker. Notably: “I’ve always just believed that sports have this tremendous power to bring people together. You just see it over and over again, the way in which athletics can transcend so many other divisions. I really do believe that we are at a bit of a pivotal period for the NCAA, and I really do think that the enthusiasm, the life and professional experiences I've had, the people I've gotten to know, the relationships I have can be a big part of helping all the folks involved in the NCAA, wherever they fit in that very significant organization, benefit from what we can put together going forward if we work together. [...] I think one of the things the job is, is it's an exercise in listening. My father always used to say to me that you will learn a lot more listening than you will talking. I think in my career, both in the public and private sector, one of the things I've done very well is listen. [...] For me, when people talk about the transitional period and the number of different things that are going on at this point in time, the question becomes how do you figure out a way to build a platform and get the support for that platform given where everybody sits and stands that can work going forward to serve the very different elements of the very large NCAA constituency, so that jewel, that opportunity that young people have to be part of a team, to learn about themselves and to build a foundation which in many cases will frame the rest of their lives can happen. That to me is the jewel.” (link)
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Charlie’s Challenges…
+ Sports Illustrated’s Forde: “For now, let’s grant Baker the benefit of the doubt and assume he will have some legitimate influence and stature. If that’s the case, four of the six most powerful people in college athletics will have arrived within the past three years—and from completely outside the space. … Now, the NCAA is going straight politician. The last career campus administrators in the group are Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey and Atlantic Coast Conference commish Jim Phillips. The pivot away from that profile, which had proliferated for decades, indicates how badly the previous generation screwed things up by being stubborn, tone deaf, greedy and myopic. It also indicates the shifting needs of the constituents. The conferences want deal-makers who can market them to media companies for the highest possible dollar. The NCAA wants someone who can convince politicians to produce legislation that keeps the association viable and out of its current barrage of lawsuits.” (link)
+ The Athletic’s Staples: “If you are relying on the federal government to produce the framework of the rules your business will run by, you’re not doing it right, but that’s what they think they have to do instead of just actually figuring out a solution on their own. … It’s clear what they want to do is have a voice in Washington D.C. and do this politically, instead of just coming up with common sense solutions for how to get their arms around this. It doesn’t mean it is impossible to figure this stuff out, but just thinking ‘Oh we’ll hire a politician and he’ll get Congress to save us,’ it’s not smart.” (link)
The Athletic’s Auerbach joins Connect/D1.ticker’s Fischer to discuss the appointment of new NCAA President Baker. Auerbach, who alongside SBJ broke the news: “I think they expected more of a response when they told me the name, but some people had gotten in my ear recently about politicians connected to Massachusetts and had pointed out that Baker was not running for reelection, so it was definitely a surprise, but it wasn’t totally out of the blue like some of these past hires, like the Big 12, Big Ten or Pac-12 hires. [...] But what I have been told about the finalists pool and others involved, this was not an outlier hire. [...] It really points to what the NCAA believes it needs right now to ensure its future looks somewhat like its past or at least the important tent pole items continue to exist.” On what feedback Auerbach has heard from industry sources: “A lot of people think it’s a good hire. There’s a lot of optimism around it. [...] The idea of having someone with a bipartisan background, even though dealing with this Congress is going to be a different thing, but I think people like the idea of someone who is going to be able to build bridges.” Lots more background on the search & what it means for membership. All on Connect. (link)
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Oklahoma and Texas to depart early? |
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The Action Network’s McMurphy reports there is “growing sentiment” and “momentum” for Oklahoma and Texas to leave the Big 12 early and join the SEC in 2024. Sports Illustrated’s Dellenger adds: “Negotiations go beyond money and include TV network inventory, which is a real obstacle.” (link); McMurphy on the potential complications: “How eager is ESPN to pay that increased amount to the SEC in 2024 instead of waiting until 2025? If OU and Texas join the SEC early, that could decrease the value of the Big 12’s final year of its current media rights with ESPN and Fox, which the Big 12 would oppose. Would ESPN be willing to offset those smaller numbers to the Big 12 and also pay more to the SEC? Would OU and Texas agree to pay more than the expected $50M buyout to get out early? Would — or even could — OU and Texas schedule nonconference road games at Big 12 teams in 2024 to help offset the decrease in the media rights for that year?” One source tells McMurphy: “The Big 12 would like it to happen a year early, the SEC would like OU and Texas a year early, but FOX could care less and I’m not sure what ESPN will do.” (link)
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“It’s likely they are leaving early.” That’s an unnamed source with knowledge of ongoing discussions between Oklahoma, Texas and the SEC to The Athletics’ Mandel, Olson and others as rumors swirl about the timing of the Sooner and Longhorn departure from the Big 12. According to a Big 12 official, a delay in releasing the league’s 2023 FB schedule is in part due to the uncertainty, with sources believing a resolution will occur in a matter of weeks. The timing of the move makes sense, posits Mandel and Olson, with the SEC + ESPN deal kicking off in the 2024 season along with an expanded College Football Playoff. Additionally, an SEC expansion to 16 teams would align with the Big Ten’s addition of UCLA and USC. Hurdles remaining: negotiating a reduced buyout, with the remaining Big 12 schools expecting OU and UT to pay a “high enough exit fee to make the remaining members and their network partners whole.” Mandel and Olson: “A noteworthy landmark is fast approaching. Per Big 12 bylaws, a member must give at least an 18-month notice of its departure date. That letter would have to arrive by Dec. 31 if they intend to join the SEC on July 1, 2024.” (link)
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Presidents & Chancellors in the News |
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In a letter to colleagues, Texas President Hartzell highlighted milestones and forthcoming initiatives related to the university’s Change Starts Here 10-year strategic plan, including student success and faculty retention efforts, plans to renovate the Texas Memorial Museum, and the awarding of a $3.6M National Science Foundation grant to expand a multiyear robotics project. Hartzell: “As a direct result of our extraordinary talent and unique resources, UT Austin continues to drive high-impact research as we seek to improve lives and solve some of our world’s biggest challenges.” (link)
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West Virginia President Gee on his recent hire of former North Texas AD Baker, which WBOY’s Decker says included the three finalists interviewing with the Mountaineers in Atlanta: “When we interviewed Wren, I can tell you he fits every one of our criteria. And in addition to being an exceptionally … talented athletic director, he’s also a very positive person, who easily connects and engages with everyone that he meets. … We had a lot of input from a number of folks, and I personally had a lot of input from many of the people that I worked with over the years. … It was just readily apparent that the fit, and the person, and the structure, and the place where he should be is right here. So that’s exactly how that process worked.” On the selection committee’s choice: “I can tell you it was unanimous.” (link)
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Sports Illustrated's Johnson details what an HC search looks like from an AD’s perspective and notes that search firms can serve a number of purposes. “Sometimes it can just be for the logistics of setting up interviews to keep the process extremely close to the vest. Some other commonly cited reasons to hire a search firm have to do with plausible deniability, confidentiality and to cover your bases on a background check.” Anachel CEO Cecil tells Johnson HCs “are de facto CEOs. Good athletic directors and even general managers understand the importance of having a coach who understands, and is prepared to be that public-facing CEO. It is more than the X’s and O’s. The X’s and O’s are why they’re in the room, however, staying in the room can be impacted overnight by a reputational fumble of their public persona. Progressive ADs or GMs want to do everything that they can to make sure that that their football CEO is not only representing their billion-dollar business but their constituents, which are thousands of student-athletes, [players], alumni, donors, boosters, legislators, and supporters who where their logo across the globe. The business has changed.” Lots more. (link); The Athletic’s Ubben writes on why more (and longer) guaranteed football head coaching contracts are going to hit the market. An unnamed AD: “When something like this happens a few times in college sports, it’s only going to be more and more accepted and the outlier eventually becomes the norm.” Another: “You can say you won’t make a deal like that, but in the new market, not making a deal like that is the difference between getting a coach and not getting him.” Ubben: “Drawing that line and hiring a coach who doesn’t measure up to the success that other big-time candidates surely would have had (imaginary success, it’s worth reminding) is a gamble that could cost an athletic director his or her job. Do the big contract? Write the big check? An athletic director can more easily point to the market rate or the pressure from boosters and pass the blame if it doesn’t work.” (link)
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Kansas State appointed a 27-member search committee to work with executive search firm Academic Career & Executive Search to identify the university’s next College of Arts and Sciences dean. (link) |
The search committee tasked with identifying Kansas State’s next vice president for communications and marketing recommended pausing the search until early 2023, in order to incorporate input from newly-named Senior Vice President for Executive Affairs, University Engagement and Partnerships and Chief of Staff Stewart. Interim VP for Communications and Marketing Martin agreeing to remain in the position. The recommendation was accepted by President Linton. (link)
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USC named Texas Vice President for Development Rabenold as senior vice president for university advancement and alumni relations. (link) |
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The National Science Foundation released its updated data tables on Higher Education Research and Development for FY21. In its list of all higher education institutions based on total R&D expenditures, Texas topped the Big 12 flagship campuses, ranking 35th at $779.35M. Full list in Table 5. (link) |
West Virginia received a $1M donation for its Rifle program from the Hayhurst family that will fully endowed the program’s HC post, along with going toward additional programmatic support. (link) |
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The Kansas Board of Regents approved the renovation of Kansas State’s indoor track facility and the sale of a vacant duplex owned by K-State in Omaha for $655K. (link)
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Baylor and online learning platform edX will partner to launch a MicroMasters program in Social Work, providing students a stackable credential applicable to the field and transferable to the BU Online Master in Social Work. (link) |
Kansas State honored over 1,100 degree candidates during its fall commencement ceremony on December 10. (link) |
Oklahoma will celebrate the graduation of nearly 2,400 degree candidates with 12 individual college ceremonies December 16-17. (link) |
TCU bestowed degrees on 733 students during fall commencement ceremonies. (link) |
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Iowa Governor Reynolds issued a directive banning the TikTok app from all state-owned devices, with Iowa Board of Regents President Richards passing the order to all institutions, including Iowa and Iowa State, under the board’s jurisdiction. Of note, the order requires institutions to “cease the creation, posting, and active management of content on all TikTok accounts owned or controlled by the institution.” (link)
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The state of Iowa will pay $2M to settle a wrongful death claim made by the family of an Iowa State student who died in a March 2021 Club Crew accident. The claim alleged ISU “recklessly and negligently” allowed the group to participate in activities without following “critical health and safety procedures.” (link) |
A public records lawsuit between investigative media consultant Dolcefino and Texas Tech regarding late Mississippi State FB HC/former TTU HC Leach’s dismissal and subsequent reputational damage can continue, despite the coach’s passing and pending a decision from his widow to foot the legal bills. Litigation has cost approximately $300K, with legal fees totaling between $20K-30K per month. (link)
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Deals, Partnerships & Collaborations |
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Oklahoma established collaborations with Longview Fusion Energy Systems, Inc., to commercialize scientific breakthroughs made at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as well as partnerships with Oklahoma-based Tribal Nations and industry partners to develop fusion engineering and technology workforce development programs. (link) |
The Texas System will partner with Google to offer Google Career Certificates in the fields of e-commerce, project management, UX design and more to students across the eight University of Texas institutions. (link) |
Texas’ Energy Institute partnered with Chevron, Shell, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to launch a membership program that will fund research into subjects such as carbon capture, environmental monitoring and clean hydrogen, advance science and create opportunities for the energy community. (link) |
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