COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced that
Bernard Muir, Stanford's Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics, will serve as the new chair of the USOPC Collegiate Advisory Council (CAC).
Muir, in his 11th season on The Farm, replaces Kevin White (Duke), long-time chair and retired USOPC board member, who held the appointment from 2017-2022.
The USOPC also announced one new member, Jamie Pollard (Iowa State), and the new structure includes four designated athlete seats. Now in its sixth year of operation, the CAC brings high-contributing collegiate administrators and athletes with both collegiate sport and Team USA experience together to help bridge and develop the relationship between the key stakeholders.
"The collegiate landscape is critically important to the current and future health of Olympic and Paralympic sport, and we're thrilled to welcome Bernard Muir as chair and new member Jamie Pollard to our Collegiate Advisory Council to help us advance this work," said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland. "From launching the USOPC Collegiate Think Tank, to working with the NCAA to update legislation, to supporting athletes competing in both systems, the council has already accomplished a great deal since its inception – and we are focused on continuing our efforts in support of Team USA student-athletes."
During Muir's decade-long tenure, Stanford has maintained its reputation as the most successful intercollegiate athletic department in the nation. Muir has presided over the most decorated stretch in school history, with the Cardinal having won 28 NCAA championships and 37 national titles overall, in addition to 106 conference championships, entering the 2022-23 campaign.
Stanford has also extended one of the most recognizable streaks in college athletics under Muir's guidance, winning at least one NCAA team championship in each of the last 46 seasons, the longest such streak in the country and a stretch that dates back to 1976-77. Since Muir's arrival, Stanford also has won the Learfield Directors' Cup seven times, in addition to claiming eight Capital One Cups (five women, three men).
Stanford has consistently showcased its dominance on the world's biggest stage during Muir's tenure, most recently capturing 26 medals to lead all institutions at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Boasting a school-record 57 Olympians with Cardinal ties, Stanford nearly matched its all-time benchmark (27 overall at the 2016 Rio Games) while earning at least 20 medals for the fifth time in school history. Stanford also totaled more Team USA selections (35) than any other school.
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 on the horizon, the CAC will continue carrying out its mission of strengthening and leading collaborative efforts to align our country's unique collegiate athletic landscape and the Olympic and Paralympic movements to support Team USA's collegiate athletes.
The council's focus areas are alignment modeling, messaging integration and pathway advancement. The CAC will convene its first meeting of 2023 via teleconference March 1.
The 12-member council is comprised of:
• Bernard Muir (Stanford/USOPC CAC chair)
• Sandy Barbour (Penn State)
• Greg Byrne (Alabama)
• Lauren Crandall (Athlete/Wake Forest) ^
• Bubba Cunningham (North Carolina/USOPC board representative)
• Jessica Heims (Athlete/Northern Iowa)
• Chaunté Lowe (Athlete/Georgia Tech) ^
• Rob Mullens (Oregon)
• Jamie Pollard (Iowa State) *
• Gene Smith (Ohio State)
• ^Kendall Spencer (New Mexico) ^
• Scott Stricklin (Florida)
*Denotes new member starting in quarter one of 2023
^Denotes athlete representative
