NCAA President Charlie Baker: The Hoops HQ Interview

To put it mildly, the NCAA, and college sports in general, is going through an unprecedented disruption. The groundbreaking settlement reached with the the plaintiffs in the House vs. NCAA case, among several others, is (hopefully) headed for final approval from U.S. District Judge Cladia Wilken. Even if that approval is rendered, it will not solve all of the thorny issue facing college athletics. But it will be an important step forward.

Charlie Baker has only been president of the NCAA for about 20 months, but he proved in his past role as the Republican governor of Massachusetts that he is effective at bringing together disparate viewpoints to build consensus and move an agenda forward. His current job, unlike his previous one, does not come with any direct power to affect change, but it does come with a visible pulpit and a high level of influence. Baker is doing his best to wield that influence in a way that will, at long last, move the NCAA into a more stable future.

Last Friday, Baker spoke exclusively with Hoops HQ Editor-in-Chief Seth Davis about where the NCAA is at this moment, how it got here, and what’s ahead. The topics ranged from the efforts to get antitrust legislation from Congress, what to do about NIL collectives, why the NCAA doesn’t want athletes to become employees, whether the so-called football superleague is a realistic possibility and whether the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments should expand.