WRAL Sports Fan

Colleges

Duke AD White, UNC Chancellor Thorp to attend NCAA retreat

By Aaron Schoonmaker

Aug 9, 2011

Wake County, N.C. — Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA, believes that “significant and strategic change is needed” in intercollegiate athletics at the Division I level. In an attempt to pinpoint the direction of the change, Emmert has invited more than 65 university presidents, chancellors and other prominent college minds from across the country for a two-day retreat.

Among those in attendance will be University of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp and Duke University Athletic Director Kevin White

The retreat will be held at the Indiana University School of Law and focus on three key areas: Continued expectations for student-athlete academic success, fiscal sustainability in Division I and fortifying the integrity of the enterprise.

The NCAA has been busy over the last two years with numerous investigations at multiple prominent universities but Emmert insists that the retreat was not organized because of any one specific incident. Rather, the retreat will address broader themes of financial differences between the universities and commercialism overshadowing the student-athlete aspect of intercollegiate sports.

“Decision-making rests with the presidents. Strong, decisive presidential leadership is critical to the future of Division I intercollegiate athletics,” said Emmert in a statement on NCAA.com. “In my discussions with presidents, chancellors and conference commissioners leading up to this retreat, I have learned there is a deep sense of concern about the issues and an eagerness to address them. We can’t continue to sail in all directions. We need to set a clear course and establish the will to navigate the rough seas ahead.”

Emmert said that the closed-door meetings at the retreat may not yield immediate change, but the goal is to develop detailed solutions that will best benefit all Division I universities moving forward.