NCAA leaders delivered a different kind of State of College Sports presentation at the 2023 NCAA Convention on Thursday, with comments from both current President Mark Emmert and incoming President Charlie Baker. Board chair and Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone hosted the event, which celebrates the achievements of NCAA members in the past year and looks ahead to what challenges await the Association in the future.
"At a very core level, I believe there is a broad desire to see college athletes across the country competing according to the same fundamental rules with access to the same fundamental opportunities," Livingstone said. "To build that kind of sustainable model for college sports, we have a lot of work to do together. We know this work must start internally."
In his final weeks as president, Emmert used the occasion to reflect on his more than 12 years in the position. The past year saw the full return of NCAA championships after the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of the student-athlete population above 520,000 for the first time and the continuation of record-high graduation rates for student-athletes.
"We need to be really proud, because that's the real scorecard," Emmert said. "It's not just how did on the team or who the national champion was, it's those measures of success of student-athletes when they go out into the world that really matter."
Baker addressed the membership for the first time since last month's announcement. The former Harvard basketball player concluded his time as governor of Massachusetts on Jan. 5. He met with student-athletes and members at the Convention ahead of his official start as president on March 1.
"March is six weeks from now," Baker said. "I look forward to jumping in with both feet and having a chance to work with you to make college sports continue to be the envy of the world when it comes to developing and providing support and opportunities for young people. I can't wait to get started."
The 2023 NCAA Convention continues Friday with the Saluting Excellence Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Central and additional divisional programming. The event concludes with business sessions for Divisions II and III on Saturday.
