INDIANAPOLIS – University of Washington president Mark A. Emmert became the NCAA’s new chief executive on Tuesday, ending the search that began in November.
Emmert succeeds Myles Brand, who died last September from pancreatic cancer. Brand was the first ex-university president to lead college sports’ largest governing body and the first chief executive to die in office. Jim Isch has served as interim president since Sept. 22 and will continue to do so for the next several months.
Emmert will begin his duties Nov. 1. NCAA officials said Emmert was given a five-year contract.
It was a surprise choice.
Early front-runners were University of Hartford president Walter Harrison, Georgia president Michael Adams, and NCAA executive Bernard Franklin.
But the NCAA decided to go in a different direction, opting for a man they thought could deliver the organization’s message effectively in any venue.
Executive committee chairman Ed Ray, the Oregon president who knew Emmert from his days at Washington, said the initial list of nearly 100 candidates was whittled to 32, then to a handful of finalists who were interviewed Tuesday afternoon.
