NCAA president Mark Emmert feistily defended his record during a news conference Thursday at the Georgia World Congress Center.
“I know you’re disappointed, but I’m still here,” Emmert said to one reporter at the end of the session.
The NCAA has come under sharp criticism recently for its enforcement methods, particularly regarding a botched investigation of the University of Miami’s athletic program.
And this week, a report in USA Today raised questions about Emmert’s leadership in high-level jobs at universities before he became NCAA president 2 1/2 years ago. The report said he “has a history of dodging blame in scandals that have festered on his campuses.”
Emmert said Thursday that the Miami case, in which the NCAA admitted improperly obtaining information, “had some enormous foul-ups in it” and “is obviously a significant blow to the confidence people have in enforcement.” He added: “So, yeah, we had problems there. We’re fixing them, and we’re moving on.”
He attributed other criticisms of his record, including at previous jobs, to his being an agent for change.
“Some of the criticisms about change … naturally get leveled at the guy at the top,” he said. “If you’re going to launch a change agenda, you’ve got be willing to deal with criticism.”
Emmert began his 40-minute news conference, which he customarily holds in advance of the Final Four, by speaking at length about various changes the NCAA is in the process of making. Those include streamlining the organization’s rule book, raising its academic requirements and altering its enforcement processes.
“I guess anyone would describe this as a challenging, dynamic, occasionally difficult time in intercollegiate athletics,” Emmert said.
The question-and-answer segment brought some contentious exchanges:
- Asked about reports suggesting the academic reforms have led more college athletes to choose easier majors in order to remain eligible, Emmert said: "If you think your alma mater is offering bad degrees, you ought to take it up with them. We're an athletic association. We don't accredit academic institutions. We don't go in the classroom and say, 'We don't like the quality of this degree.'"
- Asked about "unprecedented litigation" the NCAA faces, Emmert said: "If you're not getting sued today, you're not doing anything. … I'm not going to apologize for the fact we have a very litigious society."
- And asked about a report this week alleging serious improprieties — altering grades and paying players — in Auburn's athletics program, Emmert said: "So you obviously believe that those allegations are true and you have evidence they're true and you're saying, 'OK, here's the facts, so why don't you throw the book at Auburn?' We have a higher responsibility when we're saying somebody's committed some offense than reading a newspaper story. I mean, obviously, when anything like that comes out, we conduct an investigation and look into it."
Meanwhile, on the topic of the Final Four, Emmert said: “Should be a lot of fun.”
About the Author
