Sept. 25, 2015 NCAA Release | Smart Bio
INDIANAPOLIS -- Missouri State University president Clifton M. (Clif) Smart III will chair one of two NCAA working groups this fall that will begin addressing issues identified in August during the organization's Division I Strategic Summit.
Smart is part of a select group of Division I leaders who will serve on the Sport Organizational Structure Working Group. Another working group will study Values-Based Revenue Distribution. These individuals were appointed by the Division I Administrative Committee of the Division I Board of Directors, which handles tasks that arise between quarterly board meetings.
The board created both groups after reviewing outcomes and principles formed during the summit, where presidents, faculty, administrators and students gathered to discuss the future of Division I.
The Sport Organizational Structure Working Group will look at the components of the multisport sponsorship commitment by Division I schools. The board has encouraged the group to explore a range of approaches most appropriate for the division. Smart, who is also a member of the NCAA Board, will co-chair this group with Randy Woodson, chancellor at North Carolina State University.
Other members of the working group are: Mitch Barnhart (Kentucky), Bob Bowlsby (Big 12 Conference), Dean Bresciani (North Dakota State), Vicki Chun (Colgate), Tim Cost (Jacksonville), Michael Drake (Ohio State), Robert Frank (New Mexico), Keith Gill (Richmond), Nayef Samhat (Wofford), Rachel Scott (Texas), and Harry Williams (Delaware State). Of the 13 members on the committee, Scott is a student-athlete; Barnhart, Chun and Gill are athletic directors, and Bowlsby is a conference commissioner. The remaining eight members, including Smart and Woodson are university presidents or chancellors.
"As we plan for the future of collegiate athletics, the Sport Organizational Structure Working Group will perform important work to guide the NCAA," said Smart, who is in his fifth year as the president of Missouri State. "The group will evaluate the current organizational structure and find opportunities to make organizational rules more flexible.? The group's goal is to allow as many institutions as possible to compete at the highest level while preserving student-athletes' access to quality programs."
The Values-Based Revenue Distribution Working Group will examine how financial distributions to Division I members could better align with the core values of the Association. Board members expressed interest in examining the addition of an academic component to the distribution. William Ruud, Presidential Forum vice-chair and president at the University of Northern Iowa, and Christine Copper, a Division I board member and U.S. Naval Academy faculty athletics representative, will chair the group.
Both groups will provide recommendations to the NCAA board within the next 12 to 18 months.
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