July 25, 2011 | Mike Enright, Athletic Communications

Herbst to Participate in NCAA Presidential Retreat

The meeting seeks to address the challenges facing collegiate athletics.

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NCAA logoUniversity President Susan Herbst has been invited and will take part in an NCAA Presidential Retreat, which will take place on Aug. 9-10 at NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis.

The retreat comes at the directive of NCAA President Mark Emmert, with the goal of establishing significant and strategic change needed in Division I intercollegiate athletics.

“The integrity of collegiate athletics is seriously challenged today by rapidly growing pressures coming from many directions,” said Emmert, who was the chief operating and academic officer at UConn from 1995 to 1999. “We have reached a point where incremental change is not sufficient to meet these challenges. I want us to act more aggressively and in a more comprehensive way than we have in the past. A few new tweaks of the rules won’t get the job done.”

The retreat will focus on three overarching areas: continued expectations for student-athlete academic success; fiscal sustainability in Division I; and fortifying the integrity of the enterprise.

“I am very honored and excited to take part in the NCAA retreat,” said Herbst, who took office at UConn in June. “There are many critical areas in collegiate athletics that need to be addressed. We have reached a point in time where these issues can no longer be ignored and need to be examined at the highest level. I applaud Dr. Emmert and the NCAA for initiating this retreat and look forward to representing the University of Connecticut at it.”

Approximately 50 University presidents will participate in the retreat, and they will be joined by four directors of athletics and four conference commissioners, in addition to a representative from the NCAA Leadership Council, the National Association of Collegiate Women’s Athletic Administrators, and two NCAA faculty representatives.

“Since I began as NCAA president in October, I have made it a point to reach out to constituents and stakeholders all over the country to talk about what people think of the collegiate model,” Emmert said. “This retreat is a chance for me to share with my presidential colleagues what I have heard regarding the issues, and some of my thoughts on how we might address them.

“Second, I want to hear from the presidents themselves on what they see the future direction should be.”

For more information about the retreat, visit the NCAA website.