At its January 11, 2000, meeting, the Executive Committee reviewed the role of the NCAA president and took the following action:

It was VOTED

a. “To fully support the stated position that the NCAA president must be proactive, anticipate issues and challenges, and present recommendations for all issues. The president is encouraged to utilize the experience of senior staff members to enhance efficiency, provide clarity in decision-making, and increase accountability.”

b. “To endorse in principle the process for communicating the role of the NCAA president within the governance structure and with the NCAA staff members.”

The Executive Committee was informed that an initial performance evaluation session occurred between the president and the chair of the Executive Committee. A report of the complete process and forms will be presented at its April meeting.

During the April 2000 Management Council meetings, Charles Wethington stated that at its October 1999 meeting, the Executive Committee spent a considerable amount of time discussing the role of the NCAA President. In summary, the Executive Committee’s expectations were that the president and his staff be proactive; anticipate issues and challenges; and present recommendations. These expectations were different than what had been expected in the past. Accordingly, the Executive Committee discussed the need to take formal action on these expectations and then communicate its expectations to the membership. Ced Dempsey had provided a memorandum explaining his understanding of his role that was in agreement with the Executive Committee’s discussions. He had also provided a plan for communicating the action to the membership.

Ced Dempsey responded that he wanted to underscore his commitment to the Executive Committee to meet the leadership expectations of his senior staff and him. He added that it was extremely important for us to have clearly articulated expectations, established by the membership, in order to truly serve the needs of the membership. He was grateful for Dr. Wethington’s commitment to help communicate the Executive Committee’s expectations to the membership. He noted that it was important that the membership, including our committees and cabinets, understand the expectations and for staff to be proactive and recommend courses of action for consideration. It would also be critical that the members of the Executive Committee communicate his role and that of the staff to their divisional colleagues and management councils.