Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will be the next president of the NCAA, the association announced Thursday, replacing Mark Emmert as the head of the largest college sports governing body in the country.

What You Need To Know

  • Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker was named the next president of the NCAA on Thursday, the first politician to lead the sports governing body

  • Baker, who has been governor of Massachusetts since 2015, announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election

  • The Republican governor, who played basketball at Harvard, will start the job in March 2023

  • His wife, Lauren Baker, was a former collegiate gymnast at Northwestern University, and two of his three children are former college athletes

Baker, who has been governor of Massachusetts since 2015, announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. The Republican governor, who played basketball at Harvard, will start the job in March 2023. His wife, Lauren Baker, was a former collegiate gymnast at Northwestern University, and two of his three children are former college athletes.

Baker will be the first politician to lead the NCAA.

"Governor Baker has shown a remarkable ability to bridge divides and build bipartisan consensus, taking on complex challenges in innovative and effective ways," Linda Livingstone, President of Baylor University and Chair of the NCAA Board of Governors, wrote in a statement. "As a former student-athlete himself, husband to a former college gymnast, and father to two former college football players, Governor Baker is deeply committed to our student-athletes and enhancing their collegiate experience. These skills and perspective will be invaluable as we work with policymakers to build a sustainable model for the future of college athletics."

"I am honored to become the next president of the NCAA, an organization that impacts millions of families and countless communities across this country every day," said Governor Baker. "The NCAA is confronting complex and significant challenges, but I am excited to get to work as the awesome opportunity college athletics provides to so many students is more than worth the challenge."

"And for the fans that faithfully fill stadiums, stands and gyms from coast to coast, I am eager to ensure the competitions we all love to follow are there for generations to come," he added. "Over the coming months, I will begin working with student-athletes and NCAA members as we modernize college sports to suit today's world, while preserving its essential value."

Emmert announced he would step down earlier this year after 12 years of leading the NCAA through a tumultuous time.

Battered by losses in court and attacks by politicians, the NCAA is going through a sweeping reform, trying to decentralize the way college sports is run.

College sports leaders, including Emmert, have repeatedly asked for help from Congress to regulate name, image and likeness compensation since the NCAA lifted its ban in 2021 on athletes being paid endorsers.

Now the association will be led by a politician for the first time. The last two NCAA presidents, Emmert and the late Myles Brand, moved into the job after being university presidents. Before that the job had typically been held by former college sports administrators.

But with the NCAA moving into a new phase and college sports becoming more professionalized, it was clear the role of the president of the association was also changing.