The air up there

College president could get NCAA's top job

Don't you just get a kick out of the NCAA? Maybe it's just the craziness of big-time college sports we're seeing here. Or what some in higher education matter-of-factly call the "sports arms race.''

Here the NCAA is kicking off a search for a president and, while its three previous bosses have been ex-jocks (well, an old sportswriter and two athletic director/coaches), word is they're in the market for a college president to head the association. Nothing wrong with that except college presidents have in the past shunned the job in favor of the campus life.

So why might someone from higher education be lured now? Well, duh. The money.

NCAA PAY DAY Officers/ Directors Salary Benefits Cedric Dempsey President $609,041 $146,671 Thomas Jernstedt Senior Vice President $268,081 $89,193 Daniel Boggan Jr. Senior Vice President $266,131 $97,440 James Isch Chief Financial Officer $206,354 $158,088 Highest-paid Employees Salary Benefits Elsa Cole General Counsel $190,086 $58,990 Dennis Cryder Vice President/Marketing $168,700 $30,597 David Price Vice president/Enforcement $158,200 $31,319 Ronald Stratten Vice president/ Education Services $157,200 $30,551 Patricia Bork Vice president/ Championships $156,460 $44,033 Click here for more on the financial breakdown of the NCAA.

If outgoing NCAA president Cedric Dempsey did anything in his eight-year run -- and you have to dig deep for a worthy nugget -- he managed to put some serious bucks behind the position. Dempsey's salary almost doubled to $610,000 during the last five years, according to a CNNSI.com analysis of public tax filings.

The package is worth more than $750,000 when you throw in annual benefits and expenses -- huge dollars for a not-for-profit outfit to be paying. And truth is, nobody on a college campus has it so sweet, except for your major basketball and football coaches. No college president or chancellor is even in the ballpark.

If you listen to University of Tulsa president Bob Lawless , who will lead the search for Dempsey's successor, the figure is double the average salary of presidents at the 114 Division I colleges.

That explains why Dempsey, who will be 70 in April, had to be pulled kicking and screaming from the job last week by the NCAA's executive committee. Dempsey wanted another one-year extension, but the 16-member committee let it be known that wasn't happening.

Speculation on Dempsey's replacement centers on Syracuse chancellor Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw , Ohio State president William Kirwan and former University of Kentucky president C harles Wethington -- all of whom have been active in NCAA circles. Two prominent commissioners also have been mentioned, Jim Delaney of the Big Ten and Kevin Weiberg of the Big 12, while the lead in-house candidate appears to be Judy Sweet , vice president for championships.

The NCAA hasn't yet hired a search firm, though former University of Georgia president Charles Knapp , who is with Heidrick & Struggles International, has expressed interest in serving as a consultant.

But this time, if offered, you can look for a college president to take the job.

"I guess it won't interest most football coaches because they're already way above that,'' cracked Lawless, chairman of the NCAA executive committee. "Maybe that is why college presidents get into the speculation so much since most don't make that kind of money.''

That's the rub in academia and even within the NCAA headquarters. How has it gotten that some major conference commissioners are pulling down $400,000 and the head of the NCAA more than $700,000?

"When I was there, the debate was always, 'Is the NCAA a corporation or is it really higher education,' '' said a former NCAA senior staffer. "For certain things it acts like higher ed and for certain things it says it is a corporation, and so it tries to live in both worlds.''

But why the dollars escalated for Dempsey is baffling to some NCAA insiders, who personally like the guy but consider him a lightweight. There is said now to be significant staff disenchantment, as the NCAA grows less effective as it gets bigger.

Dempsey has presided over a $6 billion basketball contract signed with CBS, but also saw the NCAA lose a $54 million antitrust suit brought by its restricted-earnings basketball coaches. His initiative to get passage of federal legislation that would prohibit Las Vegas from accepting wagers on college games doesn't have legs and, to his surprise, Division 1 programs have balked at his efforts to dramatically loosen amateurism rules.

Some of the anti-Dempsey grumbling dates back to the 1999 move of NCAA headquarters from Kansas City to Indianapolis, which was seen in some precincts as a money grab. About a third of the 300-member staff decided not to relocate, including some key administrators and senior staff. The turnover has continued since the move to Indy.

And so, the staff at headquarters struggles to keep up with needs and issues of the membership. They're said to be often slow returning phone calls from college officials.

"You have people that don't know what they're doing, and there is no one around there with the experience to train them,'' offered someone who regularly deals with NCAA staff.

So whoever replaces Dempsey had best not think he/or she is walking into a cushy retirement gig, big bucks and all.

 

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