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Hiring college head an encouraging sign by NCAA

The Finalists • Myles Brand • Horace Mitchell • John B. “Jack’’ Swarbrick

Folks who closely follow the NCAA -- many of whom once held jobs there -- suggest that the choice of Indiana University president Myles Brand to head the association was ultimately, in sports vernacular, a slam dunk.

Some go so far as to say the job was set up for Brand when he and two other finalists appeared before the NCAA executive committee in Indianapolis. It was widely assumed, after all, that the new NCAA boss would come from the ranks of college presidents. And, in the end, Brand was the only one of the trio who fit that description.

The two other finalists, we've learned, were sports attorney Jack Swarbrick, a former chair of the Indiana Sports Commission who played a role in the NCAA moving to Indianapolis, and Horace Mitchell, an African-American and the University of California's vice chancellor for business and administrative services.

Decent, bright gentlemen both. But the selection of either as NCAA president would have raised more than a few eyebrows. Swarbrick has just resumed practicing law after overseeing a failed Internet venture. And the Cal athletic program, which answers to Mitchell, has a history of running afoul of NCAA rules -- including twice since he took over in 1995.

What’s interesting is that the highly secretive, presumably expensive, nationwide search had a very neighborly feel in the end. Brand and Swarbrick are both locals. And NCAA vice president Dan Boggan was Mitchell's predecessor at Cal.

Both Swarbrick and Mitchell said they were aware of a strong push for a college president. Mitchell aspires to run a college in the near future, and thus saw himself as a viable alternative if one didn’t emerge from the exhaustive search.

“They were looking for someone who could convey their message of presidential control of the NCAA," says Mitchell, who acknowledges expressing concern to the search committee about the shortage of people of color in college coaching and administration. “I considered my candidacy as reasonable, but certainly acknowledged that if they found the right college president that might make sense."

One college president interviewed early on by the search firm was surprised to learn that Brand was the only president among the finalists. He and others suspect another president, perhaps a favored candidate, withdrew late in the selection process, as was the case the last time the NCAA looked for a leader.

Remember, this sports job shouldn't be confused with running a pro league. This isn’t David Stern calling shots in the NBA. Or even Bud Selig in baseball. The NCAA position, frankly, lacks power; it's perhaps more akin to running a service organization. And despite a compensation package of more than $700,000 -- easily double what college presidents get -- it’s historically been hard to lure them away from their campuses.

That may have been the case again in what some suggest was a weak final three. Although Brand stands apart from the finalists and his stature heightened for firing Bobby Knight, he's said to have a reputation for “going whichever way the wind blows" with superiors and not always supporting staff. He’s also perceived by some as distant and hard to get comfortable with.

Still, say some, the mere act of hiring a college president to head the NCAA is a watershed moment for intercollegiate athletics, a sign that the NCAA's Executive Committee -- 15 college presidents and one chancellor -- is committed to athletic reforms.

It's also assumed Brand will try to further advance academic initiatives. If he has any kind of presence at all, gripes about the field of finalists won’t linger long.

The Finalists

Myles Brand

Horace Mitchell

John B. “Jack’’ Swarbrick

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