Q&A With NCAA President Myles Brand

Myles Brand, president of the NCAA, spoke at N.C. State’s Millennium Seminar Series. Brand served as president of several universities and on the board of many esteemed committees before assuming duties as President of the NCAA in 2003. Staff writer Sean Klemm got the opportunity to sit down with the Bronx, NY, native to ask him a few questions.

Technician: What are the general functions of the NCAA?

Myles Brand: The NCAA looks after the academic achievement of student athletes, it looks after the rules, it puts on championships. For example, all the championships with the exception of [Bowl Subdivision] football is undertaken and overseen by the NCAA. One obvious event we put on is the men’s final basketball tournament, the Final Four. But we do 88 championships total.

Technician: What exactly do you do as President of the NCAA?

Brand: I have oversight for all of intercollegiate athletics on the national level. I am most concerned about student athlete academic performance. But, we also obviously look at competitive equity. We make sure that our rules are being followed and that our games are fair. Sportsmanship is the order of the day.

Technician: Why are you here–what are you talking about in the Millennium Seminar Series?

Brand: I want to talk about intercollegiate athletics in general. Not just those who participate in it, but how it affects the campus as well as the larger community. It’s an important part of not just college life but people in the community as well.

Technician: What is being done to encourage academic achievement among student athletes?

Brand: About five years ago we started the most extensive academic reform movement in the history of the NCAA. We are seeing, during that five years especially while our reforms have taken place, effective, measurable improvement of academic achievement among student athletes. Did you know that student athletes graduated at higher rates than the general student body?

Technician: What are your thoughts on Title IX? 

Brand: Intercollegiate athletics provides opportunities that are helping the educational aspects of one’s college career, as well as helping in the life skills one learns. If all that is true, and I expect you will agree with me about that, then why would anyone deny that to young women and give it to young men? The fact of the matter is Title IX makes those opportunities available equally to men and women.

Technician: Are there any sports that are losing popularity or gaining popularity that you have noticed since you have been president?

Brand: Several sports have grown in popularity. Women’s softball, for example as a case and point. I remember when there was a strike on professional hockey, ESPN was looking for something to put on the air in its place. So they tape-delayed the Women’s College World Series which is softball. It had an enormous audience for tape-delayed [programming]. All of the sudden, they started to broadcast it live and it really took off. There were a bunch of sports, I think that have really increased in popularity.

Technician: Is the APR system doing what it is supposed to be doing? Are you a supporter of it?

Brand: If you are going to have academic reform and accountability, you are going to have to measure success. The APR is a semester by semester measure of academic success. It’s a critically important tool that we have in order to make sure that teams and institutions are improving academically, and we use those measures and follow them carefully.

Technician: How have you enjoyed your time so far at N.C. State?

Brand: I have only been here a short period of time, unfortunately, because it is a wonderful university. Academically, student athletes and the campus are all doing terrific. It’s a wonderful place. I think you and your fellow students are very fortunate to be at this fine university. You are going to have a wonderful degree to take you into life.