NCAA Board Could Expand Beyond College Presidents

A new proposal calls for expanding the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors to include an athletic director, a faculty athletics representative, and a student, each of whom could gain voting rights alongside college presidents and chancellors, the NCAA announced on Tuesday.

The proposal, presented by a steering committee charged with overhauling Division I governance, would give the five wealthiest conferences substantial voting power on a proposed new rule-making council—an important step in their efforts to gain more autonomy. Under the plan, each vote from the biggest leagues—the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC—would count four times, representing 37 percent of the council’s total vote.

Each vote from the Big East, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt Conferences would count twice, for 18.6 percent of the total. Votes from the other 22 Division I conferences would count once, for a total of 40.7 percent, while votes from athletes would also count once, for 3.7 percent of the total.