NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert to Address USTFCCCA Convention

NEW ORLEANS – President of the NCAA Dr. Mark Emmert will address the 2011 convention of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) this coming December. Emmert has taken a strong leadership position in his first year of heading the NCAA and is at the forefront of many of the issues facing collegiate athletics. Emmert will address the USTFCCCA membership at the convention’s opening session on Tuesday, December 13, at the JW Marriott Hill Country in San Antonio, Texas.

Emmert, who took over as the fifth president of the NCAA in October 2010, has moved swiftly to encourage meaningful reforms within the organization. Most recently at a presidential summit of Division I members, Emmert challenged administrative leaders to review and evaluate the organization’s policies and procedures in an effort to insure that collegiate athletics and student-athletes are being served in the most proficient way.

“I am very excited to have NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert at the USTFCCCA Convention this December,” said Dr. Ted Bulling, USTFCCCA President and Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at Nebraska Wesleyan University. “I know that our membership will be very appreciative of his appearance and is looking forward to meeting him in San Antonio.”

Prior to assuming his current role, Emmert had been president at his alma mater, the University of Washington, since 2004 where he led the university to its standing as second among all public and private institutions in research funding with $1 billion in grants and contracts per year.  Before returning to his alma mater, Emmert was chancellor at Louisiana State University from 1999 to 2004.

Among his administrative appointments in higher education, Emmert was chief operating and academic officer at the University of Connecticut (1995 to 1999), provost and vice-president for academic affairs at Montana State University (1992 to 1995), and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Colorado (1985 to1992).

A Washington native, Emmert earned his bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Washington and has both a master’s degree and a Ph.D in public administration from Syracuse University.

Dr. Emmert will be the second NCAA president to address the USTFCCCA membership. In 2007, the late-Myles Brand spoke to the nation’s track & field and cross country coaches at the annual convention in Phoenix, Ariz.

ABOUT THE USTFCCCA

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents over 8,000 coaching members encompassing 94% of all NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches’ interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.