In a Thursday morning announcement, Massachusetts governor and former Harvard men’s basketball alum, Charlie Baker was named the next president of the NCAA.
Baker, a two-term governor who chose not to run for re-election this past November, will assume his new role on March 1, 2023. Maura Healey, the present state attorney general and a former Crimson women’s basketball captain, will take over for Baker on January 5.
“When you consider the priorities that we have right now in the NCAA, it’s hard to imagine a better fit than Governor Baker,” Linda Livingstone, chair of the NCAA Board of Governors, Linda Livingstone, said at the introductory press conference. “As a public servant, he’s shown a talent for working across party lines, convening Bay Staters of all types to do big things together. As a business executive, he led a remarkable turnaround at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, building one of America’s top health insurance plans, and served as an advisor to several successful startups. As a leader, he has consistently shown the ability to maximize an organization’s talents, passions and capabilities.”
With a large number of social, political and legal priorities, including NIL (name, image and likeness), labor, antitrust, media contract, conference realignment and gender inclusivity issues, the NCAA has opted to go with a political and business leader, instead of someone with experience in professional sports or higher education, for the first time in its history.
On the hardwood, Baker was an all-conference center at Needham (Mass.) High School. He entered Harvard in the fall of 1975 and played on the freshman team. After stepping away his sophomore year, he asked then-coach Frank McLaughlin if he could rejoin the team.
The 6-foot-6 forward played in eight games during the 1978-79 season, averaging 1.6 points and one rebound per game.
“He was a defensive specialist, which means you can’t shoot,” McLaughlin told the Boston Globe. “What I remember about Charlie was that he was a guy with tremendous enthusiasm and how hard he played.”
Baker didn’t play in his senior season, opting to be an assistant coach for the junior varsity team.
The present Crimson men’s coach, Tommy Amaker, sang Baker’s praises, when commenting on the hiring of one of Harvard’s two 2022 Legends of Ivy Basketball.
“As the Head Coach at Harvard, a board member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and a friend, I am personally AND professionally thrilled and proud for what this selection means for the direction and the future of college athletics,” Amaker said on Twitter. “At this pivotal and unprecedented moment in the history of college athletics, we are truly fortunate to have him as our future leader.”