Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker named the next president of the NCAA

Charlie Baker, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, will be the next president of the NCAA. The organization governing college sports announced the news on Thursday, with Baker set to take over on March 1, 2023.

The 66-year-old will take over for Mark Emmert, who held the position since 2010.

“I am honored to become the next president of the NCAA, an organization that impacts millions of families and countless communities across this country every day,” Gov. Baker said in a statement. “The NCAA is confronting complex and significant challenges, but I am excited to get to work as the awesome opportunity college athletics provides to so many students is more than worth the challenge.

“And for the fans that faithfully fill stadiums, stands and gyms from coast to coast, I am eager to ensure the competitions we all love to follow are there for generations to come. Over the coming months, I will begin working with student-athletes and NCAA members as we modernize college sports to suit today’s world, while preserving its essential value.”

Baker was voted Governor of Massachusetts in 2015 and was reelected in 2018. He will leave office in January 2023, and a short time later take on his new job with the NCAA.