The NCAA is failing college football.

In August 2020, college sports leaders witnessed the limits of the power that NCAA President Mark Emmert has to control the five most visible Conferences--the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the SEC. In the span of 24 hours, two conferences announced they were not going to play their fall sports schedules-the Big Ten and the Pac-12. As of the mid-August, the ACC, the Big 12 and the SEC have continued to operate as if they are planning to play their fall schedules.

I invited Nancy Zimpher to the podcast to talk about where we are in NCAA Division I athletics today. Nancy has been the Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, President of the University of Cincinnati, and the Chancellor of the SUNY (State Universities of New York) System. She has served on the NCAA Board of Governors, and is currently a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. She chairs the Governance subcommittee for the Knight Commission, which is currently examining proposals for new models for Division I college athletics.

She and her colleague at the Knight Commission, former MLB CFO Jonathan Mariner, co-authored an article for MarketWatch about the challenges facing big time college sports and the revenue crisis facing the Power 5 conferences.

Nancy is currently leading an institute through the Association of Governing Boards that develops new college Presidents. This is a fascinating conversation about what the challenges and opportunities are, and the important role that Presidents have in leading change.