Mark Emmert is no longer the NCAA president; here's how social media celebrated and what's being said about it
Mark Emmert has long been mocked and ridiculed by Penn State fans and anyone who loves college athletics. That did not change on his last day in office.
Emmert’s run as the president of the NCAA ended on Tuesday, 12 years after it began. And, to the surprise of no one, social media and the world at large quickly started its roast of the Washington native, who took over in 2010 and put a plan in motion to step down in 2023 last April. Former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker is taking over as NCAA president
Here’s a sampling of what they’re saying about Emmert’s departure.
Emmert ‘killed the NCAA’
That’s the take of Action Network sports business reporter Darren Rovell, who writes in part:
“Mark Emmert was paid $29 million for his services over the last 12.25 years. Sure, there’s a replacement coming in Charlie Baker, but the NCAA won’t be around for anyone to come in after him.
“In not getting with the times, the NCAA made itself irrelevant, reducing itself to a glorified event company that puts on championships. For a couple million, current NCAA members can hire a production company to do what the NCAA does and eliminate the organization forever — all thanks to Emmert.”
Accomplishments few and far between
Many on social media were quick to point out that, while Emmert led the NCAA into many legal battles it partially or fully lost, he rarely put it in a position to win any.
Multiple social media posts sum that up as follows:
What’s next for the NCAA?
Charlie Baker will not move to Indianapolis, where the NCAA is headquartered, according to multiple reports. Instead, he’ll remain in Massachusetts but travel around the country often, per USA Today. However, the key point in its piece on the topic is this:
“With Congress yet to act on the NCAA’s pleas for national legislation governing a host of issues including name, image and likeness, the presumption around the industry is that Baker will spend a significant portion of his time in front of lawmakers in Washington, D.C., which is viewed as far more important to the future of college sports than being a day-to-day presence in Indianapolis.”
Will Congress actually yield its power to help college athletics, though? Time will tell. But, Baker and his bosses are betting on his push for them to do so.
