Keller @ Large: Charlie Baker will need plenty of help as new NCAA president
BOSTON - Talk about out of the frying pan, into the fire.
For outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker, heading the NCAA offers many potential benefits - not to mention a fat paycheck, surely as much or more than the $2.9 million outgoing NCAA President Mark Emmert was pocketing. It places him in a high-profile national position, rubbing shoulders with some of the country's wealthiest and most powerful people. And while Emmert held the job for 12 years, this gig might well make Baker a more attractive option for a future political slot - perhaps as a vice-presidential nominee or cabinet official.
If, that is, things go well. And that's a big honking if.
We're all familiar with Baker's attributes - intelligence, diplomatic skills, an even keel. They've served him well during a multi-decade career in Massachusetts government.
But when he takes over in late spring Baker will find himself overseeing a March Madness that has little to do with basketball and makes arm-wrestling with the Massachusetts Legislature seem like a day of pampering at a health spa.
Where to even begin?
The new court-ordered freedom college jocks have to capitalize on their name, image and likeness has raised all sorts of questions about oversight, impact on college fundraising and gender equity. College athletic conference structures are in turmoil with all kinds of weird alliances enriching the winners and infuriating the losers. The embrace of sports betting by major sports leagues has put intense pressure on the NCAA to respond without endangering whatever remaining integrity it has.
One thing Baker has going for him - he can't help but be an improvement on Emmert, who presided incompetently over a grotesquely scandal-plagued era leaving his successor to restore trust and communication with schools, alumnis, athletes, fans and politicians.
But that won't be as easy as wearing an "I'm Not Emmert" sweatshirt to work. For instance, Congress is mulling a bill that would regulate the way the NCAA investigates institutional issues and levies sanctions - really the only actual power the association has. Will Republicans or Democrats ease up on their longstanding suspicion of and antipathy toward the NCAA because Baker is the new front man? We'll see.
Good for Charlie Baker for taking on a big challenge when he could just as easily recede into a cushy world of big-ticket seats on do-nothing boards of directors. And good luck to him.
He's going to need it.
