Emmert has overseen 12 tumultuous years of college athletics.
INDIANAPOLIS — NCAA President Mark Emmert is stepping down after 12 tumultuous years leading an association that has become marginalized while college sports has undergone massive changes and been besieged by political and legal attacks.
The move is not entirely a surprise. The NCAA remains the biggest governing body in college athletics, but it has been under sharp criticism for years as too heavyhanded and even out of date with Emmert serving as the prime target. But Emmert has been viewed by some as not a catalyst for change but as an obstacle standing in the way — or at the least reactive instead of proactive.
The announcement comes one year after the board approved a contract extension for Emmert that ran through 2025, a move that left many in college sports bewildered. Emmert’s yearly salary was nearly $3 million.