NCAA President Pays Off Overdue Donation

NCAA President Mark Emmert has paid off his overdue pledged donation to the University of Washington and remitted the remaining $49,000 of the $100,000 promise he made in 2006.

The recent fulfillment of the pledge comes after USA TODAY Sports reported that he hadn't kept his promise and was being called out for it by a prominent university booster.

Emmert, a Washington graduate, served as the university's president from 2004 until 2010, when he left for the NCAA and stopped payment on the $100,000 pledge after donating $51,000, according to records obtained by USA TODAY Sports. The original pledge form he signed in 2006 promised he would pay it in five annual installments starting in January 2008.

A university official confirmed this week that Emmert has fulfilled the pledge in full but declined further comment.

Jay M. Glazer, a big Washington booster and philanthropist, criticized Emmert last year for not following through on his promise, describing Emmert as a hypocrite because university presidents are lead fundraisers for their schools and rely on others to fulfill their pledges to donate.

Glazer, not to be confused with the NFL television analyst of the same name, also noted last year that Emmert sets the standard as the chief executive of the national governing body of college sports.

Glazer declined to comment when asked about Emmert's fulfilled pledge. Emmert also declined to comment through an NCAA spokeswoman.

Last year, when asked about the unfulfilled pledge, Emmert issued a statement to USA TODAY Sports saying personal philanthropy is a private matter and that he and his family "care greatly for the University of Washington and will continue to support it throughout our lives."

The money was to provide scholarship support to students. Because the amount previously was only half-paid, the university proceeded at half its planned amount.

Emmert, 64, was credited with nearly $1.9 million in total compensation from the NCAA during the 2014 calendar year, including a base salary of $1.4 million, according to the most recently available tax returns.

In 2008, he ranked as the nation's second-highest-paid public university president at $905,000 per year, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. He declined a pay increase that year because of budget cuts. He also fulfilled other smaller pledges during his tenure as UW president: one for $5,000 and two for $2,500, according to records.

The university sent him a letter in 2013, trying to get him to fulfill his pledge to meet a deadline that would have provided matching funds for his donation.

"The good news is that your donations have totaled $51,000 toward your $100,000 pledge," says the letter, obtained by USA TODAY Sports. "Further, the UW has held $50,000 in matching funds until June 30, 2013 (sunset date) as part of the Students First matching program that was created on your watch. ... If you can see a way to contribute the remaining $49,000 by this time, the remaining matching funds will instantly be accrued to your fund. Of course, we would understand completely should this timetable be unfeasible, and I assure you we can still establish your scholarship with the $51,000 we have already received."

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