NCAA president Mark Emmert may have breathed a sigh of relief following media reports of the association’s board of governors expressing confidence in his leadership — but that peace may turn out to be short-lived.
According to Yahoo Sports, those same media reports — in which the chair of the NCAA board of governors Jack DeGioia expressed confidence in Emmert’s leadership — raised ire among NCAA members, who feel anything but that same confidence.
Related: NCAA Board Gives Emmert Vote of Confidence
“The Jack DeGioia comments completely misread where the membership is,” one athletic director told Yahoo Sports.
Emmert has been called on the carpet for his handling of several embarrassing missteps for the NCAA revealing disparities between the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. DeGioia’s vote of confidence in the wake of those missteps elicited anger from leaders in collegiate athletics.
“It was dispiriting, deflating and depressing,” a conference commissioner said of DeGioia’s comments. “This to me shows not only a disconnect, it shows the Board of Governors doesn’t even understand the magnitude of the current issues.”
Yahoo Sports is reporting that while no formal discussions have taken place, the anger among its sources is palpable — and some are speculating on what DeGioia’s comments may mean for Emmert’s future, and that of the NCAA itself.
“The level of trust and confidence is deteriorating. There has not been a more critical time for leadership in the association,” one high-ranking official told Yahoo Sports.
Some Yahoo sources suggested that the recent leadership failures could contribute to a moment in which the Power Five conferences break away from the NCAA.
