NCAA President Mark Emmert said that he "agreed Saturday morning to form a council" of 10 ADs "who would meet regularly with him and his senior staff, starting in July," according to Rachel Bachman of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The idea is "to leave fewer decisions about things like recruiting rules in the hands of busy college presidents and more with the athletic directors who work with coaches and their assistants." The agreement "came during Emmert's visit" to Orlando to speak to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. Emmert said, "It's clear right now where the association has gone, it's pushed the pendulum too far in one direction. And it really has cut athletic directors out of the national discussion." Emmert's "acknowledgment Saturday that NCAA governance had strayed too far from athletic directors came as he and the NCAA face mounting criticism for everything from a top-down management style to upheaval in the NCAA's enforcement division as detailed" in an SI story this week. Emmert said he "skimmed" the story. Emmert said that the "derisive characterization" of him by "unnamed NCAA staff members as 'King of the Press Conference' in the SI story was 'funny.'" He added the NCAA's BOD "has asked me to be more open and engaged with the media and the public on NCAA issues. I don't apologize for that" (WSJ.com, 6/15).
