Former NBA player, U.S. Congressman and Rhodes Scholar Tom McMillen, the CEO of the Division 1A Athletic Directors’ Association, during the first day of the '15 IMG Intercollegiate Athletic Forum discussed his new role in leading the trade group, which aims to organize athletic directors into a stronger voice in college sports. “There needs to be stronger and more powerful and more unified voice of athletic directors with respect to college sports,” McMillen said, in outlining his plans to represent ADs across 126 schools in 10 FBS conferences. McMillen said he never thought about being an AD in his career, nor was he looking for a job when he was approached to take his current position. “I wasn’t looking for a job, but what I saw was a challenge,” he said. “We are going to see a tipping point over the next few years in college sports -- litigation, player rights, there are a lot of things happening. But we want to preserve a lot of the great things in college sports and want to make it even better. I found it challenging.” McMillen sees his role as maximizing the role and influence of ADs on campus. “The ADs are so important to the future of college sports, and that’s our challenge, to bring them together and make them stronger,” he said. After talking to nearly 70 ADs around the country, he found that “they want to work together. The strength of this organization is the collective strength of each of these ADs. We are going to make sure they are front and center in everything in college sports.” He outlined his role in trying to gain a consensus among the ADs in the association, and recently completed a strategic plan that will focus on shaping rules, time demands on athletes and academic integrity. He said the key will be organizing and convening the ADs to try and get consensus positions on these various elements, and not take a scatter-shot approach. “I believe being a little more deliberate as we discuss our positions as ADs will serve the industry well,” he said.
THE PLAN GOING FORWARD: The Association has largely been a dues-based group, and McMillen said the next step is to look for corporate support and other ways to generate revenue. Noting the complicated, lengthy name of the organization, he admitted that a rebranding is part of the plan, but he warned, “When you try to rebrand something, you try to look at where you want to be in five years. That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now." With the different desires of today’s college athlete, he finds the one-system model to be flawed and suggested a “pro track” for those that do not want the benefits of the college experience. “That just makes a lot of sense,” he said. “The easy default position [for many advocates] is pay for play, and I find that very troubling.” He noted that paying players would create a heavy burden of taxable income on those college players getting paid. “Some are advocating for a pathway that could really blow up college sports,” he said. “I have always advocated for the college athlete, short of pay for play. ... As long as you’re taking good care of the college athlete, you will be in good stead.”
NO CONGRESSIONAL ACTION, FOR NOW: McMillen, who served in Congress from '87-93, was asked if he could see interest by the current Congress to intercede in college athletics. “No, Congress is not interested in this today,” he said. “It would require some sort of tipping point.” But, he warned, “I don’t see any interest imminently. I see something that could happen down the road.”
