Electronic Arts Chair Larry Probst Named As New USOC Chair

Electronic Arts Chair Larry Probst Thursday "was elected unanimously to a four-year term" as USOC Chair by the organization's 10-member board, according to Philip Hersh of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Probst having "no previous connection to the Olympic movement or sports management is another example of the USOC's ongoing effort to operate more like a corporation by emphasizing significant business success as credentials for being chairman." Probst will officially succeed Peter Ueberroth as Chair at an October 12 meeting in Orlando. Ueberroth will "continue working closely with Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid and likely will have a much larger role in that area than Probst." Hersh noted Probst "clearly was hand picked and quickly groomed by Ueberroth for the chairman's position." Probst said that Ueberroth "first contacted him about the possibility of joining the USOC board 'six or seven months ago.'" Probst: "I've had a lot of sports experience as a CEO. I think I've had a very successful business career, and I know how to work collaboratively with people and build and develop a team" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/3).

TASK LIST: In N.Y., Juliet Macur reported some of Probst's "main tasks will include garnering much-needed financial support in an unstable economy and helping secure Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Games." The USOC receives "no direct government funding, so one of Probst's tasks will be to keep the cash flowing and maintain or develop relationships with sponsors." Another "key task will be to help the organization branch out in various multimedia, including developing its own network" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/3). Ueberroth: "We need to shore up, expand our partnerships with major companies in the United States and Larry walks those halls well or better than I do" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 10/3). An AROUND THE RINGS editorial stated, "As a purveyor of a high-tech product with strong youth appeal and sports connection, Probst is plugged-in to 21st Century commerce in a manner Ueberroth, by his own admission, is not" (AROUNDTHERINGS.com, 10/4).

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