Photo: LISA HELFERT
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my Perko believes in the power of college sports primarily because she lived it as an All-ACC basketball player and academic All-American at Wake Forest. So naturally, she bristles when she hears talking heads exclaim that the model of college athletics is broken.
“Our college model is unique and I believe it’s worth preserving,” Perko said. “We’re facing some unprecedented challenges, but with those challenges you can also use them to sharpen your focus. It’s a good reminder that the focus needs to be on keeping the academic experience at the forefront.”
Amy Perko
Knight Commission on
Intercollegiate Athletics |
Executive Director
As executive director of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, Perko is the primary spokeswoman for the group, which advocates for keeping athletics within the educational mission of college. She organizes twice-yearly summits in Washington, D.C., where educational and athletic leaders gather for in-depth discussion on the issues facing college athletics. She’s also the person most likely to be quoted when national media writes about issues facing college athletics.
The job can be daunting because the commission has no real authority to enact legislation; that must come from NCAA member schools. But Perko is driven by a quote on her desk that reads, “Persistence prevails when all else fails.” With that in mind, Perko points to the NCAA rule that makes schools ineligible to compete for championships if their athletes haven’t shown enough progress toward a degree. Such a recommendation was initiated by the Knight Commission in 2001, and in 2011, the NCAA enacted the idea as a rule.
A former administrator at the NCAA and the University of Kansas, Perko is reminded of her own experiences while striving to keep the academic message relevant in a cynical world.
“I was inspired and set goals based on the idea of playing college sports,” Perko said. “That’s the power college sports provides.”
— Michael Smith
- Best advice received: People often don’t remember what you say but they remember how you made them feel.
- Causes supported: Positive Coaching Alliance, and the Women’s Giving Circle in my community that provides grants to nonprofits that work to improve the lives of women and their families.
- Woman in sports business I’d most like to meet: Billie Jean King.
- Most memorable sporting event attended: Taking our then-11- and 12-year-old daughters, who are avid soccer players, to watch the U.S. women’s national soccer team play in a pre-Olympics match in May 2012. The energy of the sold-out crowd of 18,500 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa., was an amazing experience to share with our daughters, who had never seen so many people at a women’s sports event before.
- If my colleagues were asked to describe me, they would say I: Am a good listener.
