Tom McMillen is putting his experience and contacts in the nation’s capital to work for Division I athletic directors.
McMillen, president and CEO of the newly rebranded association now called Lead1 — formerly the Division I-A Athletic Directors’ Association — said the group of FBS-level ADs is thinking about forming a political action committee to represent their interests.
“It’s a pretty novel idea, but it’s a sign of the times,” said McMillen, a former three-term congressman who is still based in Washington, D.C.
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“If you need help in Washington, you don’t want to wait until your house is on fire. You need to be putting the preparatory work in place today.”
TOM McMILLEN
President & CEO, Lead1
Photo by: MARC BRYAN-BROWN
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McMillen floated the idea of organizing a PAC earlier this month at the Lead1 Association’s annual conference in Dallas. The group’s board is expected to vote on the proposal in the coming weeks, so it might not happen, but McMillen characterized interest from the ADs as very high. A majority vote of the board is required for it to pass.
The motivation behind it is simply the potential for sweeping changes in college athletics, based on ongoing antitrust cases, the movement to pay athletes and a recent National Labor Relations Board decision that labeled football players as employees.
“Every day you open the paper, you see the potential for disruption in college sports,” McMillen said. “We need to have a very active presence on [Capitol] Hill.”
A PAC would pool contributions from the Lead1 membership of ADs and that money would be donated to politicians who represent their interests or the funds could be spent supporting certain legislation.
The NCAA already has a very strong presence in Washington, spending $580,000 on lobbying efforts in 2014, based on the most recent NCAA filings. Most of that money was spent with an outside lobbying and law firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
NCAA President Mark Emmert said at the 2015 NCAA Convention that issues related to governance, concussions or student-athlete welfare can be complicated, and the lobbying efforts are one way to get information into the hands of those in the House and Senate.
While there could be some overlap, a PAC representing ADs would more specifically support ADs in the decision-making process for college athletics. ADs have complained in the past that their voices have not been heard.
No funds from the school where they work would be permitted because PACs accept only an individual’s dollars, McMillen said, meaning contributions would come from ADs, their family members or other individuals.
“If you need help in Washington, you don’t want to wait until your house is on fire,” said McMillen, who took over the association’s leadership last year and has established a new name, logo and mission statement. “You need to be putting the preparatory work in place today to build those relationships.
“At its core, we want ADs to be key influencers in college athletics. That’s really the thrust of the whole organization and that’s why we’re considering a PAC. Who knows what’s going to happen down the road. There’s a lot of lawsuits, a lot of regulatory actions, a lot to consider.”
Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick chairs the Lead1 association through next June. Michigan State’s Mark Hollis is next in line to chair the association, which represents 129 university ADs in its membership.
McMillen said next year’s convention will be held in Washington and an integral part of the programming will be focused on introducing ADs to politicians from their home states.
“We’re going to have a Congress day,” said the 6-foot-11 McMillen, a former basketball player at Maryland and ex-regent on the university’s board. “We’re going to take the ADs to their delegation offices, and they’ll meet their senators and congressmen.”
