NCAA President Mark Emmert gave a lecture titled, “Leadership in Hard Times” Thursday in the Business Education Complex Auditorium as the first Brian and Barbara Haymon Visiting Professor.
Emmert was invited by the Roger Odfield Ogden Honors College to be the first speaker because of his accomplishments as the University’s chancellor from 1999 to 2004.
During his time as chancellor, he was involved in the hiring of former LSU football coach Nick Saban. Upon the end of his tenure at the University, the graduation rate of football players significantly increased.
He was also involved in the renovation and expansion of Tiger Stadium, forming the Cox Auditorium and establishing Mike the Tiger’s Habitat enclosure.
Emmert began the lecture by discussing the primitive need for humans to have a defined leader in society.
“We choose leaders,” Emmert said. “We make very conscious decisions with different circumstances on our hands. When we ask the questions of what a great leader looks like, we should instead be looking at the followers these leaders have.”
His leadership discussion also included his thoughts on the current presidential election.
Emmert said in regard to the current presidential election, our candidates lack the knowledge of what citizens want and need in the country.
“We need to recognize the hard realities instead of painting over them,” Emmert said. “When we diagnose what needs to be done, we better be talking about values, and I don’t find us doing that a lot these days.”
After the lecture, he held a brief question and answer session. One student asked why the NCAA did not allow junior running back Leonard Fournette to auction his football jersey to raise money for South Carolina flood relief after the Tigers played the Gamecocks. Emmert responded by saying the University would have been responsible for selling it, not Fournette, because it belongs to the University.
Emmert said there were many rules within the NCAA that are in the progress of being reevaluated and revised and progress has been made.
Emmert was asked about the investigation of the recent scandal involving sexual assaults and the Baylor University football program. He responded by saying sexual assault is a serious issue that was discussed early in his tenure as president. He said the NCAA is working with both the White House and the “It’s On Us” campaign to continue to address and prevent sexual assault on college campuses.
After his lecture, Emmert addressed the University’s recent decision to fire 12-year coach Les Miles after a 2-2 start this season. He said LSU is an attractive destination for coaches and he is confident the administration will make the right call in selecting a replacement.
NCAA president, former LSU chancellor talks leadership with students
September 29, 2016
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