Hartford President Walt Harrison Named to Knight Commission
University of Hartford President Walter Harrison was among four new appointees to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics on Wednesday. The commission works to promote a reform agenda that emphasizes the educational mission of college sports.
“We are delighted to add four leaders of such high caliber to the Commission,” William E. “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor of the University of Maryland System and co-chairman of the Knight Commission said. “They are not only revered leaders on their respective campuses, but also are respected nationally for their expertise in a broad range of higher education areas, including intercollegiate athletics.”
“These are unprecedented times for college sports,” R. Gerald Turner, president at Southern Methodist University and the commision's other co-chairman said. “These leaders understand both the benefits and challenges inherent in major college sports and are aware of the current landscape that increasingly threatens the integrity of intercollegiate athletics.”
Harrison, Hartford's President since 1998, has been a leader on NCAA academic reforms, having chaired the NCAA's Committee on Academic Performance since its establishment in 2004. That committee is most noted for its creation and oversight of the Academic Progress Rate, which tracks academic performance for all Division I sports teams and poses sanctions, including postseason restrictions, for teams that do not meet prescribed academic standards.
He will be honored with this year's NCAA President's Gerald R. Ford Award, which recognizes an individual who has provided significant leadership as an advocate for college sports over the course of his or her career. Harrison will receive the award on January 15 at the NCAA's annual convention in Washington, D.C.
Harrison has overseen dramatic improvements in academic quality, finances and fundraising at the 7,000-student campus. He graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, where he played college baseball, and then earned a master's degree from the University of Michigan. He eventually became Michigan's vice president of university relations and secretary of the university before being appointed president at Hartford.
The Knight Commission was formed by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in October 1989 in response to highly visible scandals in college sports. Over the years, the NCAA has adopted a number of the Commission’s recommendations including the rule that requires teams to be on track to graduate more than 50 percent of their players in order to be eligible for postseason competition. The Commission’s Athletic and Academic Spending Database provides financial data for more than 220 public institutions to provide greater financial transparency on athletics spending.