RIP Myles Brand
September 17, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Football
Myles Brand did a lot for college football, and his death this week has been a huge blow to the sports world.
He was president of Indiana when they made the decision to fire basketball coach Bob Knight after he violated personal conduct policy, and that’s what people will probably remember most about him, but he was equally reforming in the NCAA. He actually used this decision to create a platform, saying that there needed to be more personal accountability in sports.
Myles Brand, Image: Newscom
Brand was the first NCAA president who wasn’t an athlete, coach, or other sports professional himself. As a result, his policies were often more focused on gender equity, student academics, and other things that were unpopular, rather than on the sports themselves. Personally, I think he was well-needed in college athletics.
In January, Brand went public with is diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He continued to work at the NCAA, and so far, the organization hasn’t announced a replacement. He was 67. RIP.
