UCI chancellor joins NCAA Division I board of directors
The panel comprises 18 presidents and chancellors and is responsible for establishing and directing division policy.
Irvine, Calif., Dec. 20, 2012 – UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake has been chosen to serve on the NCAA Division I board of directors, effective immediately.
The panel comprises 18 presidents and chancellors representing different member conferences. It’s responsible for establishing and directing division policy. Drake, who replaces former UC Riverside Chancellor Timothy White, represents the Big West Conference.
Each NCAA division creates its own rules on personnel, amateur status, recruiting, eligibility, benefits, financial aid, and playing and practice seasons – consistent with the association’s overall governing principles. During the next year, Division I will continue reforms begun in 2011.
Drake became UC Irvine’s fifth chancellor in 2005. Over the past six years, UC Irvine Athletics has achieved national prominence, consistently finishing in the top five of the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy competition, which recognizes postseason athletic achievement among the nation’s 95 Division I non-football schools. UC Irvine has been second in each of the last two years and was first in 2007.
The men’s volleyball program won the NCAA national title in 2012, as well as in 2007 and 2009. Four UC Irvine teams were ranked in the country’s top 20 last year: Men’s volleyball ended the season No. 1; men’s water polo was fifth; women’s water polo came in sixth; and men’s soccer was 13th.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,400 staff. Orange County’s second-largest employer, UC Irvine contributes an annual economic impact of $4.3 billion. For more UC Irvine news, visit wp.communications.uci.edu.
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