Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Myles Brand, President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), is the 2009 recipient of the Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The award will be presented on June 23 at the kickoff luncheon of CoSIDA’s Workshop to be held at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, Texas, from June 21-25.
The Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award is presented to an individual, who, or an organization which, has made a lasting contribution to intercollegiate athletics, has demonstrated a long and consistent commitment to excellence and has been a loyal supporter of CoSIDA and its mission.
“In addition to being a steadfast and loyal advocate of the mission and goals of CoSIDA for several years, Myles Brand has been at the forefront of everything that is good in college athletics,” said CoSIDA President Nick Joos. “This honor is emblematic of his commitment not only to our organization, but to the values reflective of the best that collegiate sports has to offer.”
Brand, who assumed his duties as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association January 1, 2003, is the fourth chief executive officer of the Association.
Over the past six years, Brand has presided over passage of the most comprehensive academic reform package for intercollegiate athletics in recent history – a package that refocuses the attention of student-athletes, coaches and administrators on the education of student-athletes.
Brand has also changed the national dialog on college sports to emphasize the educational value of athletics participation and the integration of intercollegiate athletics with the academic mission of higher education. His tenure has helped reestablished the indispensable role of university presidents in the governance of college sports.
Brand was himself president of two major universities. From 1994 through 2002, he was president of Indiana University, an eight-campus institution of higher education with nearly 100,000 students, 17,000 employees and a budget of $3.4 billion. Brand also served as president at the University of Oregon from 1989 to 1994.
Born May 17, 1942, Brand earned his B.S. in philosophy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1964, and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rochester in 1967. Brand's other administrative posts include provost and vice-president for academic affairs, Ohio State University, 1986-89; coordinating dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Arizona, 1985-86; dean, faculty of social and behavioral sciences, Arizona,1983-86; director, Cognitive Science Program, Arizona, 1982-85; head, department of philosophy, Arizona,1981-83; chairman, department of philosophy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1972-80. He began his career in the department of philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 1967-72.
Brand has also served on the Executive Committee of the Board of directors, Association of American Universities (AAU), and as board chair, 1999-2000; a member of the board of directors, 1992-97, and executive committee, 1994-97, of the American Council on Education (ACE); and a member of the board of directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), 1995-98. He served too as a board member of the American Philosophical Association and of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development, the umbrella organization of Internet2.
His academic research investigates the nature of human action. His work focuses on intention, desire, belief and other cognitive states, as well as deliberation and practical reasoning, planning and general goal-directed activity. He has also written extensively on various topics in higher education, such as tenure and undergraduate education.
The award, which was established in 1998 when it was presented to Jackson, has only been bestowed six times prior to this year. Besides Jackson, the GTE Corporation (1999), Dick Enberg (2001), ESPN’s Rosa Gatti (2003), Jim Albright (2005), and Dick Vitale (2008) have received this prestigious honor.