Courtesy: USOPC
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced that Bernard Muir, Stanford University director of athletics, will serve as the new chair of the USOPC Collegiate Advisory Council. Muir replaces Kevin White (Duke University), long-time chair and retired USOPC board member, who held the appointment from 2017-2022.
The USOPC also announced one new member, Jamie Pollard (Iowa State University), and a new structure that includes four designated athlete seats. Now in its sixth year of operation, the CAC brings high-contributing collegiate administrators and athletes with both collegiate sport and Team USA experience together to help bridge and develop the relationship between the key stakeholders.
“The collegiate landscape is critically important to the current and future health of Olympic and Paralympic sport, and we’re thrilled to welcome Bernard Muir as chair and new member Jamie Pollard to our Collegiate Advisory Council to help us advance this work,” said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland. “From launching the USOPC Collegiate Think Tank, to working with the NCAA to update legislation, to supporting athletes competing in both systems, the council has already accomplished a great deal since its inception – and we are focused on continuing our efforts in support of Team USA student-athletes.”
The 12-member council is comprised of:
- Bernard Muir (Stanford University/USOPC CAC chair)
- Sandy Barbour (Pennsylvania State University)
- Greg Byrne (University of Alabama)
- ^Lauren Crandall (Athlete/Wake Forest University)
- Bubba Cunningham (University of North Carolina/USOPC board representative)
- ^Jessica Heims (Athlete/University of Northern Iowa)
- ^Chaunté Lowe (Athlete/Georgia Institute of Technology)
- Rob Mullens (University of Oregon)
- *Jamie Pollard (Iowa State University)
- Gene Smith (The Ohio State University)
- ^Kendall Spencer (Athlete/University of New Mexico)
- Scott Stricklin (University of Florida)
*Denotes new member starting in quarter one of 2023
^Denotes athlete representative
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 on the horizon, the CAC will continue carrying out its mission of strengthening and leading collaborative efforts to align our country’s unique collegiate athletic landscape and the Olympic and Paralympic movements to support Team USA’s collegiate athletes.
The council’s focus areas are alignment modeling, messaging integration and pathway advancement. The CAC will convene its first meeting of 2023 via teleconference March 1.
