Harter to resign from NCAA board

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998 | 10:51 a.m.

UNLV president Dr. Carol Harter, a member of the NCAA's Board of Directors, will resign her spot today.

Harter, who has been on the board since 1997, had previously served on the NCAA Presidents Commission for four years while at Division III State University of New York at Geneseo. The Presidents Commission was the prelude to the Board of Directors, which was established in '97.

Harter, who represents the Western Athletic Conference on the 15-member committee that governs college sports, said she is stepping down in order to reduce some of the conflict between the eight schools that are leaving the WAC next year and the eight remaining institutions.

Harter said her resignation would take place immediately to allow the WAC to replace her with a member from one of the eight remaining schools.

"The remaining school presidents want someone they feel comfortable with and with the split of the conference, I don't think they would feel comfortable having someone representing them who will be leaving the league."

UNLV is among the eight schools that voted in May to break away from the 16-team WAC, the nation's biggest Division I conference.

Harter said she was not pressured into her decision.

"This was my decision," she said. "I don't feel uncomfortable with it. With this being our last year in the WAC, I wanted to help make it the best it can be and to help make the transition as smooth as possible."

The yet-to-be-named league has not been guaranteed a spot on the NCAA board, but Harter is confident that once the new conference has established itself, an invitation would be extended.

"I hope the new league will get a seat on the board at some point, and if we do, I'd be honored to be involved," she said.