Report: Mark Emmert has paid half of 2006 pledge to Washington
NCAA President Mark Emmert has reportedly paid just over half of a $100,000 pledge he made to the University of Washington in 2006.
According to USA Today, Emmert has given $51,000 towards the pledge he made 10 years ago when he was the president of the school. He left to become the president of the NCAA in 2010.
Records obtained by USA TODAY Sports show $51,000 of the $100,000 pledge was paid by January 2010, but the rest of the pledge went unpaid after Emmert left the UW, his alma mater, to become president of the NCAA later that year. Another person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the pledge was only half-paid, leading the university to endow the scholarship at half its planned amount.
Emmert issued a statement to USA Today in response to the report that said “”Personal philanthropy is a private matter for individuals and their families. My family and I care greatly for the University of Washington and will continue to support it throughout our lives.”
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Emmert pledged the money after he was given a raise in 2006. The more than $100,000 raise increased his salary to over $700,000 per the report. It also notes a letter he was sent by Washington in 2013 that said if Emmert fulfilled his remaining obligation by June 30 of that year, $50,000 in matching funds would be added to Emmert’s scholarship fund.
As the NCAA’s president, Emmert has been the public face of the sanctioning body’s continuing reluctance to pay players. He wrote an editorial earlier in the month for the Indianapolis Star that, among other things, touted the NCAA’s “financial assistance for schools with limited resources to improve academic support programs” and a $200 million NCAA distribution to member schools for athlete assistance.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
