As part of our ongoing best practices series as part of the Columbia University Graduate Program in Sports Management we will be doing occasional pieces with leaders in sports business. Our first is with Robin Harris, Executive Director of the Ivy League
Robin Harris serves the The Council of Ivy League Presidents’ Executive Director. Colleague Tanner Simkins caught up with the Duke Law graduate for a conversation on her experiences, the future of the conference, and more. You can connect with Robin Harris on Twitter. [A detailed biography of Robin Harris is included after the Q&A]
Full Court Press: What experiences drove your career to the Ivy League?
Robin Harris: In retrospect, all the steps on my career path led me to the Ivy League, including: working at the NCAA national office for nine years, particularly staffing and advising presidential and other leadership groups on a wide variety of issues; co-chairing and managing the collegiate sports practice at a law firm for six years; my legal training which helps both substantively regarding legal issues and more intangibly regarding analysis of issues; and my belief in the value of intercollegiate athletics as part of the overall educational experience of the student-athletes, which was initially formed during my time as a student at Duke University.
FCP: Fondest memory as Executive Director?
RH: I am fortunate to have had many wonderful experiences during my time as Ivy League Executive Director and it is difficult to pick one. Like other collegiate athletics administrators, I enjoy my work because it benefits student-athletes. I also believe in the collegiate model and the pursuit of excellence both athletically and academically, which the Ivy League embodies. Thus, my fondest (and most recent) memories involve Ivy League student-athletes succeeding at the highest levels this past spring. One day in May, I had the opportunity to present four different team championship trophies at Ivy League events to our champions and in April I was able to attend the 2013 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four and to cheer Yale on to victory for the national championship. Witnessing first hand the student-athletes’ joy in competing and succeeding is a most rewarding and exciting experience.
FCP: Describe your leadership style.
RH: I try to be inclusive and to seek input from a variety of individuals on major decisions. The specific individuals will vary based on the issue of the moment. I believe it is important to gather information, understand the full landscape surrounding an issue, consider the various opinions that exist and then make a decision based on all of the available information while being prepared to support that decision with specific facts and rationale. I also try to balance focusing on short-term and longer-term/strategic issues — in terms of accomplishing the work that needs to be done in a high-quality and efficient manner, while at the same time setting a course for the future.
FCP: What does it mean to have Val Ackerman as commissioner of the Big East and other female leaders succeeding in the industry?
RH: The Big East made a fantastic decision in hiring Val as the commissioner. She brings a wide range of experiences and is incredibly smart and insightful. She will be a tremendous asset to the conference. Val was hired on her merits and the choice was based on the breadth and strength of her experiences. With seven women Division I multi-sport conference commissioners and over 35 women Division I athletics directors, I hope that more and more young women entering the profession or mid-way in their careers will see and learn from these role models that it is becoming much more common for women to assume the leadership roles at Division I institutions. I hope these young women will in turn aspire to becoming and will become athletics directors or conference commissioners. In addition, as our numbers grow, the focus is less on the fact that we are woman (as that becomes less unusual) and more on the fact that we are leaders in our field without attention to our gender.
CP: What are some industry trends or developments that you are closely following?
RH: I am closely following and involved in various discussions regarding the pending Division I governance restructuring. While the changes will not be as drastic as the media originally predicted, I believe they will reshape the way the division considers and adopts legislation in a (mostly) positive way. Some issues of concern to me include: earlier and earlier recruiting in many sports that results in prospective student-athletes committing to a school with only two years (or even less) of high school; increasing out-of-season time demands on student-athletes, particularly during the summer; and the potential impact lawsuits against the NCAA may have on the collegiate model.
FCP: Due to recent news, the debate whether to pay student-athletes has picked up. If NCAA policy would allow a payment system, would the Ivy League follow suit?
RH: I do not believe there is any real interest within the leadership of Division I institutions and conferences to implement a “pay-for-play” system. I do think that some schools and conferences will likely in the future choose to provide more benefits to student-athletes and/or to increase the value of the athletics scholarship (e.g., by $2,000 or to the full cost of attendance), consistent with the collegiate model. The Ivy League has a long-standing policy of not awarding merit aid, including not allowing athletics scholarships, so an increase to the value of an athletics scholarship adopted by other schools/conferences would not impact us.
FCP: Are you working on any other projects we should know about?
RH: The Ivy League has been and continues to be a leader in addressing issues regarding concussions in intercollegiate athletics, including conducting several sport-specific studies, adopting changes designed to promote student-athlete safety, and supporting ongoing and future research. Between 2010 and 2012, the Ivy League conducted six separate studies regarding concussions in football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s ice hockey, and men’s and women’s soccer (combined study as the rules are the same for men’s and women’s soccer). The Ivy League Council of Presidents adopted a series of recommendations for each sport, including changes to practice schedules and the education provided to student-athletes and coaches regarding the signs and symptoms of concussions, emphasizing the potential long-term risks of repetitive brain trauma and stressing the need to report and not take chances when symptoms of a concussion appear. Additionally, during these reviews, it became apparent that additional data and research were needed. Accordingly, beginning with the 2013-14 academic year, the Ivy League is collecting and analyzing league-wide concussion data for all varsity sports and we are partnering with the Big Ten in a collaborative research initiative.
FCP: Any tips for aspiring sports professionals who may be reading this?
RH: Learn as much as you can about our industry — including regarding areas outside of your day-to-day responsibilities. Talk to successful sports professionals so you can learn about their job and career paths to determine what interests (and does not interest) you. Develop a network of peers and advisors, including more senior role models. Work hard and recognize these are not 9 to 5, 40-hour positions. Focus on producing quality and timely work product. Embrace the mission of your organization and use that to help you make decisions. Know your audience and tailor your work for that audience’s interests and needs. Understand that most issues are complex (not black and white) and analyze from various perspectives. Seek and volunteer for additional assignments. Keep an open mind and always look for new opportunities to learn and gain experience. You only get one chance to make a first impression; it’s important to define your personal brand and protect it over time — remember that the athletics community is small, with at most two or three degrees of separation
Robin Harris became The Council of Ivy League Presidents’ second full-time Executive Director on July 1, 2009, replacing Jeffrey H. Orleans, who retired from the position after 25 years.
Harris came to the Ivy League office after seven years at Ice Miller, LLP, based in Indianapolis. At Ice Miller, she served as senior counsel and co-chair for Ice Miller’s Collegiate Sports Practice and worked with the firm’s college and university clients on variety of matters related to athletics.
Prior to Ice Miller, Harris worked nine years in increasingly responsible roles in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ending her tenure at the NCAA national office as associate chief of staff for Division I. In that role, she provided advice and guidance to the NCAA president, Executive Committee, Division I Board of Directors, Division I Management Council and other committees in nearly all athletic governance areas, including academic standards, amateurism, championship policies, diversity, gender equity and Title IX, legislative proposals, membership requirements, strategic planning, student-athlete welfare and studies regarding basketball and football concerns. From 1993-1998, she was the NCAA’s director for the Committee on Infractions.
For the 2012-13 academic year, Harris was the president of National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA), where she previously served as legal advisor to the organization’s Board of Directors, and is on the Board of Governors of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, serving as one of two NCAA representatives. She recently completed a four-year term as a member of the NCAA Division I Leadership Council, an advisory body to the Division I Board of Directors.
Harris is or has been a member of numerous other professional associations, including the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC).
She is the author of several articles on issues related to intercollegiate athletics and has made presentations at numerous NCAA, NACUA and Division I conferences and seminars.
Harris is a graduate of the Duke University School of Law, where she served as editor of the Duke Law Journal. She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Duke.
She is married to Max Harris, a native of Manhattan, Kan. The couple has two children, twin daughters Alexandra and Vanessa.
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