SAN MATEO, Calif. – West Coast Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez has been appointed to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics as a member of the prestigious group focusing on leading transformational change in collegiate athletics.
 
Knight Foundation president and CEO Alberto Ibargüen and Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Co-Chairs Arne Duncan, Len Elmore and Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher announced the appointment of four new members to the Commission on Tuesday. Nevarez is joined by two-time Olympian and one of the leading voices in ESPN’s Major League Baseball coverage Jessica Mendoza, San Diego State University President Dr. Adela de la Torre and Howard University President Dr. Wayne Frederick.
 
“I am very honored and humbled to serve as a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics,” Nevarez said. “This esteemed group of thought leaders has accomplished so much to help shape student-athlete policy and provide prudent recommendations for transformational change. I am immensely appreciative of this opportunity.”
 
The Knight Commission, founded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 1989, is an independent group that leads transformational change to prioritize college athletes’ education, health, safety and success. Over the years, the NCAA has adopted a number of the Knight Commission’s recommendations, including the rule that requires teams to be on track to graduate at least 50 percent of their players to be eligible for postseason competition. Over the past year, the Knight Commission released principles to guide new rules to allow college athletes to receive compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) and proposals to transform NCAA Division I governance and structure.
 
A complete list of the 22-member Knight Commission can be found here.
 
“Understanding a wide range of points of view is essential in our pluralistic society,” said Ibargüen. “The diversity of life and professional experiences among Knight Commission members has been its strength and these talented new members will make this asset even stronger.”
 
“The achievements of our new members are impeccable,” said Duncan, the former U.S. Secretary of Education. “The collective perspective they offer to the Commission will no doubt prove to be invaluable as we strive to bring about positive change for college athletes.”                
 
“We believe 2021 will be a pivotal year for college sports and it’s critical to have thoughtful leaders like Adela, Wayne, Jessica and Gloria on our team,” said Elmore, who also chairs the Knight Commission’s Racial Equity Task Force.
 
“The real strength of our Commission lies in the unyielding fortitude that our members exhibit as they work to achieve meaningful reform for college athletes,” said Zimpher, Chancellor Emeritus of the State University of New York. “I am happy to say that with the additions of these accomplished individuals, our group just got four times stronger.”
 
Nevarez, who recently signed a contract extension through 2026, is in her fourth year as Commissioner of the West Coast Conference. In her first three years, Nevarez has guided the WCC to unprecedented success and grown the league’s national platform exponentially. She has directed an overhaul of the conference’s branding, expanding the league’s national television contracts and sponsorships. She has modernized the WCC governance structure, empowering student-athlete voices and launching groundbreaking social justice initiatives with the creation of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
 
Under Nevarez’ leadership, the WCC became the first Division I conference to adopt a diversity hiring initiative, the groundbreaking “Russell Rule” adopted in July of 2020 and named for WCC and NBA legend Bill Russell. All WCC schools are required to include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the final candidate pool for every athletic director, senior administrator, head coach and full-time assistant coaching search.
 
Nevarez, the first Latina appointed as a Division I Commissioner and one of ten female conference commissioners serving in Division I Athletics, also serves on the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee, the NCAA Transfer Working Group, the National Invitation Tournament committee and the Board of Trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation.  
 
The WCC has enjoyed unprecedented success in Nevarez’s first three years, headlined by NCAA Championships for BYU men’s cross country (2019) and BYU women’s cross country (2020). WCC men’s and women’s basketball programs have continued an impressive run of success, with multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament each year, including an appearance by the Gonzaga men’s basketball program in the 2021 NCAA Championship Game.