University of Massachusets Athletics
Getting To Know The New A-10 Commissioner
June 23, 2008 | General
June 23, 2008
This discussion is part of the Double-A-Zone's series on women in conference leadership, which honors the 36th anniversary of Title IX. Look for these Campus Connections in the days ahead:
Click here to listen to the Bernadette McGlade interview.
An excerpt follows:
Q: How would you describe a typical day in the life of a Division I conference commissioner?
A: ...I know the commissioner of any league would have to be certainly just really working day-in and day-out with all of their member institutions. Everything is cyclical depending on what seasons are just around the corner or what's in season, what's not in season. Keeping a great communication handle on all of the new initiatives and NCAA governance issues, the financial issues, the championship issues that affect student-athlete welfare. It's one of those positions where the buck kind of stops at your desk, so you really are the manager of all things as they touch your schools.
Q: As a female administrator, what has Title IX meant to you personally and if it didn't exist, do you think your career might have been different up to this point?
A: Absolutely. I am a product of Title IX. When I graduated from high school, my mother was basically raising seven children. My father had passed away and there's no question in my mind if I hadn't received a scholarship to go to the University of North Carolina to play basketball...and the only reason that I did receive it was because Title IX had recently come into being in 1976 when I was graduating from high school. Yeah, there's no question in my mind, had I not attended North Carolina on a basketball scholarship, and had every door in the world open to me, I wouldn't have the career that I have right now.
