Wright State’s Hopkins elected to NCAA Division I board

Wright State University President David R. Hopkins

President David R. Hopkins has been elected to a four-year term on the 18-member NCAA Division I Board of Directors—the most powerful governing body in D-I–and to the seven-member presidential advisory group.

In an interview with the Dayton Daily News, Hopkins said his areas of interest include student athletes who spend only one year in college before attempting to move on to the pros, the questions about a football playoff and gender equity in college sports.

Hopkins said sports play an important part of college life.

“I think it brings visibility,” he said. “It’s a powerful way to communicate the message of the type of institution, your mission.”

Hopkins said he is concerned about the phenomenon of student athletes who attend college for only one year before attempting to move to the pros.

“While some of those young people do succeed, I’m really worried about an approach that glamorizes  that practice and not the importance of a college education,” he said.

Hopkins also said he wants to make sure that the board pays attention to gender equity, adding that Wright State has been a model for gender equity.

“I have three daughters, and I’m so pleased that they’re having opportunities finally that young men have had for many, many years,” Hopkins said. “So I want to make sure we protect that, preserve it and continue to expand it.”