Walter Byers

[3] He left wire service journalism to take a job as an assistant sports information director with the Big Ten Conference.

[5] That year, Byers was appointed the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, a job that did not have a description.

The decision was made in reaction to Yale -- against the wishes of Byers and the NCAA -- playing its Jewish center Jack Langer in college games after Langer had played for Team United States at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel with the approval of Yale President Kingman Brewster.

Grab ball and run like hell, not lots of passing to set up the shots.”[18] He described U.N.L.V.’s style as “ghetto run-and-shoot basketball” with little concern for defense.

"[19][18] WFAN talk show host Mike Francesa referred to him as an "Oz-like" figure who ran the NCAA with ultimate control.

[26] He said it developed the term "student-athlete" in order to insulate the colleges from having to provide long-term disability payments to players injured while playing their sport (and making money for their university and the NCAA).