It was the highly competitive and sometimes deadly sport
of football that prompted the formation of the NCAA.
In December 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt organized
two White House conferences for many of the top collegiate
sports leaders.
Thirteen schools attended the first meeting. The Chancellor
of New York University, Henry M. MacCracken, led the conference.
His goal was to standardize the rules of collegiate football.
The second conference took place on December 28, 1905.
Sixty-two schools were in attendance. The result of the meeting
led to the establishment of the IAAUS, the Intercollegiate
Athletic Association of the United States.
The IAAUS was officially established on March 31, 1906.
It was renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) in 1910.
For the first several years, the IAAUS/NCAA acted as a
forum and legislative body.
In 1921, the NCAA hosted its first
National championship - the National Collegiate Track & Field
Championships.
As the years passed, additional committees were formed;
more championship games were held; more schools joined.
Walter Byers was elected the Executive Director of the
NCAA in 1951.
In 1952, the NCAA established its headquarters in Kansas
City, Missouri. There are a total of 121 members at this
time.
In 1970, the NCAA voted to increase the total number of
regular-season football games from ten to eleven.
In 1972, the NCAA ruled that all freshmen were deemed eligible
to compete.
In 1973, the NCAA held its inaugural annual convention.
At the time, the members were divided into three divisions - I, II, and III.
In 1978, Division I members agreed to establish additional
subdivisions to better classify the schools with regard to
the sport of football.
In 1980, women's collegiate sports were finally recognized
by the NCAA.
By 1981, a total of 19 different women's sporting events
were hosted by the NCAA.
In August 1997, the NCAA decided to give more control to
the individual members.
On October 1, 1987, Walter Byers retired as the Executive
Director. He was replaced by Richard D. Schultz. He later
resigned in 1993.
Cedric W. Dempsey was elected as the third Executive Director
of the NCAA. He held this position until December 31, 2002.
The national headquarters of the NCAA moved to Indianapolis
in 1999.
The current Executive Director of the NCAA is President
Myles Brand.
In 2006, the NCAA celebrates in centennial anniversary.
