New USOC Chief Wins Quick Support

(ATR) The embattled U.S. Olympic Committee is hoping new CEO Scott Blackmun is a case of better late than never.

In late 2001, Blackmun was passed over as USOC executive director after serving as interim chief for 11 months. The organization chose the dynamic Lloyd Ward, who was caught up in scandal and resigned in early 2003. His successor, Jim Scherr, was forced out in March 2009.

The Olympics are "the world's greatest brand and we haven't been good stewards of the brand," Blackmun said Wednesday in a press conference. "We need to act with integrity and transparency."

Blackmun, who will take over on Jan. 26, will work toward repairing the USOC's international standing while also dealing with key constituencies -- including national governing bodies, athletes and sponsors -- at home. He will have discussions with international leaders during the Vancouver Olympics in February, working in tandem with USOC chair Larry Probst, who had said the new CEO will have to be a globetrotter.

"I don't think we've invested that time at the senior leadership level to the extent we could have or should have," Blackmun said. "We have left that to the international relations team."

He added, "We need to make the effort to go over and visit with them. We need to spend some time listening."

He said he also needs to spend time studying what happened to Chicago 2016 before the USOC embarks on another Olympic bid.

Blackmun said he personally thinks that "Rio was destined to win" because of the IOC's interest in taking the Games to South America.

"I don't lay the blame for what happened there at the feet of the USOC," he said.

Bidding again is a "complex question. We don't want to make it too soon, but I think everybody recognizes the importance of having the Games on U.S. soil."

Did Blackmun think the U.S. should concentrate on a Winter Olympics bid or perhaps another event like the Youth Olympic Games?

"Those are all possibilities," Blackmun said. "Those are all things we need to think about. Hosting those kinds of events are good for us."

At least Blackmun has been part of a winning bid. While he was Chief Operating Officer of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) from 2002-06, he lobbied for London 2012.

Among an initial field of 140 candidates, the USOC found Blackmun in their own backyard. Upon leaving AEG's Los Angeles office, he returned to Colorado Springs to work as an attorney with Holme Roberts & Owen LLP, where he was a partner and a member of the firm's Executive Committee.

"The work we have to do is difficult; it's difficult to change things overnight," Blackmun said, adding that he would "build block by block."

Blackmun, 52, has a four-year contract which will pay him a base salary of $450,000. Stephanie Streeter, who was Acting CEO after Scherr's ouster, received a base salary of $560,000, with bonuses that could have brought her up to $1 million.

Blackmun said that Probst's prompt answering of a question about his salary was "indicative of a change in direction" at the USOC.

Reaction to Blackmun's hiring has been positive from all corners of the globe.

Probst said that he spoke to IOC President Jacques Rogge on Wednesday morning. "He was very enthusiastic about Scott's appointment," Probst said. "He thinks we made a terrific hire and he looks forward to meeting him in Vancouver."

In a statement, the IOC called Blackmun "an experienced operator."

"Scott Blackmun is a man with tremendous experience both of USOC and of the wider Olympic Family," the IOC said. "He understands the challenges and particularly the opportunities that the post brings and we look forward to a close and constructive working relationship."

While Streeter was unpopular during her short tenure, Blackmun, who is well-liked within the various Olympic constituencies and worked at the USOC from 1998-2001, is seen as a unifying figure.

"They probably made the mistake when they didn't pick him before," Harvey Schiller, a former USOC executive director and past president of the International Baseball Federation tells Around the Rings. "If you think about the changes that have gone on, I think they all would have been avoided. He was the right choice then, and he's the right choice now."

In addition to being interim executive director, Blackmun was also General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs, where he worked on marketing and television contracts, and Senior Managing Director where he was responsible for sport operations and resource allocation to NGBs and athletes.

Mike Plant, a USOC board member who was on the search team, has known Blackmun personally and professionally for 20 years.

"The guy is smart, he understands the need and certainly the value in really and truly collaborating with the key constituencies in this Movement, that's the IOC, the NGBS, the athletes, the multisport organizations," Plant tells ATR.

"He understands that because of the experience he brings to the table. I'm really extremely pleased that Scott decided way back when to put his hat back in the ring. I feel really encouraged for this organization going forward."

The USOC is awaiting a report from a commission headed by former NFL chief Paul Tagliabue that will make recommendations on the structure of the organization.

"We have to tweak a few things," Plant said. "That will be done in a short period of time."

Michael Payne, former IOC marketing director, tells ATR that he had a lot of dealings with Blackmun, who "always struck me as a class act." He added that the USOC made a "grave mistake not confirming back in all that Presidential turmoil him to be CEO, when he was interim for a few months in-between the revolving door of dysfunctional corporate execs that they kept trying to put in."

Chuck Wielgus, the USA Swimming executive director who was reportedly the other finalist for the job, said in a statement that in Blackmun, the USOC "has gained a strong leader who is knowledgeable about the Olympic world, and who will provide positive and clear direction. On behalf of USA Swimming, I'd like to offer our congratulations and welcome Scott back to the Olympic Family.

Doug Logan, chief of USA Track and Field, also praised the hire.

"Scott's skill set includes keen intelligence and a deep knowledge of the Olympic movement," Logan said. "Perhaps most important, he brings a stable, calming presence to what has been an organization in turmoil. That fact alone will be an immediate benefit to the USOC."

Dick Ebersol, chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, said "Larry Probst and the USOC have worked very hard in recent months to run a detailed and thorough search for stronger leadership. The high caliber of the finalists for the CEO position speaks well for their efforts. As their long-term television partners (since 1988), we at NBC wish good and great things for the USOC and for their new CEO Scott Blackmun."

Judging from the press conference, Probst and Blackmun already have a comfortable working relationship, making jokes as they deferred questions to each other.

"He's going to do an outstanding job in the CEO position for many, many years to come," Probst said.

Blackmun also promised to treat the media as a key constituency and said he is used to dealing with them.

Previous hires at CEO had also been greeted with accolades in the past, only to sour. Asked how Blackmun's hiring will be different from the revolving door in the post for the past two decades, Blackmun said, "My wife asked that same question. What I told her is what's different is the quality of the board."

He added that the board members are looking out for the USOC as a whole, not their own constituencies.

Blackmun said he's prepared for extensive travel on the job, probably logging 225,000 air miles in his last year at AEG.

But Probst emphasized that he will continue to bear the brunt of the international responsibility.

"In the international Olympic Movement, the president or chairman of the board needs to be the primary face with the organization," Probst said, "and I intend to be that. Having said that, it's important Scott have tremendous visibility and he and I will show up in the same places very frequently."

Probst said he will probably discuss the revenue-sharing agreement with his IOC counterparts in Vancouver. "We need to take our time, we need to be thoughtful about this. In the end, we need to do what's best for the USOC on a global basis."

However, the controversial U.S. Olympic Network appears to be off the table for now.

"We have not had any recent discussions with the IOC," Probst said. "Ss we have stated previously, we will only move forward with their full cooperation ." He said the merger between NBC and Comcast, the USOC's partner, is front and center and will have to be hammered out.

"This is just Step 1 and there are a lot of other things that we need to address and fix and solve," Probst said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to fix these problems and help with solutions and see the USOC recognized as the best NOC in the world. You don't get that by proclamation, you get that by acclamation."

Media Watch: U.S. Media on New USOC CEO

Can Blackmun bring order to chaos at the USOC? Colorado Gazette columnist hopes Blackmun in the right man for the job.

USOC critics hails the choice of Scott Blackmun reports Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune.

Many individuals in the U.S. Olympic community are looking for the new CEO to bring stability at the USOC, reports NPR.

Written by Karen Rosen.