The Post

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has announced that the Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., president of Niagara University, will become the conference’s representative to the NCAA Presidential Advisory Group, part of the NCAA Division I governance structure.

“Father Maher will be a tremendous asset to the MAAC on the NCAA Presidential Advisory Group,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “Father Maher has a strong background with intercollegiate athletics from his time at Niagara and previously at St. John’s University, where he worked directly with student-athletes on a daily basis. He will bring a multifaceted perspective to the PAG discussions.”

Father Maher took the helm as Niagara’s 26^th president in August 2013. Before coming to Niagara, he served as executive vice president for mission and student services at St. John’s University. While at St. John’s, Father Maher served as the campus minister to the athletics department and worked to provide active support to the university’s high-profile intercollegiate sports program, with particular emphasis on strengthening academics, life skills and social support programs for student-athletes.

“Father Maher has many years of experience with intercollegiate athletics at the Division I level,” notes Canisius College President John Hurley, who serves as the MAAC president and was the league’s previous representative to the NCAA’s PAG. “As the discussions about the governance of Division I continue to evolve, we will look to Father Maher to be an active voice for the MAAC, our athletic programs, and the interests of our student athletes on the PAG.”

The NCAA’s Division I governance structure is evolving based on changes enacted at the August 2014 NCAA board of directors meetings. It is anticipated the restructured PAG will have a strategic and issues-based agenda, and will continue to serve in an advisory capacity to the NCAA Division I board of directors. The PAG is reviewing options for participating in strategy sessions that might include, for example, presidents/chancellors from all 32 Division I conferences, an annual joint meeting with the board or continuing as a body of 22, as it is currently constituted.

Father Maher’s four-year term with the NCAA PAG began with the committee’s Jan. 18, 2015, meeting at the recent NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C.