The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics announced the addition of four new members: Kevin Blue, Jill Bodensteiner, Bob Bowlsby, and Kirk Schulz.
“The Knight Commission’s legacy of impact is due to the participation of exceptional thought leaders like Kevin, Jill, Bob, and Kirk,” said Knight Foundation president and CEO Maribel Pérez Wadsworth. “At Knight Foundation, we are proud to support the Commission’s independent efforts during this dynamic time of change in college sports.”
Collectively, members bring the benefits of decades of senior leadership experience in intercollegiate athletics at Division I institutions. Bob Bowlsby’s 45-year career in college sports includes serving as athletics director at the University of Iowa, Stanford University, and as the Big 12 Commissioner. Jill Bodensteiner is in her seventh year as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, after serving for 20 years at her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. After more than a decade in Division I athletics administration, most recently as the Director of Athletics at the University of California, Davis, Kevin Blue currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and General Secretary of Canada Soccer. Kirk Schulz has more than 15 years of presidential experience leading institutions with athletics programs competing in the Big 12 and Pac-12 Conferences.
Knight Commission Co-Chair Pamela Bernard said, “The career accomplishments of Bob, Jill, Kevin, and Kirk as leaders in college sports and higher education speak for themselves. Even more impressive is the respect each has earned from their peers for their collaborative and thoughtful work with others.”
“We are grateful that Bob, Jill, Kevin, and Kirk are joining our work,” said Knight Commission Co-Chair Len Elmore. “Each is committed to the life-changing opportunities that college sports can provide to young women and men.”
A complete list of Knight Commission members can be found here.
Kevin Blue
A recognized voice in college athletics with expertise at the intersection of athletics, education, and sports business, Blue is known for his analytical writing on the financial structure of intercollegiate sports. His contributions have shaped critical conversations about sustainability and financial regulation and were included as written testimony in Congressional hearings about college sports finance.
Blue currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and General Secretary of Canada Soccer in his native Canada. In this role, he oversees one of the nation’s most prominent sports organizations, guiding the growth of soccer domestically and the performance of Canada’s national teams on the global stage at the World Cup and Olympic Games.
A former captain of the Stanford University golf team, Kevin held several roles in intercollegiate athletics and previously served as the athletics director at the University of California, Davis.
Jill Bodensteiner
Jill Bodensteiner is in her seventh year as Director of Athletics at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia after serving for 20 years at her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. She leads the Hawks’ program of nearly 500 Hawk student-athletes who compete in 21 NCAA Division I sports as well as the Campus Recreation Department. After spending her first 10 years as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel, Bodensteiner moved into Notre Dame Athletics in July 2009, where she was responsible for governance, legal issues, and the department’s sport administration program.
Originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, Bodensteiner received her undergraduate degree and her MBA from Notre Dame, and her JD from Washington University in St. Louis.
Bob Bowlsby
Bob Bowlsby concluded a 45-year career in intercollegiate athletics in 2022. He served as the Director of Athletics at the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Iowa, and Stanford University before completing his full-time career with 10 years as Commissioner of the Big 12 Conference.
Bowlsby served on many volunteer committees, including two terms as chair of the Men’s Basketball Committee, Chair of the NCAA Council, Chair of the Football Oversight Committee, and nine years on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. President George W. Bush appointed Bowlsby in 2002 to serve on the Commission on Opportunities in Athletics that was charged with the assessment of the first 25 years of Title IX.
Kirk Schulz
Kirk Schulz is a nationally respected leader in higher education, having served as the president of Washington State University for nine years and as president at Kansas State University for seven years. Prior to his appointment at Kansas State, Schulz served as the dean of engineering and vice president for research and economic development at Mississippi State University. He was also a faculty member and held various leadership positions at Michigan Technological University and the University of North Dakota. He is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Schulz earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering at Virginia Tech.
In his university leadership positions, Schulz has been a lifelong supporter of intercollegiate athletics. He previously served both on the College Football Playoff Board of Managers and on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors.
About the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
The Knight Commission, founded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 1989, is an independent group that leads transformational change to prioritize college athletes’ education, health, safety, and success. The Commission has a legacy of influencing NCAA policies that have helped propel record-high graduation rates of Division I athletes. The Commission’s ongoing efforts focus on governance, equity, and financial reforms, as well as providing education on the changing landscape of college sports. For more, visit knightcommission.org.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.