Texas State Athletics Director Larry Teis named to NCAA Division I Council

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
August 11, 2015

Texas State Director of Athletics Larry Teis has been selected by the NCAA Board of Directors to serve as the Sun Belt Conference representative on the newly-formed NCAA Division I Council.

“I feel very privileged to represent all the student-athletes, coaches, university staffs and conference staff in the Sun Belt Conference on the NCAA Division 1 Council,” said Teis, who is in his 12th year as Athletics Director at Texas State.

The NCAA Division I Council held its first meeting in January 2015, and is responsible for the day-to-day business of NCAA Division I Athletics. The council reports directly to the NCAA Board of Directors and oversees committees for student-athlete experiences, strategic vision and planning, legislation and competition oversight committees on every sport. It also oversees a student-advisory committee.

The council is comprised of 40 voting members that includes one representative from each of the 32 Division I Conferences, two student-athletes, conference commissioners and faculty representatives.

"The NCAA Division I Council will play a significant role in guiding the structure of the NCAA," Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said. "With his expertise and proven leadership, Larry Teis will be an excellent advocate for the Sun Belt and its member universities."

The council replaces the Leadership and Legislative Councils from the previous NCAA structure, and 60 percent of the council members must be athletics directors. Any rules adopted by the council will be subject to review by the Board of Directors.

Teis has overseen unprecedented growth and success as Athletics Director at Texas State during the last 11 years. Under his leadership, new facilities and renovation projects have totaled more than $100 million since 2009. Fundraising efforts have generated record-setting campaigns in each of the past six years and Texas State enters its third season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference after joining the FBS ranks as a member of the WAC in 2012-13.

The Bobcats joined the FBS after claiming three Southland Conference Commissioner’s Cups and six SLC women’s all-sports trophies in eight years. In his tenure, Texas State has won 23 conference championships and 14 conference tournament titles.

In addition, more than 360 student-athletes have earned a bachelor’s degree and more than 850 attained a grade point average of 3.0 or higher during the last five years. This past year, the Bobcats had five teams post perfect APR scores for the second straight year. In addition, Texas State’s women’s golf and tennis teams were publicly recognized by the NCAA for ranking among the Top 10 percent of their sports with multi-year APR rates for the four-year period ending in 2013-14, for the sixth straight year.