Walter Byers, Former NCAA Leader, Dies at 93

Walter Byers, a key figure in the development of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, died Tuesday at the age of 93, The New York Times reported. In 1951, Byers was named as the first executive director of the NCAA, and he served in that role until 1987. He focused on promoting the idea of the “student-athlete” and amateurism in college athletics. But he also spoke out, in particular in retirement, against what he saw as widespread corruption in college athletics and the decline of the ideals he had promoted.