by Chris Chesrown, M.Ed.
Director, Marketing and Public Relations
Scottsdale Community College
As President of the NJCAA, Becker will provide leadership in the governance of athletic programs at some 500 colleges, representing about 50,000 athletes at two-year institutions nationwide.
"I am very excited about serving the NJCAA," said Becker. "I think that we are entering a very important time in the development of the organization and I am very happy to be involved with the fine group of people that will take the NJCAA to a new level of accomplishment."
"One of my personal goals is to promote and encourage academic success for athletes," explains Becker. "Success in life requires balance, and our athletes are students first. Student athletes must be able to enter the working world with skills that help them succeed off the field as well as on it."
A former professional basketball player with the Indiana Pacers and Denver Rockets (1967-1973), Becker was on the ABA West All-Star team in 1967-1968 and 1971-1972. He played basketball at Arizona State University from 1960 to 1964 and is in the ASU Athletic Hall of Fame.
He came to SCC in 1974 as the head basketball coach and provided leadership for many years (1974-1981, 1993-1996).ÿ Becker also served as the head men's tennis coach from 1981-1983. In 1984 Becker was named Men's Athletic Director.
Becker will simultaneously continue with his work at SCC, overseeing all men's athletic programs, supervising coaches and staff. SCC currently has eight men's athletic programs including baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, football, soccer, tennis, and track and field.
He is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) and is a founding member and former president of the National Alliance of Two-Year Collegiate Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA). Currently he is a liaison with the Fiesta Bowl, a position he has held since 1984, and an executive committee member of NATYCAA.
Becker has a Bachelor of Science degree in history and a master's degree in physical education, both from Arizona State University. ÿHe is celebrating 40 years of marriage to wife Lynn, has four children and three grandchildren. Each of his children participated in Division I University athletics: Tracy played tennis at the University of Indiana, Mark played basketball at ASU, Kristin played tennis at Iowa State University and Brian played basketball and baseball at SCC and baseball at the University of Arizona.
In his free time, Becker pursues many personal interests including tennis, golf, cycling and reading.
Photo available upon request. Please contact chris.chesrown@sccmail.maricopa.edu
For more information on the NJCAA, visit: www.njcaa.org