KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mike Racy has been selected as the next commissioner of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) by the conference’s Chief Executive Officers Council.
Racy will succeed Dr. Bob Boerigter, who after six years with the MIAA announced in May his retirement effective January 31, 2017. Racy will be the fifth full-time commissioner in MIAA history.
“The MIAA is a great NCAA conference, with a stellar reputation for academic excellence, national championship success and service to community. I am thrilled to be selected as the next commissioner of the MIAA. I would like to thank Chancellor Kristensen and the MIAA CEO Council for giving me this opportunity to lead the conference office and to serve the CEO’s, student-athletes, coaches, faculty and administrators at MIAA member institutions,“ stated Racy.
Racy joined the NCAA staff in November 1993 and went on to serve as the NCAA Division II vice president from 1999 to 2013. In that position, he was a member of the NCAA President’s Cabinet; managed the Division II governance structure and the division’s $30 million annual budget; provided leadership in the consideration of policies, legislation and issues that affected Division II member institutions and conferences; and coordinated the national office staff support and services for the division’s membership. Most recently, Racy has served as a collegiate athletics consultant.
“Mike Racy’s experience on the national level and his strong sense of the values of Division II make him a perfect match for the MIAA. I am confident he will lead the tradition-rich MIAA with a forward-looking strategic view,” said Doug Kristensen, Chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and chair of the CEO Council.
Under Racy’s leadership, Division II developed and implemented a groundbreaking strategic-positioning platform; created a National Championships Festival series; and passed landmark “Life in the Balance” legislation that reframed the educational and athletics experience for Division II student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
A Kansas native, Racy was born in Lawrence and grew up in Abilene. He attended Washburn University in Topeka and worked for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) after his graduation, then went on to earn a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, in 1992. That was followed by his legal practice with Gage and Tucker (now Lathrop and Gage) law firm in Kansas City as a general litigation attorney.
— MIAA Press Release —