Hokie ClubThe NCAA Division I Board of Directors has appointed Tim Sands, president of Virginia Tech, to serve as the board chair. He replaces Jere Morehead, president of the University of Georgia, who concluded his term at the board’s Aug. 6, 2024, meeting. Sands joined the board in January as a representative from the Atlantic Coast Conference and will serve as chair until August 2026.
The board is the top governing body for Division I, responsible for strategy and policy and overseeing management of the division. This includes focusing on the relationship between college sports and higher education, monitoring legislation and its impact on policies and goals, approving policies and procedures governing the infraction program, monitoring membership standards, and collaborating with staff on the best ways to serve NCAA members. Sands’ role includes presiding at board meetings, chairing the administrative committee, and serving as spokesperson for Division I.
Sands is the 16th president of Virginia Tech. Over the past decade he has elevated the university’s global land-grant mission of teaching, research, and engagement, and championed better access and affordability in higher education. A widely published researcher in the fields of nanotechnology, materials science, and optoelectronics and energy conversion devices, he is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Materials Research Society, and the National Academy of Inventors.
He serves as chair of the boards of the Universities Research Association and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and is a member of the Board of Visitors of National Intelligence University. Sands earned his bachelor’s degree with highest honors in engineering physics and a master’s and doctorate in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley.