Longtime NCAA executive David Berst announces retirement

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Longtime NCAA executive David Berst will retire this summer and be replaced by Kevin Lennon.

Berst has been with the NCAA since 1972 and may be best known for announcing the “death penalty” decision against SMU’s football program in 1987.

Following the news conference, which was held on campus in a hot, crowded room, Berst fainted. He has served as vice president for Division I governance since 1998.

Lennon, a graduate of Ohio University and Harvard, takes over for Berst on April 6.

He joined the NCAA three decades ago and has been the NCAA’s vice president of academic and membership affairs since 1998.

Diane Dickman also will move from managing director of academic and membership affairs to managing director of Division I governance.