Tom McMillen
For the past 8 years, McMillen has served as President and CEO of the LEAD1 Association which represents the 134 universities and athletic programs of the NCAA’s Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
McMillen has had an illustrious career in sports, business and politics. He first received acclaim in high school when he was named the best basketball player in the United States, one of the youngest athletes ever featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Mr. McMillen studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and competed on the 1972 Olympic basketball team. He then played eleven years in the NBA with the Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Bullets, finishing his career in 1986 as the first and only active professional athlete to run for Congress.
From 1987 to 1993, Mr. McMillen served three consecutive terms from the Fourth District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. In Congress, Mr. McMillen served on the Energy & Commerce Committee; the Banking, Finance, and Urban Committee; and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
In 1993, President Clinton appointed McMillen to co-chair the President’s Council on Fitness and Sports. McMillen had previously been appointed by President Nixon as a high school student to the President’s Council.
During his career, Mr. McMillen has been an active investor, principal and board member in many companies, including ten public companies. He is currently a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Maryland System, formerly a member of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy and was the Founding Chairman of the National Foundation on Physical Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. His book, Out of Bounds, examines the conflicts between sports and ethics.