Charlotte, NC – The NJCAA has announced that President and CEO Dr. Christopher Parker has received a contract extension through spring 2027. Dr. Parker, who has served as NJCAA President and CEO since 2017, is only the fourth chief executive of the NJCAA since its founding in 1938.
"The NJCAA Board of Regents is thrilled that Dr. Parker has agreed to extend his employment contract for four more years," remarked Troy Tucker, Chair of the NJCAA Board of Regents, "The NJCAA has prospered under Dr. Parker's leadership with unprecedented successes in revenue generation, branding, and the student-athlete experience. College athletics, and higher education in general, are at a very challenging time in their history and we feel fortunate to have Dr. Parker leading the association as we move forward."
Dr. Parker stepped into the role of chief executive in 2017 and has led the association to continued success. With his assistance, the National Office relocated from Colorado Springs, CO, to Charlotte, NC, in 2018. Also in 2018, Dr. Parker worked with board leadership to establish the adoption of a new governance structure in which a Board of Regents was created to include twenty-four Regional Representatives, a Board Chair, a Women's Senior Administrator, a Men's Senior Administrator, six Presidential Representatives, and a maximum of six At-Large Representatives. The new structure provided the association the opportunity to have engagement from all 24 regions across the country while having the ability to more quickly adapt to higher education and collegiate athletics changes.
"The NJCAA has made so many strides of improvement under the leadership of Dr. Paker and we are excited to extend his contract to continue that great work," stated Dr. Dan Kinney, Chair of the NJCAA Presidents Commission and Board of Regents member. "Athletics play a key role in our institution's daily operation and under his leadership we have excelled in providing our student-athletes with an even better experience. His support and work have advanced the mission of our member colleges."
Under Dr. Parker's leadership, the NJCAA experienced its first nationally televised championship game in 2018 by signing an agreement with CBS Sports to televise the 2018 NJCAA Football National Championship game. The success of this agreement led to the NJCAA securing future national media rights contracts including a multi-year media rights agreement with ESPN in August 2022 that features nationally televised NJCAA championship games on ESPNU along with regular season content on ESPN+.
In 2019, Dr. Parker was instrumental in the creation of the NJCAA Foundation, the 501c3 philanthropic arm of the NJCAA that raises funds to support the association, its member colleges, and its student-athletes. The NJCAA Foundation has also established the first-ever NJCAA Hall of Fame to celebrate the great history of the association's finest student-athletes, coaches, and administrators.
Dr. Parker has led the efforts to add five new emerging sports to the association since he took over the helm while creating new divisional opportunities for several sports already offered. The emerging sports include competitive cheer, clay target shooting, men's volleyball, women's wrestling, and women's flag football. Dr. Parker has been instrumental in reimagining NJCAA championships and bringing new technology and experiences to the association that heavily supports the student-athlete experience.
Prior to taking this role within the NJCAA, in 2006, Dr. Parker was hired as the first-ever athletic director at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, VA, and led the institution to being the first community college in the Commonwealth of Virginia to join the NJCAA. He raised over $2 million for intercollegiate athletics at Patrick Henry, leading to new facility construction projects as well as renovations. Under his leadership, Patrick Henry's athletic program grew from its original three sports to 12 before his departure in December 2015. Parker was named the Under Armour Southeast Athletic Director of the Year in 2010-11.
In addition to his responsibilities at Patrick Henry, Parker served as the assistant region director and region director of NJCAA Region 10 for seven years. He also helped guide an additional eight Virginia community colleges into membership with the NJCAA – serving as a direct consultant for five institutions in establishing their athletic programs.