It’s not the sort of program that generates headlines or even one that causes a buzz on campus. Indeed, the orientation program for new chancellors and presidents at NCAA member institutions seems destined to live on as a success whose benefits are hidden from public view.

But the program is important because of how it connects new presidents who are interested in college athletics with individuals who have successfully managed athletics issues in the past. Rather than learning by trial and error, new presidents can benefit from the candid counsel of some of the top figures in higher education.

The concept is simple. Recently appointed chancellors or presidents at NCAA member institutions are matched with retired presidents to gain a better understanding of athletically related issues. They are asked in advance to note special topics they want to discuss. National office staff members participate in each session to help with their knowledge of particular Association issues. New presidents either can host the orientations at their campuses or they can participate at the annual NCAA Convention. The program is voluntary.

New-president orientation began as a pilot in 2005, the brainchild of NCAA President Myles Brand. Since the program became official in 2006, about 65 presidents and chancellors have taken part. Surveys during that period reveal only one president who was not satisfied with the experience. Others have expressed concern with one issue or another, but the overall support has been overwhelmingly positive, said David Schnase, the NCAA managing director of membership services who administers the program.

“People appreciate the effort,” Schnase said, “and they appreciate the time that is spent, either going to their campus or going to the Convention. And everybody says, ‘I had a pretty good understanding of the NCAA, but now I have a better understanding.’ So that’s a good bonus for us.”

Charles Wethington, NCAA Executive Committee chair in 2000, helped develop the program and now serves as one of 20 peer presidents (NCAA President Brand also has served in that role).

“I was a supporter of this from the beginning, and the further that we have gotten into it, the more supportive I have become,” said Wethington, former president at Kentucky. The program, he said, provides participants with an understanding of how the NCAA operates and it also gives them contacts should the need arise.

Don Lubbers, former chair of the Division II Presidents Council and another peer president, has participated in three visits and said the issues that presidents face today are not much different than they were five decades ago when he was a first-time president at Central (Iowa).

“The alumni were really upset with the way the athletics program had been going, particularly football,” he said, recalling his early days. “I had to work those problems out, but I was left to my own devices to do that. I had a successful career in athletics at Central, but (something such as a visit from an experienced president) would have been helpful.”

These days, the new presidents typically are interested in academic, personnel and fiscal issues. Through it all, Wethington makes clear that he does not have all the answers.

“I don’t know about the other peer presidents,” he said, “but I’ve tried not to be prescriptive in some fashion but instead take best practices and apply them to their situation.”

A couple of Wethington’s recent visits have involved an additional benefit. Besides meeting with the president, he discussed athletics administration matters with representatives of the institutions’ boards. In both cases, Wethington said the interests of the boards were much the same as those of the presidents.

“That’s bringing in the NCAA people as consultants for the board,” Lubbers said. “And the board needs an education sometimes about athletics.”