Gov. Brad Little on Monday announced the creation of a new working group tasked with evaluating Idaho’s standing in college athletics, with a report expected by September.
The Working Group on College Athletics will spend the summer consulting with athletic departments at Idaho’s public universities, then identify state and local policy solutions along with potential investment opportunities. Little appointed eight members to the group, tapping Idaho Falls businessman Cortney Liddiard to serve as chair.
“Idaho’s colleges and universities deliver real value to students, communities, our economy, and our athletics programs are a meaningful part of that,” Little said in announcing the working group. “This working group will make sure we’re not sitting on the sidelines.”
Who Is on the Task Force
The group brings together a mix of legislative leadership, business executives, and higher education figures. Kurt Liebich, president of the State Board of Education, holds a seat on the panel alongside two of the Legislature’s top Republicans: Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog of Meridian and House Majority Leader Jason Monks, also of Meridian.
The remaining members represent Idaho’s business and university communities. Troy Bell, president and CEO of TanaBell Health Services, is a former Idaho State University football player and currently serves on the ISU Foundation board. Mark Miller, CEO of Miller Family Holdings and board chairman of Idaho First Bank, also joins the group, as does Debbie Hetherington, a University of Idaho Foundation board member. Rounding out the panel is Mike Tatko, a regional business manager at Avista Utilities who also serves as president of the Lewis-Clark State College Foundation Board.
What Comes Next
The working group is expected to gather input from athletics departments across Idaho’s public universities throughout the summer before delivering its findings and recommendations to the governor in September. The scope of the review includes both policy levers the state could pull and investment opportunities that might strengthen Idaho’s competitive position in college sports.
The announcement comes as college athletics nationally continue to be reshaped by shifting conference alignments, new revenue-sharing models between schools and student-athletes, and increasing pressure on smaller programs to keep pace financially. Little’s task force signals that Idaho intends to assess whether its institutions have the support structure needed to compete effectively in that environment.
The governor has previously used executive action to strengthen Idaho’s higher education ecosystem — earlier this year he signed an order forming a council aimed at bringing short-term Pell Grant access to the state, targeting workforce training programs at the community college and technical school level. The college athletics working group extends that focus to the competitive and economic dimensions of university sports programs.
No specific funding proposals or legislative recommendations have been announced ahead of the September report. Once the task force delivers its findings, it will be up to Little and lawmakers to determine whether any resulting proposals advance through the next legislative session.