Tagliabue suggests evolutionary refinements to USOC

The 2003 reforms that reshaped the U.S. Olympic Committee were nothing less than a "transformative event." So says, appropriately and accurately, a study presented Friday by a committee led by former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

The refinements suggested Friday by that committee thus predictably amount to evolution, not revolution, in particular the suggestion that the board of directors be upsized from 11 to 15.

Even so, sophisticated and smart evolution changes the world just as does revolution, and in the details of that report is the stuff that -- if implemented and if given time, a lot of time -- could itself amount to another "transformative event," and not just for the USOC but for the entire Olympic movement.

And anything that enhances the USOC's position domestically and internationally is good.

It's good for the USOC, and if that seems obvious, there's this -- it's also good for the Olympic movement worldwide. A strong and healthy USOC that helps lead internationally, albeit with humility, is good for everyone everywhere that's within or even just touched by the Olympic movement.

The Tagliabue report is perhaps not likely to make the bedside reading of many if not most IOC members, or for that matter the heads of the international sports federations or of the other more than 200 national Olympic committees around the world.

Too bad. It should make for required reading, even for those initially inclined to find burdensome or boring such matters as governance and structure, which seemingly nobody cares about until they go bad -- at which point it's crisis time and suddenly everyone scrambles to become an expert.

The time to think about that kind of stuff is when you can -- which, for the USOC, is now, a recalibration of what it is the USOC is and what it ought to be, and who ought to be in charge, and how whoever it is that's in charge ought to be exerting leadership in appropriate ways.

As Dave Ogrean, the executive director of USA Hockey, put it this way in a telephone interview: "We don't need any more revolution." Referring to Probst and to recently appointed USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun, Ogrean also said, "We are at a good time right now with a chairman who has done a full mental re-boot, a CEO who is thankfully the right person at the right time -- and we're coming off very successful Games."

The report makes recommendations only, which means the process moves to the USOC board for review. A timeline remains uncertain. It was not immediately clear Friday whether the board is inclined to adopt all, most or a lesser number of recommendations.

What is clear is both that it was Probst who had the idea in the first instance to ask Tagliabue last fall to undertake the study and that the Tagliabue report now sets out the framework for what should be the next chapter in USOC history.

And there is every reason for that next chapter to be wholly productive and constructive. This needs to be said: The USOC, for all its flaws, holds enormous potential -- not just financial, not just sporting, but creative as well.

As for just some of the flaws:

New York and Chicago got thumped in their bids for the 2012 and 2016 Games, in part because the USOC and International Olympic Committees have been at odds for years over certain television and marketing revenue splits and in part because the U.S. presence at the most senior levels of international sport has for a long time now lacked consistency and influence.

In the international arena, the report says the position of first vice president international, which was essentially created for the since-departed Bob Ctvrtlik, ought to be eliminated. And the chairman's term limit ought to be extended -- by how long remains unclear -- in part to help promote the USOC's international relations strategy.

Obviously, the underlying thrust would be to allow the chairman enough longevity to develop relationships and forge influence so that he (or she, as the case may be) could become an IOC member.

Internationally, the USOC board chairman must be, as Probst said Friday, the "point person," adding, "I am signed up 100 percent to fill that role and deliver against that obligation. At the same time, Scott is going to be shoulder to shoulder with me in our international relations effort."

Aside from the international arena, the report makes plain that the chairman's job is to lead the board. And the board's responsibility? To provide oversight - that is, overseeing management plus USOC finances as well as legal and ethical compliance issues -- and set strategy.

The report makes quite clear that the board chairman ought to keep his (or her) nose out of the day-to-day job of running the USOC. That's for the CEO, it says. It also says the CEO ought to serve as the organization's principal voice.

To be clear: The report does not suggest in any way that Probst was so involved with day-to-day affairs. And as Probst said, "The way Scott and I are operating currently pretty much reflects what's in that report ."

At the same time, it is well-known within and around the USOC that the former board chairman, Peter Ueberroth, made it his practice to be -- how to put this -- actively involved.

Some are enormous supporters of Ueberroth and his leadership style. Others are not. In a passage discretely buried on page nine of the 14-page report, a point of order that if enacted surely will be thought of as the "Ueberroth rule," the Tagliabue report suggests that USOC bylaws ought to be amended to eliminate the ability of immediate past chairmen to serve as honorary president or to attend board meetings.

The report further says it "does not believe that these arrangements are conducive to orderly governance or succession."

As for the big picture, there's this: Bottom line, what is the USOC supposed to be, and what is it supposed to be doing?

The 2003 reforms produced a mission statement that makes plain the USOC's job is to win Olympic and Paralympic medals and thus inspire "all Americans."

The USOC is very good at winning medals. Credit here where credit is due, to the USOC and to the national governing bodies, for the record 37 medals won in Vancouver and the more than 100 won in Beijing.

Of course the USOC needs to keep winning medals. But beyond that -- what?

The USOC is, as the report notes, under "relentless pressure" despite limited resources to "be all things to all people."

It can't be, and that's why the report suggests a new mission statement might well be in order. The Tagliabue committee said it considered drafting one itself. But wait -- since the mission of the USOC board is to set policy, it has to be the case that it's up to the board to review and if need be refine that mission statement, the report said.

In any case, the report said, the board ought to further provide to USOC executives and staff a "statement of principles," which it called "more granular than the mission statement" and must articulate "the metrics by which success will be measured."

So there's the framework for the USOC's next chapter -- a board that does what a board is supposed to do, with executives and staff guided by clear and defined principles, and everyone held accountable.

Now comes the hard part -- will it work in real life? Will it be allowed to work for real?

"It's all about performance and resources and moving ahead appropriately," Tagliabue said, summing up near the end of the teleconference. Earlier in the call, he had summoned up an ol' football coaching favorite, "t-e-a-m" means "together everyone achieves mission."

To spell it out further: Patience, please. So much in the Tagliabue report makes good sense. But, as everyone knows, evolution can take a lot of time.