In this May 24, 2012, file photo, Scott Blackmun discusses with the media an agreement between the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee at the SportAccord conference in Quebec City. AP
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado—In the U.S. Olympic Committee’s version of a perfect world, CEO Scott Blackmun will help the Americans bring the curtain down on the Los Angeles Olympics in 2024.
The USOC board extended Blackmun’s contract by five years, through 2021, with an option to keep him through the 2024 Games.
Chairman Larry Probst said the extension, announced Friday, was recognition of the work Blackmun has done since he got the job in 2010, but clearly there’s another factor at play here: The USOC wants to show it is stable as it tries to help Los Angeles land the 2024 Olympics.
“It seemed like a no-brainer to me and the board,” Probst said. “We’re highly interested in him leading the organization forward for the next six years, at least.”
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Blackmun will work under the same terms as his current contract, which pays him nearly $980,000 a year, including bonuses.
The announcement came on the same day that Mike Krzyzewski, the coach of Duke and the USA basketball team, was on hand to deliver a speech to the U.S. Olympic Assembly. He appreciated the message being sent.
“It’s really powerful,” Krzyzewski said. “When you keep changing, then people don’t know (the culture). The neighborhood he has to negotiate, it’s very difficult. The more knowledge and more activity you’ve had in it is a good thing.”
Blackmun came into the job five years ago, after a nine-month period of tumult at the USOC that included the forced resignation of Jim Scherr as CEO, the unpopular hiring of Stephanie Streeter to replace him and, most notably, the fourth-place humiliation of Chicago in the bidding for the 2016 Olympics.
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All the upheaval, combined with the USOC’s poor international reputation, hurt Chicago’s cause. Under Blackmun and Probst, the USOC has established itself as a more reliable partner worldwide.
Los Angeles is in the running for the 2024 Games against Paris, Rome, Hamburg, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary. The vote is in 2017.
Blackmun’s contract runs through at least 2021, and if both sides agree, he would stay on for four years beyond that.
“He has offered terrific leadership to the organization and developed a high level or respect internationally,” Probst said.