NCAA senior VP of external affairs Tim Buckley shot down reports about Charlie Baker’s interest in a potential Senate run. He told ESPN’s Pete Thamel the reports are “untrue.”
During a roundtable show on WCVB-TV on Friday, political analysts in Massachusetts indicated Baker could be interested in running for Senate in 2026. He was the state’s governor from 2015-23 before taking over for Mark Emmert as NCAA president, but the group wondered if he could challenge Ed Markey for the seat.
Amid the speculation, Buckley made it clear Baker isn’t considering a run in less than two years. His focus is on the task at hand with the NCAA, and he’s been attending multiple championships.
“In the last several days alone, Charlie has been in North Carolina for the DI women’s soccer championship, Texas for DII football finals, Kentucky for DI women’s volleyball semifinals and will be in Tennessee soon for the NCAA convention – he’s clearly not running for any political office and is solely focused on the future of college sports,” Buckley told Thamel . “That report is untrue.”