USOC chief offers surprising resignation

DENVER – Jim Scherr resigned as the chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee, an awkwardly timed move that comes with the federation attempting to shore up its finances while bidding to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.

Scherr will be replaced on an interim basis by Stephanie Streeter, a member of the USOC board of directors. Streeter described the move as a way to bring a different "set of skills" to the top of the USOC's salaried staff.

During a 25-minute teleconference with reporters, neither she nor USOC chairman Larry Probst did anything to debunk the notion that Scherr was eased out after more than six years on the job, the first two on an interim basis.

"It was mutually decided upon by both parties," Probst said, as he and Streeter declined three times to say whose idea it was.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Scherr declined to go into specifics about his departure, though he hardly sounded like someone who had been itching to leave the Olympic movement.

"It's been a tremendous six-year run at the USOC," he said. "It's the best cause out there, as far as I'm concerned, as far as helping athletes achieve their dreams. I'm going to miss that."

At headquarters for the Chicago 2016 bid, officials were stunned by the news and conceded it couldn't be good for the bid.

"I don't think it helps in any way," said Pat Ryan, the chairman of the bid. "I don't think it damages us. If we allow it to damage us, that's a possibility, but there is no reason why it should damage us."

The change had been brewing since shortly after the team returned from the Olympics, and the endgame started playing out at the USOC board meeting Tuesday. That was the same day Scherr announced the USOC must trim up to 15 percent of its staff as a way of paring $7.1 million from its 2009 budget.

Streeter, who has been on the board for 4 1/2 years, said she had the tools to deal with some of the new challenges facing the USOC — the economy, a changing media climate and a more difficult sponsorship atmosphere.

"If I can be so bold, there are several things I bring to the party," she said. "First and foremost are CEO skills and business skills. Second is my experience with the organization; I have a flavor for what's going on and what the challenges are."

Scherr, a member of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team in 1988 and two-time worlds silver medalist, will leave March 31, and Streeter will serve as interim CEO "for the foreseeable future," Probst said.

"Jim and this team brought this organization back to a level of excellence," Streeter said. "Now, it's a different set of issues we face and a different set of skills are needed."

Scherr will leave more than six years after taking over at the USOC, where he helped the federation streamline a bulky governing structure and refurbish a reputation that was sullied in the wake of the Salt Lake City Olympics bid scandal.

He oversaw a period of growth and success at the USOC that included significant decreases in administrative costs and a doubling in direct contributions to athletes. Meanwhile, the U.S. team succeeded in the Olympics, most recently winning a games-high 110 medals in Beijing in a year in which most people thought the hosts would beat the United States. It has been, by almost every measure, the most successful six-year period in the federation's history.

The timing of the move did raise questions.

The USOC is moving into the final stages of helping with the bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. The SportAccord, an international gathering of sports dignitaries, including those from the International Olympic Committee, is set for later this month in Denver with all four finalists scheduled to present their pitches for the games. In early April, the IOC makes its bid visit to Chicago — the most important meeting before the games are awarded in October.

The USOC recently replaced Rick Burton with Lisa Baird as its new chief marketing officer and is still looking for a replacement for Steve Roush, who resigned as chief of sport performance — one of the key architects of the U.S. team's recent Olympic success.







Children play on top of rocky desert cliffs at sunset. AP Photo/Hasan Jamali