Report: NCAA senior VP addresses rumor president Charlie Baker considering Senate run

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.”

When discussing a potential political return for Baker, political analyst Mary Anne Marsh said “it certainly looks that way.” She cited some factors in her response to a question about whether Baker could challenge Markey for the seat in the 2026 election.

“Charlie Baker is in Massachusetts all the time, endorsing candidates, doing the Boston Pops, all of it,” Marsh said. “He certainly looks like someone who’s running. But could he win a Senate race in Massachusetts against Ed Markey right now? I don’t know.”

Marsh’s fellow analyst, Republican Rob Gray, pointed out the possibility Baker could defeat the incumbent Markey in the election. He noted Baker was a two-term Republican governor in Massachusetts, which could bode well if he decided to run.

“Charlie Baker would have a chance to win,” said Gray. “I mean, he’s the exception. He’s run twice for governor and won successfully. He can raise the money, and Ed Markey has a lot of problems. Voters will have hesitation about sending another Republican to Washington, but Charlie Baker’s been very anti-Trump. So maybe, they’ll look the other way.”

Since taking over as NCAA president, Baker has been active on Capitol Hill lobbying for national legislation regarding NIL. His most recent trip to Washington, D.C. came earlier this month when he called for a federal ban on prop bets for college contests.