Former CEO of EA Sports to chair USOC board

Larry Probst, a longtime executive at the company that makes some of the nation's most popular video games--including Madden NFL and Tiger Woods PGA Tour--was elected Thursday to replace Ueberroth as the USOC's chairman of the board.

He'll take office next month at the USOC's annual assembly.

"There wasn't any debate at the board meeting," Ueberroth said of the unanimous vote that ended in Probst getting a four-year term.

Ueberroth will stay on with the USOC in a nonvoting capacity, his presence considered essential to the federation's attempt to land the 2016 Olympics in Chicago; the International Olympic Committee vote is set for next October.

The 58-year-old Probst will be involved in the bid, but also was tabbed because of his business acumen. He has worked at Electronic Arts, a company that includes EA Sports, since 1984. Annual revenues at the company grew from $175 million to $3 billion over the 16 years during which he served as CEO. Last year, he retired that post and became chairman of the board.

"The EA Sports brand is one of the most recognized brands in the video games industry," Probst said. "I've been doing that for 15-plus years. As a consequence of that, I've had a lot of exposure to commissioners, leaders in sports."

Ueberroth thinks Probst will also have great access to board rooms of billion-dollar companies that help pay the USOC's bills through sponsorships. The federation took in about $600 million over the four-year period that ends this year, about 35 percent of which came through 17 sponsorship deals with the likes of Anheuser-Busch and Bank of America.

Given the current state of the economy, though, this is no time to take any financial deal for granted. It's a reality the board recognized in its meeting Thursday. Probst will be counted on to establish new relationships for the USOC that could result in new sponsorship deals.

"We know the economy is distressed right now," CEO Jim Scherr said. "We're very solid in our current sponsorship group and sponsor family. We feel the 2008 Olympic Games reinvigorated our country" in the way it views the Olympics.