UD alumnus Lawrence F. Probst III, shown speaking at this year's Winter Commencement, has been elected a member of the International Olympic Committee.

IOC member

UD alumnus Probst elected International Olympic Committee member

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1:56 p.m., Sept. 25, 2013--Lawrence F. Probst III, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee and a University of Delaware alumnus, has been elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Probst was elected to the IOC on Sept. 10 and is one of four representatives from the United States among the 102 IOC members worldwide.

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He has served on the IOC’s International Relations Commission since 2011 and assumed duties as chairman of the USOC in 2008.

One of the IOC’s most important roles is selecting the host cities for the Summer and Winter Games.

“This is an incredible honor and achievement for Larry and well-deserved,” said Matthew J. Robinson, UD professor of sport management. “In his time as chairman of the USOC he has overseen unprecedented success of U.S. athletes in both the London and Vancouver Games, with even more success anticipated in the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in February 2014.”

Robinson said Probst, who was the UD Winter Commencement speaker in January, “has unified the Olympic Movement within the U.S. to move it towards sustained success. He has also strengthened the relationship of the USOC with the IOC, the other national Olympic committees and the international sport federations around the world. I believe Larry has embraced the ideals of the Olympics and U.S. and international sport is better for that.”

Robinson serves as the director of the International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP). The program is funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity Fund and is offered is partnership with the USOC.

Over the past six years, ICECP has hosted 139 coaches from over 80 countries in 23 different sports at UD and the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In September Robinson, was asked by the USOC to speak on behalf of Probst at an International Conference on High Performance held in Bogota, Colombia, because it conflicted with the IOC Session being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“It was an honor to represent the USOC and Larry at the conference and I enjoyed sharing insights on the variables that lead to the United States international sport success with my international colleagues,” Robinson said.

In addition to his work with the Olympics, Probst is also chairman of the board of directors of Electronic Arts, the world’s leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Probst joined EA in 1984 and served as the vice president of sales until 1986, followed by four years as senior vice president of the company’s publishing division. 

He led EA as president from December 1990 to October 1997, and was named CEO in May 1991, serving in that capacity until April 2007. Probst has been on EA’s board of directors since January 1991 and was elected to the position of chairman of the board of directors in July 1994. 

Under Probst, EA navigated multiple technology transitions and made strategic investments in new platforms such as mobile, online and other emerging markets. During his tenure as CEO, the company grew its annual revenue from $175 million in 1992 to roughly $3 billion in 2006, and expanded international operations to more than 75 countries. 

Before joining EA, Probst was a national sales manager at Activision Inc. and a national accounts manager at Clorox. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Delaware.

Photo by Evan Krape

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