Baumann would’ve been future IOC president

MANILA, Philippines — The late Swiss lawyer Patrick Baumann would’ve likely been elected IOC president to succeed Thomas Bach in 2025. Last Saturday, Baumann died of a heart attack while attending the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in his dual capacity as FIBA secretary-general and IOC member. There are no details of the circumstances of the cardiac arrest but it was reported “immediate” medical attention was given before he passed away.

At 51, Baumann was on the way to a major leadership role in the IOC. He was head of the evaluation committee that recommended Paris as host of the 2024 Games and Los Angeles to stage the 2028 edition. Baumann was named chairman of the coordination committee to oversee the transition from Paris to Los Angeles. Additionally, Baumann was president of the organizing committee of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne and the Global Association of International Sports Federations and member of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport, the Council of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, the Advisory Board of the World Academy of Sport and the Executive Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency. 

Baumann joined FIBA’s legal department in 1994 and a year later, was named deputy secretary-general under Borislav Stankovic. In 2002, Stankovic retired and Baumann took over. Baumann’s term was slated to expire in 2022 but last June, the FIBA Central Board approved an extension up to 2031. Baumann spoke English, Spanish, French, Italian and German and earned degrees at the University of Chicago (Master’s in Business Administration), University of Lyon (Master’s in Sports Administration Management) and University of Lausanne (law). Baumann worked as a lawyer at the foreign police department in Lausanne and with the Swiss Bank Corp. before joining FIBA. He was a basketball player, coach and referee and also did swimming, tennis and football. Baumann is survived by his wife Patricia and their children Bianca and Paul.

Under IOC rules, a president is elected to one eight-year term, renewable for another four years. The age limit for IOC members is 70 and may be extended by four more years with the approval of the IOC Executive Board. IOC members who joined from 1966 to 1999 may serve up to 80.  Bach, the German incumbent IOC president, is 64 and was elected to an eight-year term in 2013. He is expected to be renewed for another four years in 2021 so that his successor will be voted in by 2025.  Baumann would’ve been ripe for the IOC presidency in 2025 at 58, the year after the Paris Olympics.

Baumann had a soft spot in his heart for the Philippines. Under his watch, the Philippines hosted two legs of the 3x3 World Tour, the 2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup, the 2013 FIBA Asia Cup, one of three legs of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup. He opened the door for the Philippines to host the FIBA World Cup, initially as a finalist for the 2019 edition then as the winning bidder with Indonesia and Japan for the 2023 tournament. It was also during Baumann’s administration that SBP chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan was named to the FIBA Central Board, Dr. Jose Raul Canlas to the FIBA Medical Commission, Atty. Aga Francisco to the FIBA Legal Commission and Jimmy Alapag to the FIBA Players Commission.

Baumann’s dream was to make basketball the world’s most popular sport. That’s the vision he proposed during the recent World Basketball Summit in China. “The beauty is we want basketball to be the most popular sport in the world,” said Baumann at the Summit. “Everything is about teamwork. All of us have a piece of work to do in that respect.” For his part, Baumann involved big and small nations alike in promoting the game by introducing the revolutionary home-and-away format to qualify for the World Cup and making 3x3 – the foundation of a mass-based grassroots movement – a medal event in the Olympics starting in 2020.

Writer Emmet Ryan said, “Baumann saw the basketball world in the most literal sense of that description. He got himself where he needed to be when he needed to be there to meet as many people growing the game worldwide as he could. His commitment to the job, whatever disagreements anyone had with him over issues within the sport, couldn’t be questioned. He sought to absorb knowledge from the stakeholders he represented, he made the smaller outposts of the sport feel relevant.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who joined Baumann at the Summit, said, “Nobody was more dedicated to the growth of basketball than Patrick … he loved the game and recognized its power to transform people’s lives … he was also a dear friend and colleague whom I attended countless games and events with over the past 20 years.”

There has been no announcement on how Baumann’s successor in FIBA will be chosen but it was reported that his functions will be taken over by FIBA president Horacio Muratore of Argentina and the FIBA Executive Committee whose members are Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico, Turgay Demiral of Turkey, Hamane Niang of Mali, Burton Shipley of New Zealand, Mark Tatum of the US, Lena Wallin-Kantzy of Sweden and Ingo Weiss of Germany. Muratore is also the Executive Committee chairman and Weiss, the FIBA treasurer.