Feb 01, 2016 12:32 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The NCAA's Board of Governors approved a three-year extension on Mark Emmert's contract as the organization's president.

According to ESPN, Emmert's contract now extends through the year 2020 and contains an option for an additional year. Emmert has been the NCAA's president since 2010 and the board unanimously approved the extension.

"Mark has done an incredible job leading the Association through an unprecedented period of change and transformation," Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz, chair of the Board of Governors, said in a press release. "I and the board feel strongly that Mark is integral in leading the Association forward as we navigate the complex and challenging way ahead, while better supporting student-athletes."

In its release, the NCAA stated the board took its vote on Jan. 16 at the NCAA Convention quarterly meeting in San Antonio. At the convention, Emmert praised student-athletes for recent showings of activism in their communities, ESPN reported.

In Nov., the University of Missouri boycotted team activities as long as a fellow student (not on the team) carried out a hunger strike in protest of the school system's president.

"Student-athletes are also saying we're part of the student body and we want to have a voice in social justice issues," he said. "We want to be part of that conversation. And I applaud that. I know sometimes it causes stress and some strain, but it's exactly what we want our student-athletes to do as members of our campus community."

Previously the NCAA faced a class-action lawsuit seeking a rule allowing compensation for student-athletes who lend their names, images, and likenesses to official memorabilia. Without allowing student-athletes to be compensated with a traditional paycheck, the NCAA began schools to provide the full cost-of-admission, as well as unlimited meal plans.

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