He was responsible for merging the former Wisconsin State University Conference and Wisconsin Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference into the WIAC. He also brokered an agreement (the first-ever in the history of Division III athletics) to have selected WIAC events, including all of the conference championships, televised on FoxSports Wisconsin, a regional sports network.

Prior to serving as commissioner of the WIAC, Karner spent nearly eight years with the NCAA national office as a compliance representative. With the NCAA, he played a key role in the development of the institutional compliance review process as well as the NCAA Division I Athletic Certification Program. He also served as an NCAA liaison to a number of NCAA committees, the PAC-10, Big Sky, WAC and Big West conferences, and the College Football Association (CFA).

Karner spent nearly 13 years in public education as a teacher, coach, and administrator in Wisconsin and Colorado. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1975 and his master’s and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978 and 1984, respectively.