Nomination of Probst Indicates Thaw in U.S.O.C.-I.O.C. Relations The chairman of the United States Olympic Committee has been nominated for membership to the International Olympic Committee, a potential boost for the United States, which is seeking to expand its Olympic footprint. Pool photo by Mathieu Belanger Larry Probst, left, with Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, in May, has been nominated to the I.O.C. Larry Probst, the chairman of the U.S.O.C., could become the fourth American with the I.O.C., but the first from the national organizing committee in more than a decade, signaling a thaw in the chilly relationship between the I.O.C. and the American committee. A formal vote will take place in September in Buenos Aires, and Probst is expected to win a seat on the I.O.C., along with eight other officials, hailing from Sweden to Kenya. "I am truly honored to be nominated for membership in the I.O.C., and extremely grateful for the potential opportunity to serve the Olympic movement," Probst said in a statement Tuesday. Probst was the chief executive for Electronic Arts from 1991 to 2007 and is now its executive chairman. Since Scott Blackmun took over as the chief executive of the U.S.O.C. in 2010, he and Probst have tried to improve relations with Olympics officials after a recent history of tensions. Their efforts have paid off in appointments; Probst serves on the I.O.C."s international relations commission, and Blackmun has joined the group's marketing commission. Last year, the I.O.C. and the U.S.O.C. reached an agreement that allowed the American committee to move forward with bids to host the Olympics. In February, the U.S.O.C. reached out to representatives from 35 American cities to gauge interest in bringing the Olympics to the United States for the first time since Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Games in 2002. The United States has not bid on the Games since Chicago lost out in hosting the 2016 Olympics. Three other Americans are on the I.O.C., but Probst could become the first official from the American Olympic group since Sandra Baldwin resigned in 2002 after she admitted to lying about her academic credentials. The three are Angela Ruggiero, a gold medalist in ice hockey; Jim Easton, a president of the World Archery Federation; and Anita DeFrantz, a bronze medalist in rowing. The United States still does not hold a spot on the I.O.C."s powerful executive committee, but that could change depending on the next I.O.C. president, who will be elected in September. The other eight proposed I.O.C. candidates are from Romania, Brazil, the Philippines, Russia, Kenya, Ethiopia, the Netherlands and Sweden.