West Virginia governor attacks NCAA ‘robbery’ after WVU excluded from March Madness
West Virginia’s governor, Patrick Morrisey, said on Monday that the state will launch an investigation into the NCAA and the selection committee over how teams were picked for this year’s NCAA Tournament.
His move comes a day after his state’s flagship school, West Virginia, was excluded from the tournament.
Standing behind a podium emblazoned with a sign that read “National Corrupt Athletic Association,” Morrisey said West Virginia deserved a place in the tournament.
“This is a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest level,” he said.
Clearly knowledgeable about college basketball, Morrisey talked at length about factors such as Quad 1 victories, strength of schedule and NET rankings – among the metrics that the tournament committee supposedly uses in determining the teams.
Debate raged on Monday morning after the North Carolina Tar Heels were awarded a spot in the field of 68 instead of the Mountaineers. UNC received a No 11 seed and will play fellow No 11 San Diego State in a First Four game on Tuesday.
West Virginia finished the season with a 19-13 record (10-10 Big 12); the Tar Heels were 22-13 (13-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). However, when using the metric of Quad 1 wins, North Carolina were 1-12 and West Virginia 6-10.
“We keep hearing about the importance of these Quad 1 wins, but UNC couldn’t even get more than one,” the Republican governor said. “They also had the 25th-toughest schedule in America, right behind WVU.”
Morrisey said he has directed state attorney general JB McCuskey to work with the NCAA to find out just what criteria the selection committee uses in picking the teams. McCuskey said that knowledge can help teams to build rosters and decide the best use of their NIL funds.
McCuskey also said that as the NCAA Tournament has evolved into a billion-dollar business, the selection process hasn’t kept up. An animated Morrisey also questioned what influence Bubba Cunningham, the chair of the selection committee, might have had over the process. Cunningham is the athletic director at North Carolina.
“That’s being reported by a number of outlets that Cunningham had a significant bonus incentive, at least $70,000, for UNC making the tournament – arguably more if they advanced,” he said, adding the state’s investigation would look into whether “backroom deals, corruption, bribes or any nefarious activities occurred.”
He added: “Any way you slice it, this thing reeks of corruption.”
Morrisey has tangled with the NCAA before. In 2023, when he served as the state’s attorney general, he and a coalition of attorneys general in other states sued the NCAA over transfer eligibility and won.
“Is this retribution? I don’t know. We’re going to have to get to the bottom of that,” he said.
West Virginia declined to participate in the second-tier NIT.
“I want to reiterate what I said on Sunday that I am incredibly proud of this team and what they accomplished this season,” WVU coach Darian DeVries said in a statement on Monday. “One of our team goals was making the NCAA Tournament and we had a resume worthy of an NCAA Tournament selection. Our guys poured their hearts into this season and all their collective efforts into making the NCAA tournament. I would like to thank all of Mountaineer Nation for their unwavering support of our team this season.”
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told ESPN he thought the selection committee made the wrong decision.
“I was surprised and disappointed to see West Virginia not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament,” Yormark said. “In addition to their six Quad 1 wins, the Mountaineers won 10 conference games in one of the toughest leagues in the country.”
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