When it comes to WVU’s NCAA snub, don’t miss the real point

Growing up in West Virginia I’ve known a lot of Bubbas.
I do not, however, know University of North Carolina athletic director and NCAA Selection Committee chair Bubba Cunningham.
I don’t know if he’s a good guy. I don’t know if he’s a bad guy. Yet what I do know is by almost every metric WVU deserved to be in the men’s NCAA tournament instead of UNC. And what I do know is UNC is in and West Virginia is out. And what I do know is Cunningham receives a nice six-figure bonus from his school because the Tar Heels are in.
Of course, it’s a horrible look. And for once most sports writers and talking heads are on WVU’s side.
The few not getting it say Mountaineer (and Indiana Hoosier) fans are whining. And the capper came from usually astitute Jay Bilas today.
He and many others are responding to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s announcement of an investigation into the process.
Morrisey and attorney general J.B. McCuskey on Monday stood behind a podium with the words “National Corrupt Athletic Association” and said the investigation would determine “if there were any back-room deals, corruption, bribes or any nefarious activity during the selection process.”
Performative politics? Of course. It’s all the rage these days. Morrisey made all the national sports shows because of it.
On the platform formerly known as Twitter, Bilas called it “silly.”
“I wish I were the judge in that thing because one of the questions I’d ask the plaintiff is, ‘How many games did you play? How many of those games did you win? Well, if you don’t want to be at the end of the line.. maybe you should think about winning more. Case dismissed,’” said Bilas on X.
He’s missing the point. Every year teams left out make cases why they should have been included in the NCAA tournament. Every single year. But the man heading the selection committee shouldn’t be making a six-figure bonus because his school gets the last spot.
That’s the point. It’s more than a miserable look. It smacks of unscrupulousness.
Of course, Morrisey’s “investigation” won’t bear fruit. No one on the selection committee will ever throw Cunningham under the proverbial bus, even if it’s deserved.
But good can come out of this if change is made. Get athletic directors off the selection committee. I’ve seen it suggested “bracketologists” take over.
Perhaps that would help, as long as those bracketologists aren’t also sports writers that cover teams and conferences. At one time, the Associated Press football poll helped decide playoff teams. It was a conflict of interest, though, and the A.P. stopped the practice.
TV personality and editor of Hoops IQ Seth Davis said, “I love bracketologists but this is the worst idea ever. You don’t think people would still be super angry with their decisions too?”
I submit they’d certainly be less so knowing six-figure bonuses don’t hang in the balance.
Responded T3 Bracketology to Davis:
“We would be able to explain the decision making a lot better than how the process goes now. Hell I’d be fine with a live stream of the entire thing, full transparency.”
THAT’S how it should work. (That’s also how our government should work, but that’s a different topic.)
Set the criteria. Let the schools know the criteria. Let the teams play the games.
And let’s get the damn thing right.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.