What Is The March Madness Selection Committee?

What is the March Madness Selection Committee? 

Every year, college basketball fans look forward to March Madness—the annual NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. But do you know who is responsible for selecting which teams get to play in the tournament? That would be the March Madness Selection Committee.

Let’s look at what this committee does and how it works. 

Who Is On The Committee? 

The March Madness Selection Committee comprises ten people charged with selecting, seeding, and placing into brackets teams that will compete in the tournament. The committee members are appointed by and report to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, and they serve five-year terms starting in November of each year.

Each member must know about college basketball and have experience with other aspects of college sports, such as academics, student-athlete welfare, game administration, or coaching. 

What Does The Committee Do? 

The primary function of the selection committee is to select which teams will participate in the tournament. To accomplish this goal, they review a variety of factors, including strength of schedule; quality wins; record versus common opponents; RPI (Ratings Percentage Index); player injuries; overall record; and location.

They also consider a team’s performance over its last ten games when making decisions. After all these factors are considered, they then rank each team based on their criteria and assign them to one of four regions within the bracket system. 

The selection committee also has to decide which teams will receive at-large bids to participate in the tournament if they are not selected through conference play or an automatic bid from winning a conference championship.

They are also responsible for seeding all teams within their respective regions and assigning matchups for each round throughout the tournament until the championship game is reached.   

Conclusion

The March Madness Selection Committee ensures that only deserving teams make it into and progress through the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament every year.

Through their rigorous review process and extensive knowledge about college basketball, these dedicated individuals can accurately evaluate each team and ensure that only those deserving get a chance at becoming national champions,