When West Virginia\u2019s men\u2019s basketball team was not chosen as an at-large team for the NCAA Tournament last season, it caused a stir across the Mountain State as a result of what was viewed by many locally and nationally as a snub.<\/p>\n
Governor Patrick Morrisey was among those that spoke out against the process conducted by the selection committee, which was chaired by Bubba Cunningham, Director of Athletics at North Carolina.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Morrisey offered an announcement claiming a call to action from he and West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey is creating change in the selection process. Morrisey says starting in 2026, new rules will be implemented requiring the selection committee chair to recuse themselves during the selection process for final at-large teams into the 68-team field if their institution is under consideration for one. If that institution is among the last four at-large teams selected, the chair is prohibited from commenting on its inclusion.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels were the final at-large team chosen for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, while the Mountaineers were left out despite being projected in the field by 111 of 111 bracketologists on bracketmatrix.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLeaving WVU out of the NCAA men\u2019s basketball tournament was unjustified, and the selection process left fans and supporters in the dark,\u201d Morrisey said.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m proud to announce that our call to action has produced real results to eliminate potential bias and bring more transparency going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n BREAKING: The NCAA is implementing rule changes to make the March Madness selection process more transparent. WVU men\u2019s basketball got snubbed, and we\u2019re ensuring it never happens again. pic.twitter.com\/xCaKjplXFG<\/a><\/p>\n\n