West Virginia governor taking legal action against NCAA Selection Committee over snub

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey is holding a press conference at 1 p.m. ET to announce he will be pursuing legal action against the NCAA selection committee for not placing the West Virginia men’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament. In his announcement, Morrisey referred to the NCAA as the “National Corrupt Athletic Association.”

Many bracketology experts considered West Virginia one of the worst-snubbed teams in the NCAA Tournament selection process this season. The Mountaineers are 19-12 this season and 10-10 in conference play.

Most recently, the Mountaineers suffered a 67-60 loss to Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. West Virginia are 6-10 against Quad 1 opponents this season and 9-0 against Quad 3 and 4 foes.

However, the selection committee ultimately decided to award other bubble teams such as North Carolina, Texas and Xavier with a ticket to the Big Dance instead. On Monday, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark released a statement in defense of WVU.

“I was surprised and disappointed to see West Virginia not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament,” Yormark stated, via ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “In addition to their six Quad 1 wins, the Mountaineers won 10 conference games in one of the toughest leagues in the country. West Virginia deserved a spot, and fans across the country agree. 

“Coach Devries and his team did an incredible job fighting adversity and winning big games all season. Regardless of this disappointing outcome, I’m incredibly proud of how they represented the Big 12 all season.”

Although West Virginia didn’t receive a bid in the NCAA Tournament, its season isn’t over yet. The Mountaineers accepted an offer to play in the inaugural College Basketball Crown, a 16-team tournament that will be played in Las Vegas from March 31-April 6.

This isn’t the first time a governor has threatened to pursue legal action against a collegiate selection committee. After Florida State did not receive a berth in the College Football Playoff despite going undefeated in the 2023 regular season and winning the ACC Championship, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed allocating $1 million to support potential legal action against the CFP.

However, as of this report, Florida’s state government never sued the CFP selection committee. Only time will tell if Patrick Morrisey will actually pursue legal action against the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Fans can tune into his press conference on X at 1 p.m. ET.