Selection Committee chair Bubba Cunningham goes in-depth on measures taken to avoid North Carolina bias

The NCAA Tournament bracket was set on Sunday night, when the Selection Committee finalized weeks of work by placing all 68 teams into the field, including North Carolina. Considered by many to be on the wrong side of the bubble entering the day, the decision drew criticism.

To make the situation more complex, North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham is the chairman of this year’s group. That meant vice-chairman Keith Gill was forced to answer many of the questions about the bubble, especially when referencing the Tar Heels.

In the end, the committee selected North Carolina, SDSU, Texas and Xavier to play in the First Four games in Dayton, OH. That meant West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State and Boise State just missed the tournament.

Selection committee process

While it will continue to spark controversy over the coming days, the simple fact is Bubba Cunningham did not place his own school in the NCAA Tournament. There are many rules in place to avoid controversial situations from plaguing the selection process.

Any athletic director of commissioner with ties to a school must recuse themself from the conversation when it comes up in discussion. That means Alabama AD Greg Byrne was also forced to leave when Alabama’s seeding came up.

However, since this particular conflict involved the committee chair, it required vice-chairman Keith Gill to take over the room temporarily. Given the importance of the bubble, that meant a lot of time with only 11 members at the table.

“When we got down to those last three or four teams, frequently Carolina was in the discussion,” Cunningham said on a teleconference Sunday night. “And as soon as we were part of the discussion, I left the room.”

Ultimately, those conversations led to North Carolina as the last team in the field, with the committee even admitting that an AAC upset late would have knocked them off the bubble.

Avoiding North Carolina bias

Sure, Bubba Cunningham left the room when the words “North Carolina” came up, but as the chairman he surely had an impact on the general direction of the committee. From the focus of discussion on guiding principles to the conversation on other comparable resumes, there is simply no way to fully avoid indirect conflicts.

Cunningham was keenly aware of this, and focused on performing his role to the best of his ability. The long-time member used the lessons learned throughout his tenure to ensure a fair process.

“Any of us that have to chair the committee, you come in with that knowledge,” said Cunningham. “I’ve been on the committee now for five years, I’ve watched four others lead the committee. And I think it’s been a great learning experience. You do have an opinion, you do have your own thoughts and your own ideas. But the responsibility of the chair is to have the committee work together to be fair, to find the best 37 to put in the field, and allow everyone to speak their mind.

“We follow those procedures as they have been prescribed and used for a number of years.”

All of this is not easy on Cunningham either, who knows that he must face awkward conversations and widespread criticism based on the decisions of other members – even if he ultimately benefits from it.

“It weighed on me a lot,” said Cunningham. “It does weigh on you. You have a personal and professional responsibility at your institution, you’re part of a committee of 12 that represents the membership. I think people recognize that and honor it.

“Quite honestly, I think you can sometimes say less in any setting because you want to make sure that you don’t even get up to that line of integrity.”

Controversy is always sure to arise on Selection Sunday, especially around the bubble where seasons are ended prematurely. No explanation or set of rules will stop fanbases which feel slighted from finding somewhere to point the finger.