Arlington, Texas – Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Commissioner brian thornton He was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. Thornton's five-year term on the commission officially begins September 1.
The 12-member committee works directly with NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt and the national office men's basketball staff to organize the NCAA DI Men's Basketball Championship.
“I am excited for the opportunity to serve as the conference's representative on the Men's Basketball Committee,” said Thornton. “I was very fortunate to experience the NCAA Tournament as both a student-athlete and a coach, and to be able to come full circle and give back to the community. ” he said. “The tournament will be extremely rewarding at the operational level. The NCAA Tournament is the crown jewel of college athletics and serves as one of the best platforms in all sports. Three most exciting weeks I look forward to participating in some of the tournaments in the Sports Calendar. ”
Mr. Thornton is the fourth member to serve on the WAC Committee. Paul Breckler (1968), Wiles Hallock (1969-71) and carl benson (2002-06). He is the 10th player to represent the entire league and the first since Utah State's Scott Burns from 2011-13.
Thornton, who is in his third basketball season as WAC commissioner since taking over as WAC commissioner in November 2021, is currently in charge of managing the 2023-24 men's postseason NIT National Invitational Tournament (NIT). ) serves as a committee member. . Thornton was also named chair of the NCAA DI Men's Basketball Competition Committee in October 2023. The committee is an advisory body focused on student-athlete health and safety, sportsmanship and integrity, game management and presentation, technology and statistical trends. Across college basketball.
To increase opportunities for quality non-conference competition and further raise the profile of basketball across the WAC, Thornton and the WAC have established a scheduling commitment with Conference USA ahead of the 2023-24 basketball season. A multi-year scheduling effort between peer conferences began in the first season with a total of 36 games, 18 for the men and 18 for the women, with his WAC team and his CUSA team participating.
The 2023-24 season also marks the second season of the innovative WAC Resume Seed System used to determine seeding for the WAC Basketball Tournament. Developed by Thornton, WAC Associate Commissioner of Basketball and member of the NCAA DI Women's Basketball Oversight Committee. Drew Spero and Ken Pomeroy www.Kenpom.com's seeding system employs an algorithm based on performance throughout the regular season to reward WAC members facing tougher schedules. This system is responsible for determining seeding for the conference tournament after the top eight teams qualify for the field based on the final regular season WAC standings.
Under Thornton's leadership and strategic vision for the conference, the WAC rose from 23rd to 11th in Kenpom.com's final annual men's basketball conference rankings at the end of the 2022-23 season. A total of four WAC men's basketball teams will compete in the 2023 postseason tournament, with Utah Valley advancing to the semifinals of the NIT in Las Vegas and representing the conference at Grand Canyon as an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. attracted attention.
Thornton joins the WAC after one year as associate commissioner of basketball operations in the American Athletic Conference and two years as assistant director of basketball development in the NCAA national office. Prior to joining the NCAA staff, Thornton spent nine seasons as a coach at the Division I level, including at Xavier University (as Director of Operations from 2009-11), Furman University (2011-12), and Winthrop University (as Director of Operations from 2009-11). 2012-14) were also included. and Ball State University (2014-18).
A standout men's basketball player at Xavier University, Thornton was the 2005 and 2006 Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year, a CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, and was an All-Musketball member of the 2006 Atlantic 10 Championship team. He was named to the conference's first team. He began his playing career at Vanderbilt University, where in 2002 he was named an SEC All-Freshman selection. Thornton played professional German basketball for his Bundesliga side Artland Dragons from 2006 until 2007.
About the Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC), with conference headquarters in Arlington, Texas, has had a long history of success in college athletics since its founding in 1962 and currently includes Abilene Christian University, Abilene Christian University, Abilene Christian University, Abilene It is comprised of 11 full-time member institutions, including Christian College, Abilene Christian University; California Baptist University; Grand Canyon University; Seattle University; Southern Utah University: Stephen F. Austin State University. Tarleton State University; University of Texas at Arlington. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Utah Tech University and Utah Valley University.
Currently, the WAC crowns champions in 19 sports (9 men's and 10 women's). In 1995, the WAC became the first conference in the nation to sign an exclusive contract with ESPN to broadcast football and basketball games, forming a partnership that continues to this day, with more than 500 WAC-related live games and events annually being broadcast on ESPN's digital media. You can now watch it on TV. linear platform. WAC member institutions have won a total of 35 team national championships since the conference's inception.
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