West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) said Monday he will sue the NCAA over West Virginia University’s (WVU) exclusion from the March Madness tournament.
“I’ve asked Attorney General [JB McCuskey] to launch an investigation into the NCAA tournament selection committee to determine if any backyard deals, backroom deals, corruption, bribes or any nefarious activity occurred during the selection process,” Morrisey said at a news conference on Monday.
The West Virginia Mountaineers will not compete in this year’s March Madness tournament, which also includes Duke University, Gonzaga University, and the University of Kansas’ illustrious men’s basketball programs. The Mountaineers are also unranked in The Associated Press’s poll of the top 25 men’s college basketball programs.
“Many of us were looking to see how WVU was going to be seated in the tournament,” Morrisey said. “Nearly every single sports fan, pundit, and bracketologist saw [WVU] as a lock for the tournament. In fact, prior to ‘Selection Sunday,’ 111 out of 111 bracketologists predicted WVU to make the tournament.”
The men’s March Madness tournament begins on Tuesday, with a game between St. Francis University and Alabama State University at 6:40 p.m. EDT.
In a similar move in late 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) challenged the College Football Playoff committee’s decision to exclude Florida State University from the four-team playoff field.
“We learned today that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore the results. Congratulations to @FSUFootball on an outstanding season and winning the ACC championship!” DeSantis stated on the social media platform X at the time.
In an email to The Hill, an NCAA spokesperson said the organization “does not have a statement at this time.” The organization also informed The Hill that “numerous resources describing the selections process are available on our website.”
