Lee Reed, the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Georgetown University for your Georgetown Hoyas, has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. He will replace Mark Jackson, who recently resigned from Villanova to become the athletics director at Northwestern. Reed will represent the BIG EAST Conference, filling the remaining two years of former-Butler AD Barry Collier’s original five-year term, which expires in August 2026. Reed is one of 5 new members on the 12-person committee.
Cutting through the weeds a bit, this 12-person committee appears to be the actual March Madness Selection Committee.
For instance, a February press release indicates that NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee unveiled its top 16 seeds roughly a month before Selection Sunday as part of the Bracket Preview Show.
Last week, prior to Reed’s announcement, the same committee selected the city of Atlanta to host the 2031 Men’s Final Four—nearly 4½ years after losing the opportunity to host the 2020 Men’s Final Four due to the pandemic.
In July, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee approved Indianapolis as the host site for the 2026 Division II and III men’s basketball championship games, as well as the semifinals and finals of the National Invitation Tournament, with all five games scheduled the same weekend as the Men’s Final Four.
News: NCAA announces Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed has been appointed to the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, replacing Big East representative and former Villanova AD Mark Jackson, who took the same position at Northwestern a couple of weeks ago.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) September 13, 2024
Moreover, this committee is likely a key force in determining whether the NCAA Tournament will expand or otherwise change shape. In July 2023, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee spent time talking about a possible expansion of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee also appeared to be heavily involved in the multimedia rights agreement with CBS Sports and Turner that extends the tournament coverage agreement through 2032.
Additionally, a separate committee called “Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee” is charged to “review recommendations from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee” (e.g., Reed’s new committee) and “process other issues related to the administration of the championship.” So maybe it’s not all on AD Reed and his committee, but this 12-person crew is pretty important in the world of hoops.
Press Release from NCAA.org:
Georgetown Athletics Director Lee Reed has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, replacing Mark Jackson, who resigned as athletics director at Villanova to take the same position at Northwestern last month. Jackson was originally appointed to represent the Big East Conference after Butler Athletics Director Barry Collier retired April 30. Now it will be Reed who will fill the final two years of Collier’s original five-year term, which expires in August 2026.
Reed has worked in athletics administration for 30 years, having started as an intern for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in 1994. He also spent seven years at Eastern Michigan before being named director of athletics at Cleveland State in 2002. He held that position for eight years before landing at Georgetown in 2010.
A former team captain on the basketball team at Cleveland State, Reed also has coaching experience, having served as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at New Mexico. During his time in Albuquerque, he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Nearly a quarter century after serving his internship, Reed became the president of NACDA for the 2018-19 season. That came on the heels of being a 2017 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year Award recipient. Reed also chairs the Big East Conference Men’s Basketball Issues Group, is a mentor for the NCAA’s Pathway Program, which is designed to elevate senior-level athletics administrators, and is a member of the Black AD Alliance. In addition, he has served as president of the NCAA I-AAA Athletics Directors Association and served on the NCAA Division I Management Council and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Academic Enhancement Group.
“An invitation to join the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee is both an honor and a privilege,” Reed said. “I look forward to representing the Big East Conference and Georgetown University as a member of this prestigious committee, which oversees one of the most exciting events in all of sports. I appreciate the opportunity to work alongside existing committee members and NCAA staff to elevate the championship and continue its legacy for years to come.”
Reed will be one of five first-year members of the committee, joining Irma Garcia of Manhattan, Stu Jackson of the West Coast Conference, Brian Thornton of the Western Athletic Conference and Chad Weiberg of Oklahoma State. Bubba Cunningham of North Carolina will chair the committee for the 2024-25 season, while Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill will serve as vice chair. Other returning members include Greg Byrne of Alabama, Mark Coyle of Minnesota, Arthur Johnson of Temple, Martin Newton of Samford and Tom Wistrcill of the Big Sky Conference.
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Congrats, AD Reed. Hoya Saxa!
