ARLINGTON, Texas – Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Commissioner Brian Thornton has been appointed the chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Competition Committee.
 
The 12-member committee reports directly to the NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee in an advisory role, with a focus on student-athlete health and safety, sportsmanship and integrity, game operations and presentation, technology and statistical trends.
 
“I’m extremely excited for the opportunity to help lead the DI Men’s Basketball Competition Committee,” Thornton said. “The strong makeup of our group includes some of the most recognizable and respected names in media, coaching and administration. But most importantly, the committee is populated with individuals that have true basketball expertise and a passion for the game. Our charge is to support the Oversight Committee by exploring opportunities to effectively elevate, modernize and enhance the men’s basketball product.”
 
Thornton, entering his third basketball season as commissioner of the WAC since assuming the post in November of 2021, was additionally named to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) committee earlier this month and will serve a multi-year term involved in the stewardship of the postseason Men’s NIT.
 
Under Thornton’s leadership and strategic vision for the conference, the WAC has risen from 23rd to 11th out of the 32 NCAA DI men’s basketball leagues and independents according to the Kenpom.com ranking of conferences at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. A total of four WAC member men’s basketball teams competed in 2023 postseason tournaments, highlighted by Utah Valley reaching the semifinal round of the NIT in Las Vegas and Grand Canyon representing the conference as its automatic qualifier in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The 2022-23 campaign also marked the debut of the revolutionary WAC Résumé Seeding System that is used to seed the WAC Basketball Tournaments. Developed by Thornton, WAC Associate Commissioner of Basketball and NCAA DI Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee member Drew Speraw and Ken Pomeroy of www.Kenpom.com, the seeding system employs an algorithm that is based on performance throughout an entire regular season and rewards WAC members who face stronger schedules. The system is responsible for seeding the top eight teams for the conference tournament after those teams qualify for the field based on the final regular-season WAC standings.
 
WAC men’s basketball programs will be seen on ESPN linear television networks a total of four times during the 2023-24 regular season, with an additional 11 games involving WAC men’s basketball members expected to air on other linear platforms across the United States.
 
ABOUT THE WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

With its conference headquarters located in Arlington, Texas, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) has enjoyed longstanding success in collegiate athletics since its formation in 1962 and is currently comprised of 11 full-time member institutions – Abilene Christian University; California Baptist University; Grand Canyon University; Seattle University; Southern Utah University: Stephen F. Austin State University; Tarleton State University; The University of Texas at Arlington; The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Utah Tech University and Utah Valley University.
 
Presently, the WAC crowns champions in 19 sports – nine men’s and 10 women’s championships. In 1995, the WAC became the first conference nationwide to have an exclusive broadcast contract with ESPN for football and basketball games, forming a partnership that continues to the present day with more than 500 WAC-affiliated live games and events available annually on ESPN’s digital and linear platforms. WAC member institutions have won a total of 35 team national championships since the conference’s inception.