Dan Guerrero, the chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and director of athletics at UCLA, sat down with The NCAA News on Thursday to discuss hot topics in the sport.

NCAA News: There has been a lot of talk in the media about possibly expanding the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. How is the committee treating this matter?

Dan Guerrero: This is a topic that has been introduced every year that I’ve been on the committee. In many respects, it hasn’t been given a lot of attention simply because of timing and the committee’s sense that the tournament is great as it presently stands. The fact that there is discussion about expansion throughout the media has created more of a focus. In large part, it converges on the status with a look at the membership’s interest in postseason opportunities as well as the Association’s media contract for the future. As a result, it is likely that we’ll be giving expansion a more comprehensive review this time around. There are a number of opportunities for the committee to review it this year.

NCAA News: If bracket expansion were to occur, how many teams might be added?

Guerrero: Once again, from the standpoint of being definitive about where this could go, the committee has not made any decisions. We will talk about the tournament as we always do and look at all the options. It’s not as easy as just saying, “Let’s add 31 more teams to the mix, whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections.” You have to decide when and where these games will be played. You have to factor in the conference tournaments as well and how all of the dots would be connected. There are a lot of pieces to this. What would an expanded tournament look like from the standpoint of selection, seeding and bracketing? It is a complicated paradigm.

NCAA News: If nothing else, the fervent discussion about possible expansion reflects people’s passion about college basketball, right?

Guerrero: It’s healthy to see dialogue about March Madness, the Final Four and this NCAA championship. It is one of the world’s greatest sporting events, and it’s getting bigger. The current media platforms are taking the championship to places that never had it before. We are attracting thousands, and if not over time millions, of fans to this championship. It is healthy to see the passion and fervor about college basketball. But in the end, decisions have to be made that are in the best interests of the game. We always look at that as a committee when we make decisions about anything that affects the tournament.

NCAA News: Several media people weighing in on the expansion topic took part in the mock selection exercises the last few years. Have those sessions helped inform opinions?

Guerrero: Information is power. Those who have had the benefit of participating in the mock selections can now see what we do through a different filter. They understand the tools that are provided to us. They see very clearly that we don’t perform in a vacuum. There are 10 individuals on this committee who are completely devoted to this process. Those who participated in the mock selections become a part of it just as much as we do, if only for a brief time. They start to understand the complexities of that process. When you hear the discussions about the future of the tournament or selections, these are people who are more informed. They are professionals. I believe they have a different perspective and respect for what the committee is responsible for doing on behalf of the Association.

NCAA News: You’ve already been to college games in New York, Kansas City and Anaheim. Why is it important for you as committee chair to travel to games around the country?

Guerrero: I’ve had the benefit of seeing four chairmen precede me. They all have their own styles and different areas of emphasis on how the person who serves as chair should do their job. It is important for the chair to be the face of the committee when appropriate. From my perspective, having the opportunity to see multiple games at various tournaments allows me to speak to media, venue operators, coaches and commissioners. It also allows me to see a number of teams firsthand.

In the end, when you are in that room making selections and talking to your colleagues on the committee about who should be in the tournament, who should be seeded where and things of that nature, that kind of experience is important. There is nothing more effective in my mind than the eyeball test and seeing a team in person. That’s why you see me on the road. If you look at the current rankings, I’ve probably seen 12 to 13 of those teams personally. But all of my colleagues are out doing the same thing I’m doing. I’m only one-tenth of the committee. If they are in the area of a game, they will go out and see multiple teams. The preseason tournaments provide all of us with the opportunity to see multiple teams. We all have the DirecTV and have the Full Court package. Every committee member probably records four or five games a night and will watch portions of those games to evaluate teams.

We have a new feature for the committee in a Web site that categorizes every game on any network. Every team needs to be seen as many times as possible so that when we make the decisions in March, we have as much information as possible.

NCAA News: This is your fifth and final year on the committee. What has it meant to you?

Guerrero: For those who came before me, most would answer this question the same way. In our enterprise, we perceive the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee as the signature committee. To have the honor and privilege to serve the membership on this committee is truly one of the highlights of anyone’s professional career. The fact that I have the opportunity to serve as the chair is not only humbling, but it provides a sense of recognition that you’ve done a good job on the committee. Your colleagues have the confidence in your ability to represent all the related constituencies in a positive manner. That is gratifying for me personally and professionally.

NCAA News: What do you say to people who think that more “basketball people” should be on the committee?

Guerrero: If you look at the collective number of years that the members of the committee have been in this enterprise, you will see that these are experienced individuals. We have all hired coaches and seen scores of basketball games. Sure, there is a criticism out there that some athletics directors or commissioners don’t know the difference between a high post and lamp post. I can assure you that the members of our committee understand the game. They work hard at being knowledgeable about the rules of the game and are very passionate about the sport. Anyone would be hard-pressed to say that the championships to this point have been anything but stellar. In large part, it is because of the work of the committee members.