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NCAA opens search for vice presidents for men’s and women’s basketball championships

By Greg Johnson
NCAA.org

In an effort to solidify the administration of NCAA basketball championships, the NCAA has established two new vice presidential positions, one for men’s basketball and the other for women’s.

Both positions, which are expected to be filled by the end of June, will report directly to NCAA Executive Vice President of Championships and Alliances Mark Lewis, who was hired April 10 to oversee the Association’s 89 championships and related business initiatives.

“As I have worked to define these positions, I asked a lot of athletics directors and conference commissioners what they viewed as important for the role,” Lewis said. “Our report card will be quite simply ‘Did you organize and manage that championship effectively?’

“We want to have clear accountability and reporting to our championships committees and the member institutions, and we want to work more closely with those groups and their leadership to provide input and direction on how we continue to grow our basketball championships.”The positions will oversee the Division I, II and III basketball championships for each gender. For much of the recent past, separate staffs have overseen only Division I men’s and women’s basketball.

The vice president of men’s basketball championships will be responsible for the strategic direction, operation and management of the following:

• The Division I, II and III men’s basketball championships.
• The preseason and postseason National  Invitation Tournaments.
• The relationship between the NCAA and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
• The relationship between the NCAA and iHoops, the official Youth Basketball Organization of the NCAA and the NBA.
• The performance of other functions as assigned by the executive vice-president.

The vice president of women’s basketball championships will oversee the strategic direction, operation and management of the following:

• The Division I, II and III women’s basketball championships.
• The relationship between the NCAA and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
• The performance of other functions assigned by the executive vice-president.

Lewis is looking for each of the vice president positions to be filled by individuals who believe in ensuring the student-athlete’s optimal experience while creating an equitable competitive environment for the national championship.

“Whether that is somebody who used to be an athletics director, used to work with a conference or used to be in organizing large scale events, we want proven and capable executives,” Lewis said. “But first and foremost we want people who understand the game of basketball and who therefore have the ability to make sure the athletic competition side of the event is the first priority.”

Both vice presidents will act as the primary liaisons to the Division I, II and III basketball committees and provide strategic oversight of the site-selection process in the respective championships.

Each person will be expected to manage existing operations to maximize benefit to the Association while maintaining the key principles of amateurism. They will be responsible for developing annual budgets for the basketball championships and providing regular financial goals and updates to the respective committees and senior-level NCAA leadership.

Each vice president will be required to have at least 10 years of managerial experience.