Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson is returning to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee after a 17-year gap.
He won’t be there for the full term.
Thompson was named to the NCAA Division I committee on Thursday, providing experience for a year until a Mountain West replacement can be found.
”A couple people at the NCAA reached out and some current committee people saying it would be real challenge to have four new people at the same time and would I consider it,” Thompson said. ”For the NCAA and the tournament to have a little experience – 17 years is a long time between stints- and for the opportunity to give back to college basketball to help the NCAA in the small way, I was glad to help out.”
Thompson will serve one-year term in place of New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs, who stepped down earlier this month. Thompson will stay on until the Mountain West slot on the committee is selected to finish off the term, which has four years remaining, and be a part of the selection process.
”We needed someone with history and experience, and unfortunately no one in the current Mountain West structure would offer that, it would just be a fourth new member,” Thompson said. ”Everybody understood that and I said absolutely the full intent was to serve one year and this fall and early into next spring we will select someone to fill out the remaining three years of the term.”
Thompson was a member of the committee from 1995-2000, serving as chair the final two years. He will step down from his current position on the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee since it oversees the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.
Thompson is in his 20th year leading the Mountain West.
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