North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack AD Prepares For Prestigious Chairmanship
7/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 3, 2001
By Tony Haynes
Nestled at the heart of North Idaho's Rockies, the beautiful Lake Coeur d'Alene resort is known as a place for rest and relaxation. But this week, the popular vacation spot is providing cover for a group of powerful men who each year tackle the enormous task of orchestrating the hugely popular NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
The 10-member NCAA Men's Basketball Committee has gathered in the Idaho high country for its annual summer meetings. For NC State athletics director Lee Fowler, this is a time of excitement and anxiety. A committee member for the last four years, Fowler will take over as chairman on September 1, replacing Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese.
"He (Tranghese) was such a great chair because he's heavily involved with basketball in his job as Big East Commissioner," Fowler said during a break in the proceedings on July 3. "Following him is not going to be easy. It's a great honor for me to do this. I'm excited about the opportunity."
Fowler was appointed as Tranghese's successor last September, just a few weeks before he officially took over as NC State's athletic director. Of course, the committee's biggest--and most controversial--job each year is to select and seed the teams that play in the NCAA Tournament. Not every school can get in and share in the glory of playing in the Big Dance, and therein lies the controversy. There are always a handful of bubble teams that get left out in the cold. When that happens, it's the committee chairman who takes most of the heat.
"I'll be the guy that's interviewed by CBS right after the selection show," Fowler said.
In other words, he'll need to be armed with quick answers to what will be some very difficult questions about selections and seedings.
In it's meetings this week, the committee has discussed a number of topics including the proliferation of early migrations to the NBA by college underclassmen and high school players. CBS, which will hold down the broadcast rights to the NCAA Tournament for the next several years, has expressed some concerns about the tournament's future given the current state of affairs.
"CBS mentioned to us about kids going pro and the perception that the good players aren't staying in college or even coming to college," Fowler said. "I think 44 underclassmen and high school kids went out in the draft and only about 22 of them were all-conference picks. Sometimes you wonder if they're all the best players or not. The concern is the agents getting to them and telling them how great they are. Even though it has nothing to do with the tournament, we feel like it does have an impact on the tournament and the viewership. We don't have a crystal ball so we don't know what the overall affect will be. But it's good for us to get together and talk about those issues."
Fowler expects a smooth transition into the chairmanship primarily because the 2001 tournament produced no new problems that might require extra trouble shooting in the upcoming year. Still, the NC State AD is taking nothing for granted.
"The big thing is that I have to be more prepared than ever before," said Fowler, who was the athletics director at Middle Tennessee before coming to Raleigh. "I have to make sure that I watch more games this year than I have in the past because I'm overseeing the whole process. I think you're a little more concerned when you're the chair and the tournament is going to be run under you. I just want to make sure that everything is run smoothly."
