After multiple Big East basketball coaches complained about being left out of March Madness, conference commissioner Val Ackerman released a statement on the matter, per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic:
“Big East commissioner Val Ackerman says “given the high level of play in our league, we are understandably very disappointed that some worthy Big East teams were not selected to participate” in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.”
UConn, the defending national champions, were the No. 1 overall seed with Marquette and Creighton both earning spots in the March Madness field of 68. But as coaches like Kim English, Rick Pitino and others spoke out about the alleged snubs, Ackerman released the statement.
“We have great respect for the NCAA men's basketball committee and the time and effort that goes into selecting and seeding the teams for the NCAA tournament,” the conference said. “It is a very challenging job, and we have been advised that this year’s upsets added to the complexity and contributed to the committee's final bracket selections.”
A handful of shocking conference tournament champions made their way into the March Madness field, forcing the selection committee to give at-large bids to schools that may have been favorites to win their conference titles.
N.C. State basketball shocked North Carolina basketball to win the ACC Championship, while UAB won the American Athletic Conference over Temple. That meant that Florida Atlantic basketball earned an at-large bid.
Those were just a few of the teams that played a role in keeping some of the Big East schools out of March Madness in 2024.
Seton Hall, Providence, Xavier and Butler will play in the NIT.
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