Clarification on official assignments in the NCAA.

[lighthouse]

After watching this years final four, and calling a NCAA official, I have to clarify what I have reported about how the officials are assigned in the NCAA tournament. Evidently the criteria was changed a couple years back, and I don't think it's for the better. Case in point. This year there were 2 teams from the SEC in the final four, and there were 3 officials from the SEC working the games. Ted Valentine, Karl Hess, and Tony Greene. In the past, they have never assigned officials that work games in a conference that a final four team played in, and I think it was a good rule. It just gives the appearence of favortism.

I think the officiating was very good in the final four, even Valentine was decent, but there are qualified officials all over this country that could have worked, and called the games just as good. Steve Wellmer is one that comes to mind. I heard that he is receiving the Naismith Award this year for his officiating, yet he wasn't in the final four. He did not work in the SEC, the Pac 10, or the conference George Mason was in.

I'm just disappointed in the NCAA. I'm not saying there was any favortism, but why not erase all doubts.

[DCWildcat]

For anyone interested on that, there's a fairly detailed section on Final Four officiating in Feinstein's book about the final four (that I just finished and can't remember the title of).