HOUSTON –– Having already messed up the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, the NCAA proved it can screw up the invitation process, too.
The NCAA apologized on Thursday for mistakenly inviting South Carolina to the NCAA Tournament, only to be told minutes later by NCAA officials that there had been a mistake.
“That’s like the Steve Harvey [Miss Universe] thing, that’s terrible,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told SNY.tv.
NCAA vice president of men’s basketball championships Dan Gavitt issued this statement:
“Unfortunately, during the selection show a junior men’s basketball staff member mistakenly sent a text to a member of the University of South Carolina athletics department staff via an app we used for the first time during the 2016 tournament. The text was supposed to go to all teams, congratulating them for making the tournament. Regrettably, a text meant for another institution went to South Carolina instead.
“While the Gamecocks were given serious consideration, at no time during the selection process was South Carolina voted in to the field. Ultimately, they were one of the last four teams left out of the tournament. I take full responsibility for this clerical error and apologize to Coach Martin, his staff and team, and the entire University of South Carolina community.”
The two-hour Selection Show was widely regarded as a disaster. There was a bracket leak that emerged on the Internet before the Selection Show was over, and Charles Barkley had trouble with the touch screen technology.
The NCAA apologized on Thursday for mistakenly inviting South Carolina to the NCAA Tournament, only to be told minutes later by NCAA officials that there had been a mistake.2016-03-31T14:15:51-0400
