The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees, respectively, oversee the selection, seeding and bracketing process for the Division I men’s and women’s tournaments. These committees evaluate teams starting with the first night of the season and continuing all the way through Selection Sunday using data-driven metrics, game results and expert observations to determine the best at-large teams and ensure competitive balance in the tournaments. The committees meet multiple times throughout the season to analyze team performance and adjust rankings accordingly. That’s nearly five months of evaluating!

The Division I men’s and women’s committees are composed of conference commissioners, athletics directors and experienced administrators from across Division I basketball. Each committee consists of 12 members serving five-year terms, ensuring a fair and balanced approach to selection.

Selection begins with each committee member submitting an initial ballot on the first day of the selections meeting, followed by rounds of voting and discussion until the final bracket is set.

Conference monitoring

Selection week gets all the attention, but the committee’s process of evaluating team begins on the opening day of the season, specifically via the conference monitoring program. Each member is responsible for serving as the primary or secondary monitor for up to six conferences. However, members may not monitor the league they represent on the committee. It’s important to note that committee members are not working on a league’s behalf during the selection process. Rather, they are charged with sharing information learned from observing games involving teams in the league and from talking to conference personnel throughout the season. The conference monitoring program’s objectives are:

To broaden conference coverage to ensure maximum relevant and current knowledge among committee members.
To organize and streamline the information flow for the committee.
To afford conferences the opportunity to directly provide information for the committee’s review.
To provide committee members with essential information throughout the season and in advance of the selection meeting.