Stu Jackson ‘can be a big-time advocate’ for WCC in new role on NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee

Jackson’s appointment to the committee comes at a time when power conference leaders are suggesting changes should be made to the NCAA Tournament

In the latest 2025 NCAA Tournament bracketology update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, one team from a non-power conference (Saint Mary's) was projected to earn an at-large bid. Less than three months removed from a tournament that featured the most mid-major at-large bids in a decade, early projections are that there will be a record-low number of small schools who qualify for the 2025 tournament. 

Obviously, that’s subject to change given that most teams aren’t even close to finalizing their rosters yet. What is true, however, is that Lunardi’s forecasts are just another example of how the pendulum of power in college athletics is swaying further and further away from the “little guys.”

“As we’re all very well aware, the power conferences are trying to swallow up as many [NCAA Tournament] bids as they can,” Dan Dickau said on a new episode of Gonzaga Nation. “If some of these power conference commissioners and ADs get their way, you’re going to lose a ton of interest in regard to the NCAA Tournament, I think, from the average fan who wants to see an upset, that’s drawn to the uniqueness.”

Specifically, some power conference leaders want to see the NCAA Tournament expand beyond 68 teams. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has spearheaded the push as of late, saying that he wants to stop “giving away” bids to automatic qualifiers from smaller conferences. ESPN reported in March that there were discussions about expanding the tournament to no more than 80 teams.

Following Sankey’s comments and the ESPN report, the SEC commissioner watched five of the league’s eight teams go down in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Two of those defeats came against mid-majors — Oakland over Kentucky and Yale over Auburn. The results made Sankey’s suggestions appear irrelevant, but as more power sways toward the power conferences in regard to spending money on student-athletes, conference realignment and revenue distribution, talks of the NCAA Tournament expanding aren’t likely going away anytime soon.

Amid all of this, West Coast Conference commissioner Stu Jackson will have a bigger say in the selection process for the NCAA Tournament moving forward after he was appointed to the NCAA Division-I Men’s Basketball Committee. Jackson, in his second year as WCC commissioner, will take over Renee Baumgartner’s spot on the committee after she stepped down from her role as Santa Clara's athletic director.

“It’s great in the fact that the WCC keeps representation and an advocate in the room as that selection process works itself out,” Dickau said. “[Jackson] can be a big-time advocate for the WCC. His experience working in the NBA as a general manager, working in the league office and understanding collective bargaining agreements in those roles will definitely help him navigate this college landscape.” 

Dickau broke down Jackson’s importance to the NCAA Division-I Men’s Basketball Committee and much more on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.

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Produced by Christian Pedersen.

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