Malcolm Wilson Named to NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee

Malcolm Wilson, the 6’11” sophomore center for the Georgetown Hoyas has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee.

According to the NCAA’s committee roster, Wilson is the SAAC committee appointee (“one member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee who is a men’s basketball student-athlete”) and has a term until May 2022, with potential for reappointment.

The NCAA describes the committee, saying:

The Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee will ensure that appropriate oversight of men’s basketball is maintained, will enhance the development and public perception of the sport and make recommendations related to regular-season and postseason men’s basketball. The committee will prioritize enhancement of the student-athlete educational experience (academically and athletically), and in doing so, promote student-athletes’ personal growth and leadership development.

The Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee will supervise qualifications and/or selection procedures for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. The committee will review recommendations from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and process other issues related to the administration of the championship. The committee will assume many of the duties of the former NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Issues Committee and will provide direction to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Rules Committee regarding playing rules. The committee will be comprised of representatives from each divisional subgroup.

The oversight committee appears to have some palpable power to alter rules, championships, and even the start date for NCAA basketball.

CBS’ Matt Norlander reported the other day that “The women’s and men’s basketball oversight committees convened again on Friday and decided to change the proposed start date for the 2020-21 season from Nov. 25 up to Nov. 21” to be voted on September 16th, and that “[t]he committees also will make a recommendation — but not an outright requirement — that teams play at least four nonconference games if circumstances reasonably allow for it.” Wilson’s term may have begun in June, but it is unclear if the SAAC appointee was involved in those decisions.

Wilson joins Baylor’s Jared Butler as the only other student-athlete on the oversight committee.

Baylor issued a press release saying:

Butler joins a committee which currently has seven athletics directors, two conference commissioners, two deputy/associate conference commissioners, two head coaches, one FAR and one SAAC representative. Butler and Georgetown’s Malcolm Wilson (SAAC representative) are the only student-athletes on the committee.

The committee is responsible for maintaining oversight of Division I men’s basketball, enhancing the development and public perception of the sport and making recommendations related to regular-season and postseason men’s basketball. The committee also reviews recommendations from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and provides direction to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Rules Committee.

The committee is comprised of approximately 12 voting members and four nonvoting members. Voting members include approximately four Council members and seven non-Council members, as well as one member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee who is a men’s basketball student-athlete. Nonvoting members include the chair of the Men’s Basketball Committee, executive director of the NABC, a faculty athletics representative and a Division I men’s basketball student-athlete.

Malcolm Wilson told FOX 57 of his hometown, Columbia, SC, “Serving on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee is a humbling and tremendous opportunity,” and “I take this opportunity very seriously and will commit myself to being the best representative as possible for my teammates, the Big East Conference and all NCAA student-athletes.”

HOYA SAXA, Malcolm!

Best of luck and keep up the good work!