College Basketball

West Virginia Governor Seeks Legal Action For March Madness Snub

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Dan Girolamo
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Dan Girolamo Sports Editor

Dan is a multifaceted content creator who specializes in sports, pop culture, and entertainment. His entertainment work has been featured on Digital Trends, where he has interviewed Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alison Brie, Adam DeVine, Sadie Sink, Chris O'Dowd, Machine Gun Kelly, and Frank Grillo. Dan's entertainment work has also been featured on Coming Soon, Hidden Remote, and WatchMojo. Dan's other passion in life revolves around sports, graduating from Marist College with a degree in Sports Communication and Journalism. From columns about the latest in New York sports to gambling predictions, Dan continues to find success in written and broadcast journalism. Previous written work can be found at Unafraid Show, while broadcast clips can be seen on WAVE.tv and CBS Sports.

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Published17 Mar 2025

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West Virginia basketball stands on court.

One day after the West Virginia Mountaineers men’s basketball team was left out of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Governor Patrick Morrisey might take legal action to address the March Madness snub.

West Virginia Governor Wants Investigation Into NCAA

West Virginia’s resume met the criteria for the NCAA Tournament. However, the Selection Committee did not select the Mountaineers as one of the 68 teams to compete in March Madness.

West Virginia’s governor came to the defense of the men’s basketball team.

“West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA tournament,” Morrisey said in a press conference on Monday. “This was a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest levels.”

Morrisey noticeably stood at a podium with a sign that read “National Corrupt Athletic Association” to represent the NCAA.

Morrisey is considering legal action to look into the NCAA for potential corruption.

“I’ve asked Attorney General [JB McCuskey] to launch an investigation into the NCAA tournament selection committee to determine if any backyard deals, backroom deals, corruption, bribes, or any nefarious activity occurred during the selection process,” Morrisey said.

West Virginia’s Resume

Many college basketball experts and pundits agree that West Virginia should have been in the NCAA Tournament over North Carolina.

The Mountaineers finished the season with a 19-13 record, including a 10-10 record in Big 12 play.

The Mountaineers suffered an upset loss to last-place Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. West Virginia has also been playing most of the season without their best player, Tucker DeVries.

One of West Virginia’s gripes is North Carolina’s Quad 1 record, 1-12. Meanwhile, West Virginia’s Quad 1 record was 6-10.

North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham is also the chairman of the NCAA Tournament. Cunningham mentioned that he excused himself from the room when North Carolina’s resume was being debated.

“What we are asking for is a level of detail and a level of transparency, level of accountability, so teams like West Virginia can plan in the future and say, ‘What are we supposed to do to get into the tournament?'” McCuskey said. “We need to know what they are looking for.”