By Brian Murphy, WRAL

West Virginia’s governor called attention to financial incentives in North Carolina athletics director Bubba Cunningham’s contract Monday, implying that they may have played a role in the Tar Heels securing a spot in the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament over West Virginia.

Cunningham served as the chairman of the NCAA Tournament selection committee this year, which is tasked with selecting and seeding the 68-team field. North Carolina was the final team in the field, while West Virginia was the first team out.

The Mountaineers were a surprising omission as every bracket prediction had them in the field.

The selection committee has procedures in place for members with a conflict of interest about their school or schools in their conference. Cunningham said Sunday that all policies and procedures were followed.

“UNC had representation in the room during the selection process,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said during a press conference. “Bubba Cunningham is the athletic director for UNC. He also happens to be the head of the tournament selection committee. It’s being reported by a number of outlets that Cunningham had a significant bonus incentive, at least $70,000, to get into the tournament, arguably more if they advanced with more incentives on the way. I want folks to let that sink in for just a minute.”

Gov. Morrisey and Attorney General JB McCuskey Announce Actions against NCAA Selection Committee https://t.co/ABnaIu6M5H

— Governor Patrick Morrisey (@wvgovernor) March 17, 2025

According to terms of the five-year contract Cunningham signed in 2022, he receives a bonus of $67,905 if the Tar Heels’ men’s basketball team reaches the NCAA Tournament. He can receive up to $100,000 more in bonuses, depending on how far the program advances in the event.

Cunningham receives the same bonus, equal to one-twelfth of his salary, if the UNC football team plays in a bowl game or if the UNC women’s basketball team reaches the NCAA Tournament. Cunningham’s salary is $814,868.

He also is paid four longevity bonuses each year that total more than $410,000, pushing his annual compensation to more than $1.25 million before bonuses for athletic or academic achievement in his department.

Cunningham, 62, has been the Tar Heels’ athletics director since 2011. He was previously the AD at Tulsa and Ball State. He began his career at Notre Dame, where he rose to associate athletics director.

Cunningham was one of 12 members on the committee, which included Oklahoma State athletics director Chad Weiberg. Oklahoma State is a member of the Big 12, which includes West Virginia.

Committee members serve five-year terms. This is Cunningham’s final year. He was also on the committee in 2023, when North Carolina was one of the first teams left out of the field.

Cunningham’s contract is public. WRAL reached out to Cunningham after the West Virginia governor made his remarks. He did not immediately respond.

North Carolina plays San Diego State in Dayton on Tuesday night as part of the First Four. Both teams are No. 11 seeds. The winner advances to play No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the first round on Friday.

Gov. Morrisey and Attorney General JB McCuskey Announce Actions against NCAA Selection Committee https://t.co/ABnaIu6M5H

— Governor Patrick Morrisey (@wvgovernor) March 17, 2025

Morrisey said the NCAA snub could be related to litigation the state filed against the NCAA over its transfer rules. North Carolina joined that lawsuit.

Morrisey and West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said they want more transparency from the NCAA on how the field is selected. They said it is premature to talk about litigation.

“This was a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest levels,” Morrisey said of West Virginia’s snub.

West Virginia politicians were not the only ones upset by the selection committee’s decisions. North Carolina’s inclusion in the field was lambasted by many college basketball commentators. ESPN analyst Sean Farnham said it must have been a “typo.”

“North Carolina can’t possibly be in this NCAA tournament field because they had ample opportunities to improve their resume,” he said. “The fact that West Virginia is not, with six Quad 1 wins and North Carolina is, with one.”

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein said West Virginia and Indiana, which also did not make the field, deserved to be in ahead of the Tar Heels.

“If the criteria for the NCAA Tournament in terms of getting an at-large bid is to beat other NCAA Tournament teams, how in the world could North Carolina get an at-large bid over Indiana and over West Virginia?” Rothstein said.

Cunningham said Sunday after the tournament field was set that an injury to West Virginia’s Tucker DeVries played a role in the decision.

“The hardest part of being on the committee is having to draw that line. But with only one real upset this year, there were an awful lot of teams on the bubble that got in,” Cunningham said during an interview on ESPN.

North Carolina (22-13) is ranked No. 36 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, known as the NET. West Virginia (19-13) is ranked No. 51. But the Mountaineers had six wins in Quad 1 games (games against teams in the top 75 of the NET based on whether the contest is at home, road or neutral site), while North Carolina went 1-12 in such games.

The Tar Heels were No. 42 in “wins above bubble,” a new metric used by the committee this year. West Virginia was No. 43.

UNC won eight of its last 10 games with its only losses coming to No. 1 Duke.

“When you look at Carolina’s full body of work, and obviously the committee spent a lot of time looking at Quad 1 and certainly recognized the record in Quad 1,” said Keith Gill, the vice chairman of the selection committee.

“But also when look at Quad 2, they’re 8-0 in Quad 2. In Quad 1, they were 1-12, but 8-0 in Quad 2. They had a really strong strength of record. They had a strong NET. They also had a strong WAB. And when you take all those things into consideration, the committee just felt they should earn that last spot over some of the other teams.”

West Virginia’s women’s basketball team is playing in Chapel Hill this weekend as part of the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels’ baseball team eliminated West Virginia in last season’s Super Regional round.

Cunningham is not the first local athletics director to come under fire for the decisions of a committee. NC State athletics director Boo Corrigan was the chairman of the College Football Playoff committee in 2023 when undefeated Florida State was left out, igniting controversy.

Source: wralsportsfan.com