Tiger athletics director begins term next season
By: Justin Feil
Gary Walters has served seemingly every possible capacity in the world of college basketball. Walters was a three-year starter for Princeton University in the mid-1960s. He was an assistant coach and a head coach following graduation. And he did color commentary for Big East games before returning to Princeton, where he has served as athletics director since 1994.
Tuesday, Walters was selected for a new capacity in the men’s basketball world. He has been named to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball committee. He will begin his term next season, and will have among his duties the selection of the 2003 NCAA tournament field as well as administration of the tournament itself.
"I’m already watching games on ESPN with a sharper eye," Walter said. "I’ll obviously have to pay more attention to games played on the West Coast. It’s fun and exciting, and I should get to meet a lot of people."
In March, Walters will be shadowing a current committee member, probably at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., a regional site this season.
"One of the duties is actually to run the first-round games," Walters said, "So I’ll be down there to get a feeling for what to do."
Walters discovered several months ago that his name had come up in discussions of selection of new committee members, but he hadn’t thought twice about it until it was brought up again.
"I had put it on the back burner until I was called a week before the selection," Walters said. "I had been told there was a strong possibility my name would be passed to the Championship Cabinet Committee."
Walters’ life-long background in men’s basketball at a variety of levels made him a particularly attractive candidate.
"It was important to have people grounded in basketball," he said. "There is a certain amount of experience required to be on the committee. There are fewer and fewer coaches involved in it. And there are fewer ADs out there that have coached. My selection was driven by my background as a coach and I’ve done color commentary for the Big East. I’ve seen basketball at a number of different levels. And I don’t think it hurt that Princeton has such a strong basketball name."
Come March next season, Walters will be among the chosen few who must try to whittle the more than 300 Division I teams to the 65 best for the NCAA tournament. Every year, those 72 hours leading up to the announcement are made to sound like the toughest around for the committee.
"I’ve heard just the opposite," Walters said. "I’ve talked to people on the committee who said it’s one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. You’re engaged in a team effort, it’s clearly objective, and it really brings everyone together. You develop some great friendships."
And while Walters is almost certain to get some friendlier handshakes from opposing coaches and athletics directors in the months leading up to the selection show, Ivy Leaguers hoping for perhaps an unprecedented second Ivy bid should be warned that Walters won’t be permitted in the room for that discussion. But he’s looking forward to being a part of the process.
"I’ve been richly rewarded in many ways from basketball. It’s a way for me to give back to the sport," Walters said. "I’m delighted."
Princeton University head men’s basketball coach John Thompson has also been selected to serve on an NCAA committee, the rules committee.
"It’s a great honor," Thompson said. "Any coach would love to have the opportunity to help maintain the sport and continue to shape it. I’m looking forward to it tremendously."