Feb. 9, 2004

Fairfax, VA-The NCAA has selected and approved George Mason University Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Tom O'Connor to the 10-member NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. His five-year term begins in September 2004.

O'Connor is the first representative in the Colonial Athletic Association's 19-year history to be appointed to the committee, which has control, direction and supervision of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. The highest-profile responsibility of the committee is the determination of the 65 teams that will participate in the Men's Basketball Championships.

"I'm honored to serve the NCAA on this esteemed committee," said O'Connor. I look forward to the challenges the committee represents in sustaining the standards the NCAA has prided itself in to create the most competitive arena for one of their highest visible championships."

"We are thrilled with Tom's selection to the men's basketball committee," said CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager. It is a testament to his outstanding work and the respect he has gained nationally in collegiate athletics to be named to one of the NCAA's most prestigious sport committees. We look forward to the expertise he will be able to provide to members of the CAA."

The Union City, NJ, native is in his 10th year at George Mason University and his fourth decade in NCAA Division I athletics. He previously served as athletic director at Loyola (MD) College (1976-86), at Santa Clara University (1986-92) and at St. Bonaventure University (1992-94). He was also the head basketball coach at Dartmouth College (1972-74) and at Loyola (1974-76). His age of 25 when he became head coach at Dartmouth ranks him as the sixth-youngest head coach to ever take over a NCAA Division I program.

At the NCAA level, O'Connor currently holds a seat on the prestigious Management Council, is a member of the Division I Strategic Planning Committee and has been appointed to the Selection Review Committee. He was involved with the NCAA restructuring process as a member of the business/finance cabinet, and he began a term as a member of the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee in September 1997. He also is a member of the Executive Council of the NACDA Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association. The 2003-04 academic year marks his second in the position of President of the Colonial Athletic Association.

The 57-year-old O'Connor earned a B.A. degree in 1968 from Assumption (MA) College, where he was a four-year basketball letterwinner. He is a member of the Assumption College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Many of O'Connor's teams have reached regional and national heights. Loyola won the 1976 men's soccer national championship, while Santa Clara's 1989 men's soccer team was the co-national champion with Virginia and the 1991 squad was the national runner-up. The school also earned NCAA bids in men's and women's basketball, women's soccer and baseball. At George Mason, the men's indoor track and field team won the 1996 national championship and the outdoor squad placed second. In the annual Sears Directors' Cup standings, the Patriots ranked first among Division I-AAA (non-football) institutions in 1995 and 1997.

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