Photo by: Jamie Schwaberow
ACU's Lassiter Building Selection Sunday Field on NCAA Men's Basketball Committee
3/15/2025 8:55:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball
Abilene Christian Vice President for Athletics Zack Lassiter still pinches himself five months after receiving what he calls "the professional opportunity of a lifetime."
Last October, Lassiter was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, a 12-member panel responsible for selecting the 68 men's basketball programs to compete in the NCAA Tournament, in addition to the execution of the event itself. 2025 kicks off Lassiter's five-year term on the committee, one that continues through 2029.
"I still don't believe it's real," Lassiter said. "I'm going to show up … and hopefully there's still a spot for me. I've been watching this tournament since I was a kid and it's one of those things that I feel like whether you're a sports fan or not, everyone loves this event because it's stories from the big guys, from the small guys."
As discussions continue over which teams are deserving of a spot in the tournament field, Lassiter and the committee's final decisions will be unveiled on the NCAA Selection Show at 5 p.m. Sunday on CBS. The bracket features 31 automatic bids for conference tournament champions and 37 at-large berths that the committee selects.
An unassuming phone call from Indianapolis ultimately led to Lassiter's appointment to the committee. So unassuming, in fact, that he initially sent the call to voicemail while in a meeting. Lassiter later returned the call to find Dan Gavitt, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball, on the other end.
"I called him back, and Dan was the one who kind of said, 'Hey, Zack, we'd love this opportunity,'" Lassiter said. "... I was like, 'I don't know if you can see me through the phone, Danny, but yes, I'm smiling ear to ear because what an amazing honor it is to be able to do this.'"
Lassiter joins a team featuring commissioners from the Big Sky, Sun Belt and West Coast Conferences and athletic directors from North Carolina, Minnesota, Alabama, Georgetown, Samford, Temple, Manhattan and Oklahoma State.
"It's super intentional about how they make up the 12 of us," Lassiter said. "They're trying to create a cross section of individuals that have experiences and opportunities to be able to speak to all of the 300-plus teams that play in Division I.
"I think if you just had 12 people that had very similar experiences, had similar backgrounds, you wouldn't be able to pick the very best teams to be able to play in the championship and to be able to create a championship that's going to take care of the low-major programs and that experience as much as the high-major programs."
While Lassiter acknowledged that he won't be the reason why a program does or does not make the field, he said he recognizes the importance of making the most well-informed decisions he can. Those selections take on heightened importance given the amount of publicity and national recognition a tournament berth can shed on schools.
"I've watched a lot of basketball," Lassiter said. "Before this year, I watched a lot of WAC basketball. This year, I've watched a lot of WAC basketball and everything else. … I take this role very seriously because the opportunity for a school or a coach or a student-athlete to be in this tournament changes lives. … I do feel I should be prepared to do my homework to make sure that I represent and make the very best decision I can."
The idea that the opportunity to compete for a national championship may alter the future of a university could be seen firsthand with the Wildcats' two NCAA Tournament bids in program history. ACU battled No. 2 seed Kentucky in 2019 before the seminal moment in Wildcat athletics lore, a stunning 53-52 upset of No. 3 seed Texas in 2021.
That triumph over the Longhorns sent shockwaves through the college basketball world and elevated ACU into the national spotlight. Lassiter pointed to his personal connection with the school and how its performance in the NCAA Tournament put it on his radar.
"I think our university understands how big this event is," Lassiter said. "I didn't know who Abilene Christian University was four years ago and then I watched them in the tournament and now I'm here serving that university. I can understand even personally how important this tournament is."
Lassiter is hopeful that his appointment to the men's basketball committee will have a similar impact on the notoriety of ACU as it continues to make a name for itself in the college athletics landscape. That starts with his fellow committee members and other stakeholders in the NCAA Tournament.
"It's really cool to be able to introduce ACU to some people who don't know us, but for people that are getting more and more familiar with ACU, it's another opportunity to be able to tell our story in a way that I think is great. It's why we made the decision to go Division I as an institution, the ability for our athletic program as a platform to be able to tell the greater story about what ACU is about."
Lassiter knows he's a rookie on the selection committee scene, but he's confident his prior work in athletic administration and event organization have him well-suited for the duties of his position. Perhaps no experience was more impactful than his work at the University of Utah when the school's athletic director, Chris Hill, served on the selection committee from 2004-09.
"Chris was super gracious about allowing me into some of the conversations that he would come up with," Lassiter said. "... I thought that was the coolest thing I'd ever been a part of, like, 'Oh my gosh, Chris lets me be able to see it.' So I actually have more familiarity than a lot of others do because I've been in two different environments where my boss was on it."
As the music sounds for "The Big Dance" to begin, Lassiter said he hopes to make an impact on the men's basketball committee that sustains March Madness' legacy as the pinnacle of college athletics.
"I think the college basketball tournament is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, event in all of sports," Lassiter said. "... I want to make sure that we continue to make that championship special for everyone."
Last October, Lassiter was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, a 12-member panel responsible for selecting the 68 men's basketball programs to compete in the NCAA Tournament, in addition to the execution of the event itself. 2025 kicks off Lassiter's five-year term on the committee, one that continues through 2029.
"I still don't believe it's real," Lassiter said. "I'm going to show up … and hopefully there's still a spot for me. I've been watching this tournament since I was a kid and it's one of those things that I feel like whether you're a sports fan or not, everyone loves this event because it's stories from the big guys, from the small guys."
As discussions continue over which teams are deserving of a spot in the tournament field, Lassiter and the committee's final decisions will be unveiled on the NCAA Selection Show at 5 p.m. Sunday on CBS. The bracket features 31 automatic bids for conference tournament champions and 37 at-large berths that the committee selects.
My home for the next 5+ days- incredibly grateful and humbled for the opportunity to serve the greatest event in all of sports!! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/JZr8r9DyQm
— Zack Lassiter (@ZackLassiter) March 12, 2025
An unassuming phone call from Indianapolis ultimately led to Lassiter's appointment to the committee. So unassuming, in fact, that he initially sent the call to voicemail while in a meeting. Lassiter later returned the call to find Dan Gavitt, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball, on the other end.
"I called him back, and Dan was the one who kind of said, 'Hey, Zack, we'd love this opportunity,'" Lassiter said. "... I was like, 'I don't know if you can see me through the phone, Danny, but yes, I'm smiling ear to ear because what an amazing honor it is to be able to do this.'"
Lassiter joins a team featuring commissioners from the Big Sky, Sun Belt and West Coast Conferences and athletic directors from North Carolina, Minnesota, Alabama, Georgetown, Samford, Temple, Manhattan and Oklahoma State.
"It's super intentional about how they make up the 12 of us," Lassiter said. "They're trying to create a cross section of individuals that have experiences and opportunities to be able to speak to all of the 300-plus teams that play in Division I.
"I think if you just had 12 people that had very similar experiences, had similar backgrounds, you wouldn't be able to pick the very best teams to be able to play in the championship and to be able to create a championship that's going to take care of the low-major programs and that experience as much as the high-major programs."
While Lassiter acknowledged that he won't be the reason why a program does or does not make the field, he said he recognizes the importance of making the most well-informed decisions he can. Those selections take on heightened importance given the amount of publicity and national recognition a tournament berth can shed on schools.
"I've watched a lot of basketball," Lassiter said. "Before this year, I watched a lot of WAC basketball. This year, I've watched a lot of WAC basketball and everything else. … I take this role very seriously because the opportunity for a school or a coach or a student-athlete to be in this tournament changes lives. … I do feel I should be prepared to do my homework to make sure that I represent and make the very best decision I can."
The idea that the opportunity to compete for a national championship may alter the future of a university could be seen firsthand with the Wildcats' two NCAA Tournament bids in program history. ACU battled No. 2 seed Kentucky in 2019 before the seminal moment in Wildcat athletics lore, a stunning 53-52 upset of No. 3 seed Texas in 2021.
That triumph over the Longhorns sent shockwaves through the college basketball world and elevated ACU into the national spotlight. Lassiter pointed to his personal connection with the school and how its performance in the NCAA Tournament put it on his radar.
"I think our university understands how big this event is," Lassiter said. "I didn't know who Abilene Christian University was four years ago and then I watched them in the tournament and now I'm here serving that university. I can understand even personally how important this tournament is."
Lassiter is hopeful that his appointment to the men's basketball committee will have a similar impact on the notoriety of ACU as it continues to make a name for itself in the college athletics landscape. That starts with his fellow committee members and other stakeholders in the NCAA Tournament.
"It's really cool to be able to introduce ACU to some people who don't know us, but for people that are getting more and more familiar with ACU, it's another opportunity to be able to tell our story in a way that I think is great. It's why we made the decision to go Division I as an institution, the ability for our athletic program as a platform to be able to tell the greater story about what ACU is about."
Lassiter knows he's a rookie on the selection committee scene, but he's confident his prior work in athletic administration and event organization have him well-suited for the duties of his position. Perhaps no experience was more impactful than his work at the University of Utah when the school's athletic director, Chris Hill, served on the selection committee from 2004-09.
"Chris was super gracious about allowing me into some of the conversations that he would come up with," Lassiter said. "... I thought that was the coolest thing I'd ever been a part of, like, 'Oh my gosh, Chris lets me be able to see it.' So I actually have more familiarity than a lot of others do because I've been in two different environments where my boss was on it."
As the music sounds for "The Big Dance" to begin, Lassiter said he hopes to make an impact on the men's basketball committee that sustains March Madness' legacy as the pinnacle of college athletics.
"I think the college basketball tournament is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, event in all of sports," Lassiter said. "... I want to make sure that we continue to make that championship special for everyone."
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