HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel spends much of his time in DC at Georgetown basketball home games, but with the NCAA Convention heading to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center this week, he decided to check it out in person and prepared this photo essay from his day at National Harbor.
Transportation was easier than I expected: subway to King Street, bus to Convention Center, just over 1 hour door-to-door. I picked up my press pass and headed for the featured morning session on sports betting. It was quite an eye-opener: the dangers of prop bets, the death threats on social media, the impact on the mental health of teenagers, etc. Nobody was quite clear on how to fix everything, but at least they all agree that it is a super-serious problem.
After walking a few blocks to grab lunch from Primo Hoagies (long wait/good chicken cheesesteak), I made it back just in time for the D-1 business session about NIL featuring panelists from the College Sports Commission. They admitted that they are severely understaffed because they are overseeing thousands of deals that add up to millions of dollars…so if you are looking for a job and can commute to their office in Tyson’s Corner, VA, then feel free to give them a buzz!
The weirdest part of the day was the subsequent D-1 business session. The NCAA voting membership spent 30 minutes approving a proposal to award “performance units” to the 2 winners in the Final 4 as well as the winner of the title game. I was surprised to learn that these units were not already in place, but even more surprised that representatives of the “have-nots” voted in favor of a plan that would only reward the “haves”.
The most inspiring part of the day was the NCAA Honors event in the evening. My main reasons for attending were to see 2 of the Silver Anniversary Award recipients: 1 basketball player whom I have interviewed in the past (former Tennessee 4-time All-American Tamika Catchings) and 1 football player who you might have heard of (former Maxwell Award winner Drew Brees):
However, the incredible stories of some of the other honorees who I had never heard of (the tennis player who recovered from a brain injury to get back onto the court, the baseball coach who jumped into a river to save someone’s life, etc.) are the ones that I will remember the most.
I left the program early to join the “media scrum” featuring NCAA President Charlie Baker (left) and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips (right). I got to meet them both very briefly, and they were very nice…but sadly they only had a few minutes to spare so there was not enough time for me to ask them any questions:
The highlight of the night was the post-scrum welcome reception. I was expecting chips and soda, but it was worth the wait for a better spread than I have seen at some weddings. Crabcakes grilled right in front of me at the serving table, fancy smores, and an open bar: oh my (no photos available because there was nothing left after I finished feasting on everything)!
Thanks to the NCAA for hooking me up: there are still plenty of changes they need to make, but they put on a great party and gave me access to everything I wanted so I will save any criticism for the future.
