Mitch Barnhart

We are appreciative of that support, as it is a bridge until such time as state and/or federal laws are enacted, the landscape of college sports is now in the midst of dramatic and historic change — perhaps the biggest set of shifts and changes since scholarships were first awarded decades ago.

Certainly, pauses have been a part of that conversation, what we noticed, they were under consideration deep into discussions that we had. The challenge was that you had two teams that made really remarkable tournament runs in Georgetown and Oregon State ... and as they took those spots, some people had to fall off. Unfortunately, you have an opportunity during the course of the year to get your resume where you want it to be, and at the end of the day if it’s not where you want it to be, you have a chance to go to the tournament and secure the (automatic qualifier). Two teams did that, and in the process of doing that, they took two bids away.