George Mason’s Marvin Lewis serves on NCAA Women’s Basketball Committee as March Madness nears

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Marvin Lewis knowsa little something about the anxiety that comes with waiting for your team's name to be called on Selection Sunday, and the euphoria that follows when that dream of playing in the NCAA Tournament becomes a reality.

Lewis, George Mason University's assistant vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics, is now in his inaugural season among those charged with making it happen for those lucky few as part of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee.

Lewis, who played in two NCAA Tournaments as a standout player at Georgia Tech and helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the 2004 NCAA Championship game, called his addition to the selection committee last April as the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) representative "a huge honor."

Lewis was chosen for the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

"As a kid, I always dreamed of playing in the NCAA Tournament," he said. "Then to have the experience at Georgia Tech to actually playin it, andthen make it to the final game was special. But I feel like this is now a full-circle moment-with me now being an administrator helping to decide who's in it. That's probably the coolest thing for me. It's pretty special."

Lewis, however, won't have much time to wax nostalgic because Selection Sunday is fast approaching on March 15, and there are scores of basketball games for him to watch between now and then from among the six conferences he's been assigned.

He's part of a 12-member committee charged with identifying the 31 best at-large teams to join the tournament's 31 automatic qualifiers for the 68-team field that will compete for the national championship.

Committee members, who are led by chair and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletics Director Amanda Braun, have long been meticulously watching games, analyzing statistical profiles, reviewing results and weekly rankings, and applying a range of metrics and evaluation tools to build the most competitive tournament bracket possible.

"Over the past four months, I've watched more women's basketball than I ever have," Lewis said.

The selection to the high-profile committee is the most prestigious assignment yet for Lewis, whose star continues to rise in the field. But those who know him best are hardly surprised.

Former ACC Senior Associate Commissioner for Women's Basketball Mary McElroy was the athletics director at Georgia State when she gave Lewis a reprieve from life as a certified public accountant by hiring him as an assistant athletics director for business in 2008. McElroy is a former Georgia Tech athletics department administrator and had known Lewis from their time there, recognizing his maturity and focus early on.

"I needed the help, and he had the experience and maturity I needed," McElroy said. "SoI took a chance on him."

His new time-intensive duties mean that Lewis won't be in Pittsburgh to watch the men's basketball team compete in the A-10 Tournament. He'll instead be in Indianapolis with fellow committee members as they absorb all the last-minute information before determining the women's NCAA Tournament field.

Committee members cannot be present during discussions regarding the selection or seeding of a school or conference they represent.

"You just watch it on TVand everyone has an opinion or perspective on where their team should be seeded, whether their team should be in, or who should be placed in what order," Lewis said. "But we spend hours debating, using the criteria the committee has established to make those determinations. It's a lot more detailed than people would think."

Under Lewis' leadership, George Mason Athletics delivered a historic 2024-25 season, capturing five A-10 Conference titles. Key highlights included:

• Men's basketball captured a share of the program's first regular-season title, finishing with a school-record 27 wins and earning the team's first National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearance since 2009.

• Women's basketball won its first A-10 Tournament championship, recorded a program-best 27 victories, and advanced to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.

• Men's soccer secured the program's first regular-season title, finishing 13-4-1 overall and 6-1-1 in conference play, while Head Coach Rich Costanzo was named A-10 Coach of the Year.

• Women's indoor track & field won firstchampionship since 2014.

• Men's outdoor track & field won firstchampionship since 2010.

The five championships marked the most conference titles in a single season in program history, surpassing the previous record of four titles set during George Mason's inaugural A-10 campaign in 2013-14. The achievement also represented the program's most successful competitive year since the 1994-95 season. George Masonstudent-athletes also earned 18 all-conference selections or individual titles, while 75 received weekly A-10 awards.

Lewis' close relationship with A-10 Coach of the Year Tony Skinn, a George Mason alum who helped lead the Patriots to the 2006 Final Four, helped pave the way for a breakthrough season for the men's basketball program last winter.

The women's basketball team also delivered a historic season under Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis, who guided the Patriots to the program's first A-10 championship and was later named a finalist for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award.

Lewis's impact has been equally significant off the courts. During his tenure, a record number of student-athleteswere named Peter N. Stearns Provost Scholar Athletes, including 78 in 2024-25and 74 in 2025-26, the first time George Mason has recorded back-to-back years with more than 70 honorees.

Beyond competitive success, Lewis has also focused on building the long-term foundation of Intercollegiate Athletics. In 2025, he introduced "Patriots United. Together We Thrive,"a five-year strategic vision designed to strengthen George Mason Athletics through enhanced student-athlete support, improved resources and facilities, and deeper engagement with the Northern Virginia community.

His success and extensive college basketball background made Lewis an easy choice when the opening as the committee's A-10 representative unexpectedly came up last spring. His appointment also marked the first time George Mason has had a representative on the NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Committee.

Lewis now gets to experience March Madness again, this time from a vastly different vantage point. Following the announcement of the NCAA field, he'll attend tournament games at various sites before heading to the Women's Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.

"For a basketball junkie," he said, "it doesn't get much better."