SAN MATEO, Calif. – West Coast Conference senior associate commissioner for men’s basketball and sport administration Aaron Woliczko has been named to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Selection Committee, the NCAA announced today. The longtime WCC administrator replaces outgoing WCC commissioner Gloria Nevarez, who has served on the committee since 2019-20.
A member of the WCC since 2015, Woliczko in his role focuses on developing and implementing strategies to enhance the national profile and success of men’s basketball and other West Coast Conference sports. He additionally manages the men’s basketball day-to-day operations, which includes non-conference scheduling and its officials program, schedule creation for the league’s round-robin sports, and oversight of the WCC’s student services.
"I am very excited to join the NIT selection committee," Woliczko said. "I look forward to giving back to the NIT in my due diligence to a tournament that I participated in as a student-athlete. The NIT is a tournament shrouded in history and tradition which I am thankful to be part of. I want to thank the NCAA for the opportunity to serve on this committee and look forward to working with the many highly regarded basketball minds of the NIT selection committee as we evaluate the many great basketball programs across the nation."
In addition to his WCC responsibilities, Woliczko is a member of the San Jose Sports Authority Board of Directors and was part of its task force during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also serves as a board member of the Western Basketball Officiating Consortium (WBOC) and is part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Before transitioning to an administrator role with the WCC, Woliczko served as a men’s basketball coach at various levels. He served as head coach at Montana Tech (NAIA) after starting his coaching career at nearby Santa Cruz High School. Woliczko returned to his alma mater for a two-year stint working as a facilities and events assistant at Pacific before returning to the hardwood in 2002 as the Tigers’ director of men’s basketball operations. Three years later, he became a full-time assistant coach for Pacific, helping the team to unprecedented success. In his eight seasons on the bench, he helped Pacific to six 20-win campaigns, four Big West regular-season titles, three NCAA appearances, and a No. 16 ranking in 2004-05 en route to a program-record 27 victories.
Woliczko graduated from Pacific in 1997. Over the course of his time as a player and coach in Stockton, Woliczko contributed to 227 victories, six conference championships, seven postseason berths (four NCAA), and seven postseason wins. Following his collegiate playing career, Woliczko enjoyed a brief professional career overseas in Belgium before moving into coaching after suffering an injury in Nov. 1999.
Woliczko joins an NIT Committee that features a mix of current athletics administrators who are actively working at NCAA institutions or conferences, former collegiate men’s basketball head coaches and former athletics administrators. West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker will serve as committee chair for 2022-23, and will be joined by Woliczko, Rick Byrd (former NCAA Division I men’s basketball coach), Tim Duncan (New Orleans vice president of athletics and recreation), Craig Littlepage (former Virginia director of athletics), Bob McKillop (former NCAA Division I men’s basketball coach), Gary Waters (former NCAA Division I men’s basketball coach), and Bob Williams (former Division I men’s basketball coach).
The NIT Committee is responsible for the selection, seeding and bracketing of the 32-team postseason championship. The 2023 NIT will begin at campus sites for the first, second and quarterfinal rounds before moving to Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the semifinals and final will take place.