INDIANAPOLIS — Morgan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Dena Freeman-Patton and Western Athletic Convention Commissioner Brian Thornton have been added to the Nationwide Invitation Match committee.
Freeman-Patton grew to become the primary girl to guide Morgan State’s athletics operations when she was employed in June of 2022. She joined the Bears employees after serving as affiliate vice chairman and director of athletics at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Freeman-Patton has served as chair of the NCAA Minority Alternatives and Pursuits Committee, and he or she was named the Girls Leaders in Faculty Sports activities Administrator of the 12 months in 2018. Earlier than beginning her profession in collegiate athletics, she was a Division I basketball student-athlete at Liberty.
Thornton was named the seventh commissioner within the historical past of the WAC in November of 2021. Earlier than becoming a member of the WAC, Thornton was affiliate commissioner for basketball on the American Athletic Convention and was an assistant director of basketball growth on the NCAA. Earlier than his profession in intercollegiate athletics, Thorton was a standout faculty basketball participant at Vanderbilt and Xavier. He was a Southeastern Convention all-freshman choice in 2002 whereas at Vanderbilt. At Xavier, Thorton was named the Atlantic 10 Convention Pupil-Athlete of the 12 months twice and was a Faculty Sports activities Communicators Tutorial All-America choice and a first-team all-conference choose in 2006.
Freeman-Patton and Thornton will be a part of the NIT committee, which shall be chaired by New Orleans Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Tim Duncan. Different members of the 2023-24 NIT Committee are former Virginia Director of Athletics Craig Littlepage and former Division I males’s basketball coaches Rick Byrd, Bob McKillop, Gary Waters and Bob Williams.
The 2024 championship would be the 86th NIT. Picks, pairings and the bracket shall be introduced March 17, with video games starting Tuesday, March 19. The NIT semifinals and championship shall be performed April 2 and 4 at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. For extra info on the championship go to nit.org.
