“Rudy and Gene bring years of experience and expertise with them to the NIT Selection Committee,” commented Shaheen.  “Having gone through both the NIT Season Tip-Off and the Postseason NIT, we felt it was appropriate to add two more members to the committee to further diversify the geographic reach of the committee.”

Davalos retired as athletics director at New Mexico in August after a 13-year tenure. Davalos served on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee twice, first as the Midwest representative when he was the athletics director at the University of Houston, and later when he became the athletics director at New Mexico. He also served on the NCAA’s Women’s Basketball Committee, Championships Competition Cabinet, as well as the Division I Baseball Committee.

Davalos has been recognized by numerous organizations throughout his career for his efforts on the behalf of student-athletes. A former head basketball coach at the University of the South, Davalos began his coaching career in 1961 as an assistant at Georgetown College (Ky.). He later had assistant coaching stints at the University of Kentucky and Auburn University.

Keady retired as Purdue’s head coach in 2005 after 25 years at the program’s helm. During that time, Keady’s teams recorded 512 victories, six Big Ten championships and won 20 or more games in 14 seasons. Keady was recognized as National Coach of the Year six times and is the Big Ten’s third-winningest coach with a .661 winning percentage. He has been cited numerous times with awards and honors and is a member of several Halls of Fame. Keady was originally named to the NIT Selection Committee but deferred joining for one year due to previous commitments.

The NIT Selection Committee includes: C.M Newton (chair) and Dean Smith, both members of the Naismith Hall of Fame, along with Don DeVoe, Reggie Minton, Jack Powers and Carroll Williams. All committee members have experience as head basketball coaches.