No One Dares To Enter Ncaa Sanctum

From the moment they enter until the moment they exit, visitors to the NCAA’s tightly sealed sanctuary atop a hotel this weekend are followed by two pairs of eyes. No one is trusted.

When the nine-man selection committee meets for 72 labor-intensive hours every March to set and seed the NCAA Tournament, nothing is left to chance.

The 39th and 40th floors of the Hyatt Hotel are blocked off for the men’s and women’s selection committees.

Downstairs, armed security guards keep an eye on elevators that won’t even go to the “NCAA floors” without a coded key.

“It’s not that we have people at the end of the hall armed with machine guns,” said Bruce Gehring, a Hyatt executive. “But we certainly do have extra security procedures.”

What kind?

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you that,” Gehring said.

The women’s committee will disclose its bracket today at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN. The men’s bracket will be unveiled at 3 p.m. on CBS-TV.