Tournament President Resigns Amid Looming Scandal

Leadership Gathers in Con-Clave to Ponder, Mull Next Steps

Barbados (AP) – The Henderson NCAA Tournament was rocked today as longtime Tournament President Matt Henderson tendered his resignation. Henderson cited his desire to improve his short-putting, as well as spend more time with his family, as key factors in the decision.

Henderson’s tenure atop one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the nation has been marked by a series of both accomplishments and black eyes.  He successfully navigated the Tournament through a $12.9 million bankruptcy, settling for just pennies on the dollar, while aggressively seeking short-term federal financing to assist the Tournament address balance sheet issues earlier this decade.  But he also faced tough scrutiny from the media and good-gambling advocates for seemingly embracing an ever-younger target audience of gamblers – what Henderson once referred to as “the greatest generation” – while sweeping over his own involvement in a Tournament-wide performance enhancer’s scandal that even Lance Armstrong called “beyond the pale”.

Today’s news sent shockwaves through the gambling community, and set off speculation that Henderson was stepping into the shadows at a time of even greater scrutiny of his operations. Last year, Henderson’s reign over the Tournament that bears similarities to his own name was examined up close by an MSNBC undercover investigation.

“This could not have come at a more difficult time,” said one Tournament insider, noting that the Tournament has just entered its high holy season.  “We need direction…we need guidance…over these next thirty days,” the official said.

Jockeying to fill the ‘vacancy’ – a Latin term loosely translated to Vacant-See to reflect the vacuum of leadership – is already underway. Senior Tournament officials have begun to arrive in Barbados for the gathering, which will be marked by secret ballots until a successor to Henderson is chosen.  To protect the desires of the electors, all ballots are counted and then burned immediately; a practice another insider termed “rather routine around here.  We’ve been burning documents for years,” he stated, citing most recently the stymied investigation into performance enhancers use by Tournament participants.

Longtime Tournament observers were not entirely surprised by today’s announcement.  “Anytime you have stagnant leadership for so many years – without new blood, new ideas – you run this risk. Frankly, it gets a bit old,” said Greg Milligan, who has headed the National Association of American Basketball Bracket Tournament Officials Association of America (NAABBTOAA)  since 1989. Milligan was recently elected to another ten-year term.

Not surprisingly, Matt Henderson has indicated to close confidants his potential interest in seeking to succeed himself, and recently joined the Con-Clave in Barbados.  “Its something we’re exploring,” said an aide close to Henderson.  In addition, Henderson is currently negotiating terms to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Network in the near future.