[ocreferee]

Originally Posted by aces88

If I were Wally Rutecki, I'd feel pretty good because his assignment to the championship game of the NIT is a clear statement that his boss is behind him 100%.

If you look at the list of officials assigned to the final four of the NIT, they are all on the roster of the Big East. It looks to me like they were assigned by or with the input of Art Hyland of the Big East. If you look at the other eight officials, five worked the second weekend of the NCAA and two, (Burr and John Higgins), would have if they were eligible. Of the nine, Rutecki is the least experienced, so it would be surprising for him to be put on the championship game unless somebody wanted to send a message.

A couple of years ago Referee Magazine did a small Q & A with Art Hyland and it stated that he assigned the officials for the NIT. This was prior to the NCAA buying the NIT but it seems that Art is still the assignor for the tournament in the fact that the Big East officials were well represented.