Richard "Dickie" Bachmann is set to take over basketball commissioner duties for the UAAP in the next two seasons.
"It's like going full circle, starting out as a player to an assistant coach then, later on, team manager and team governor and now to a commissioner, I'm really blessed and grateful for this opportunity. And the UAAP was the place it all started for me, that's what excites me the most," said Bachmann.
Bachmann went through a selection process as the UAAP Board of Managing Directors (BMD) made the final approval.
Host Adamson University opted for a selection process, breaking the tradition of picking the commissioners for both basketball and volleyball.
UAAP Season 85 President Fr. Aldrin Suan, CM, said it was Bachmann who stood out the most after the formation of a search committee with the help of Atty. Rebo Saguisag, the league's executive director.
Bachmann will be serving two seasons as basketball commissioner for the UAAP beginning Season 85, which starts Oct. 1, and Season 86 next year.
"We are excited to have him and see him execute his expertise and vision for our basketball tournaments, not just this season but also for UAAP Season 86," added Suan.
As new basketball commissioner, Bachmann, who is chairman of the PBA 3x3 league, stressed the overall improvement of the league's officiating.
"There should be continuity through training and they also need to call some games outside of the UAAP which will be also supervised by us," said Bachmann, the former team manager and governor of the Alaska-Converge franchise in the PBA.
Bachmann also leads the selection process for the pool of referees who will officiate the men's, women's, junior's, as well as the 3x3 basketball tournaments, emphasizing that he would rather have "a pool that I can control, a collection of referees from various leagues and groups."
He is set to meet personally with officials and head coaches of the eight-member universities for another round of assessment based on their experiences the past season.
"I'm going to listen to them and see the positives and negatives of past seasons so we can improve on those," said Bachmann.