OSU Basketball: NCAA to Explore Expansion of March Madness Field
March Madness is one of the most exciting events in sports, and it could look different in the near future.
On Wednesday, NCAA officials revealed models for potential expansion of the NCAA Tournament, according to a report from Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger. The potential alterations to college basketball’s biggest stage featured two models, consisting of an additional four or eight teams.
After much criticism about potentially eliminating automatic bids for teams that win their conference, the models presented Wednesday included the additions of strictly at-large teams. However, adding at-large teams would expand the field to 72 or 76 teams and would require more play-in games. Currently, there are only four play-in games at the First Four, including only four at-large teams.
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Any changes to the men’s college basketball tournament would not begin until the 2025-26 season at the earliest. Dellenger reports that the women’s tournament could also undergo changes if the men's tournament changes.
Talk of the potential expansion of the NCAA Tournament comes shortly after the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12, which will begin next season.
Although Oklahoma State has not seen the NCAA Tournament much over the past several seasons, these potential changes could help the Cowboys get in. As Steve Lutz takes over in Stillwater, OSU is looking to make it to the tournament for the first time since 2021 and the second time since 2017.
As Lutz builds a roster for next season through the transfer portal, retaining players who came to Stillwater this season and adding high school recruits will be significant pieces of the puzzle if OSU wants to make an expanded tournament. Even if the Cowboys make a 72 or 76-team field as a play-in team, it would be a welcome sight after being narrowly left out of the tournament multiple times in the past few years.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.