Report: NCAA 'Making Progress' on Expanding March Madness
It certainly sounds as if the NCAA is making progress towards NCAA Tournament expansion. In the coming year, we could see the March Madness field exceed 70 teams, according to a report from Yahoo's Ross Dellenger.
Per Dellenger's report, NCAA president Charlie Baker said that "progress is being made" towards expanding the March Madness tournament from 68 teams to 72 or 76 teams. That would be a four-to-eight team increase from the current format.
NCAA officials reportedly presented two different expansion models to conference commissioners at the Division I level recently. One model included 72 teams and the other pertained to a 76-team field.
Even if the NCAA Tournament expands, it is not expected to exceed 76 teams ... at least at the moment.
There has been a lot of conversation regarding an expanded NCAA Tournament field in recent months. With the potential to bring in more money by adding more teams to the field, it's not surprising that the NCAA and its television partners would have interest in growing the bracket.
But this idea has received plenty of blowback from fans, who believe the tournament is perfect in its current form. Growing the NCAA Tournament by four-to-eight teams probably doesn't alter March Madness that significantly, but does it pave the way to continue expanding the bracket? Could there be a point in time where we see the field reach 96 (or more) teams?
That's just one of the concerns about the current expansion plan.
Nothing has been announced regarding expanding March Madness, nor did NCAA officials comment publicly on the proposed 72- and 76-team tournaments. But don't be surprised if this idea continues to pick up steam.
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