NCAA Takes Official Step Toward Expanding Men's Basketball Tournament
06/19/2024 06:18 PM
Apparently, a 68-team field isn't good enough for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
According to Yahoo Sports insider Ross Dellenger, NCAA officials presented Division I conference commissioners with models for an expanded field. One model calls for 72 teams in the tournament, while the other features 76 teams in the dance.
NCAA officials have not publicly commented on this meeting. The same goes for Division I commissioners.
The NCAA can expand its tournament for the 2025-26 season. That means there's a legitimate scenario where next year's 68-team tournament is the final one of its kind.
The early reactions to this report from Yahoo Sports have been telling. Fans hate the idea of adjusting a format that already works very well.
Back in February, ESPN's Jay Bilas went off on the idea of expanding the NCAA Tournament. We can't imagine he's happy about Wednesday's news.
"What are we gonna do now? We're going to 96 and we're going to print the bracket out first on legal paper then on a roll of toilet paper and just roll it out," Bilas said. "It doesn't make any sense. The one thing everybody's forgetting is that this is not an access tournament, it's a national championship event. You should have to do something hard to get in. And if you think it's too hard, then Division II is wide open."
Do you think the NCAA should leave the men's basketball tournament alone?
