The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament fields could expand to 76 teams starting next season, according to a recent report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel. If that comes to pass, teams from major conferences would likely benefit the most, as is customary in college athletics.
The primary drivers of the proposed change? Money, of course. And major conferences looking to get more teams in the tournaments.
Thamel reported that NCAA officials met in April with executives from ESPN, CBS Sports and TNT Sports, the tournaments’ media partners. ESPN televises the women’s tournament, while CBS and TNT split the men’s tournament and could soon be part of the same parent company. Paramount Skydance Corp. which owns CBS, has agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns TNT. The deal is still subject to government approval in the U.S. and abroad.
The media partners were in the “final steps” of reworking the media deals, according to Thamel, who added that several NCAA committees would also have to sign off on expansion. Although nothing is finalized, it could be done by mid-May, per Thamel.
While expansion would alter the tournament’s format, it is not too surprising. Dave Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, disclosed last August that NCAA committees would continue having conversations about increasing the number of teams to 72 or 76 as early as 2027.
By doing so, the NCAA could earn more money through bigger television deals. And more teams could have a shot at playing in the tournaments, although it is highly unlikely any of the teams that just made the field will have a deep run.
The men’s tournament has had 68 teams since 2011 when the NCAA introduced the “First Four” games where eight teams play each other on a Tuesday and Wednesday in March in Dayton, Ohio. The winners are then slotted into the 64-team bracket and play in the first round that Thursday or Friday. The tournament previously had 65 teams since 2001.
The women’s tournament had 64 teams from 1994 through 2021. It has had 68 teams the past five seasons.
Under a proposed 76-team format, 52 teams would be automatically slotted into the first round, while the remaining 24 would play against each other in 12 opening round games on Tuesday and Wednesday. The winners of those 12 games will join the 52 teams to form the 64-team field that remains among the most popular sporting events in the U.S.
As is the case now, each of the conference champions will continue to receive an automatic berth in the tournament. But the number of at-large berths chosen by the selection committee will increase from 37 to 45.
Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten Conference commissioner Tony Petitti have been supportive of expanding the field, citing better access for teams in their leagues that are near the bottom of the standings but have difficult schedules because the leagues are so big and have so many highly ranked teams. The SEC and Big Ten have the most financial resources and a strong track record of success and join with the Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East to form a Power Five of leagues that usually dominate the NCAA tournament fields.
For instance, Saint Louis of the Atlantic 10, Miami (Ohio) of the Mid-American Conference and two West Coast Conference schools (Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara) were the only men’s teams outside of the Power Five to get at-large berths in this year’s tournament. Richmond (Atlantic 10) and James Madison (Sun Belt) were the lone non-Power Five women’s at-large teams in this year’s tournament, too.
If the tournament expands, chances are the number of at-large berths for non-power conferences won’t increase much. This year, the three men’s teams with the highest NET rankings that were left out of the field were No. 37 Auburn (SEC), No. 41 Indiana (Big Ten) and No. 47 Oklahoma (SEC). While the NCAA selection committee uses the NET to evaluate teams, it is not their only tool, although Auburn, Indiana and Oklahoma likely would have been in a 76-team field.
The major conferences would love having more teams into the field because leagues are paid out according to units, or the number of games their teams play in the tournament. But the teams that finish near the bottom of conferences have had more than enough opportunity to show they belong in the NCAAs. Auburn, for instance, was 17-16 on Selection Sunday and went 7-11 in the SEC, including losses in eight of their final 10 regular season league games. Oklahoma had a better overall record (19-15) but the same conference record and had a nine-game losing streak in conference play. And Indiana went 18-14 and 9-11 in the Big Ten and lost six of its final seven games.
With their financial resources and conference affiliation, those schools all have opportunities to turn things around as long as they can raise money and find the right players and coach. Michigan coach Dusty May, who led the Wolverines to the national title last month, told Front Office Sports he expects the program will spend more than $10 million on next season’s roster. Other major conference schools should be in the same neighborhood.
For non-Power Five schools, the financial gap will continue to grow, with few exceptions such as Gonzaga and Saint Louis that are investing in basketball, albeit at a much lower magnitude than Michigan, Kentucky, UConn and other schools. As such, providing those conferences with more at-large berths to reward teams that had impressive regular seasons could be a major boon to them. It remains to be seen how the eight additional at-large berths will be allotted, and it could change on a yearly basis. Still, the major conference commissioners are pushing for the bigger fields, meaning they understand it could benefit them, perhaps to the detriment of the smaller leagues.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
