For almost four decades, the NCAA tournament for men is one of the most respected glasses in sport, a 68 team, three-week glove where legends are made, brackets are caught and chaos rules. But could it be bigger?
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark believes it should be.
Speaking for the Big 12 tournament on Tuesday, Yormark imposed his vision for an extensive 76 team March Madness Field, a movement that could arrive next year.
“I am in favor of expansion.”
“I am in favor of expansion to 76. I think that’s the right number,” said Yormark. “I think the economy should work frankly. CBS and TNT have a selection framework with the tournament. I know they know that. But to expand us, they have to come to the table and offer the right economy. “
The current format of 68 Teams introduced in 2011-has worked, but change is inevitable. The tournament expanded for the first time to 64 teams in 1985, followed by the women’s bracket in 1994. In 2022 the women’s field grew to 68 teams, reflected the men’s tournament.
Now conversations are warming up again.
Last year the NCAA presented modest expansion options, including four or eight more teams, while the core 64 team kept bracket intact. Extra teams would participate as play-in matchups between 10-Through-Zaden-comparable with the first four.
“No airy decision”
The senior vice president of basketball of the NCAA, then Gavitt, has long been careful with expansion. But in a recent interview with CBS Sports, he sounded more receptive than ever before.
“Expansion, even at a modest level, is more complex, more complex than I think it has been recognized and reported because it is expensive,” Gavitt explained.
His father, Dave Gavitt, helped famous supervision of the expansion of 1985 as chairman of the NCAA selection committee.
For years, NCAA leadership resisted change. But the landscape of college basketball has been dramatically shifted. With the redeployment of the conference, NIL -Deals and the transfer portal that the sport reformed, Gavitt admitted that men’s basketball in particular might be ready for a larger tournament.
“There is no sport that is generally deeper and has more parity than basketball for men’s colasis base,” he said. “Great basketball has now been played at every level in men’s basketball. So I think it is important to keep the tournament contemporary and relevant, based on what is going on in the athletics of the university. “
More teams, more competitions, more excitement?
For Yormark, expansion is not just about keeping up time – it is about giving more teams a chance.
“I think there will be decisions for the next 90 days, 60 days, 60 days,” said Yormark. “Nobody wants to be diluted, and we have a big asset here. We will see how it is going on. “
Although the expansion of March Madness is not universally accepted, it is clear that the momentum is building. More teams, more competitions, more drama – it’s a tempting prospect.
The question now is not when There will be change, but when.
