After a year of pandering, the NCAA Tournament will be expanding to 76 teams next season, with the almighty dollar at the forefront of this new postseason adventure.
I hope you didn’t actually think the NCAA was going to pass on adding teams to a tournament that was already popular enough that ratings soared this past season to record highs.
This move has been the play, as members of the college football playoff committee were already looking to add spots after just one season of 12 teams.
The formal announcement should come from the NCAA and its television partners sometime next month, as all the final details are hammered out, which include advertisers that fund this massive tournament.
One of the questions I asked on social media centered around which teams that were left out this past season actually deserved a spot in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Interestingly enough, only Belmont was sincerely suggested. Not Auburn, who went on a southern revival over a two-day period in hopes of convincing the tournament committee to select them over others.
Sure, there have been plenty of conference commissioners, coaches and athletic directors that voiced their support for expanding the tournament.
I hope you aren’t confused as to why certain conferences would welcome the expansion, compared to others who argue that the regular season will be diminished.
Sound familiar? It’s almost as if we’re having the same discussion in college football. Come on, the more, the merrier, right?
No, this is essentially a way to snag a few extra spots for the power conferences, with mid-majors still needing to come up with a public relations strategy to argue their case for more inclusion.
“I think it’s appropriate,” Tennessee AD Danny White said this week. “There’s now 350-plus Division I schools, and you start thinking about the percentage of that group that can make the postseason. Playing in the NCAA Tournament is an awesome experience, it’s something that basketball players, men and women, will remember for the rest of their lives. So I’m all for it, I think it’s healthy.”
PROPOSAL FOR HISTORIC NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPANSION REACHES FINAL STAGES: REPORT
So, because there are so many schools that play college basketball at the Division I level, should we allow them to garner a participation trophy? Don’t get me wrong, I was excited to see a team like Miami (Ohio) make the NCAA Tournament this past season, because they earned the opportunity.
But, are we about to see the 10th-ranked team from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC or Big 12 grab a spot over a mid-major squad?
You tell me. Which conferences will garner bigger ratings for an ‘opening round’ game that features 24 teams in 12 games Tuesday and Wednesday?
That’s a rhetorical question. Money wins in these scenarios, and by creating a larger tournament field, television networks will increase inventory, and the NCAA will have additional space to sell advertising.
I want to make it clear though, I’m all for the best postseason possible.
They are essentially eliminating the “First Four” that opens the tournament each season in Dayton and now adding a city that will host the other six games.
We will see 52 teams receive an automatic spot into the first round that starts on Thursday, while the remaining 24 teams will fight to the death in two different locations for the right to advance.
Sure, the extra money will help, a little. There will be some teams that make the postseason that will earn enough from their NCAA Tournament appearance that it could help their overall basketball budget.
And, the new “opening round” would feature teams that receive at-large berths battling teams that won their conference tournament. The round will feature all 16 seeded teams, along with 50% of the No. 15 seeded teams. Those 12 seeded teams that can turn into Cinderella will also take part in the opening round, joining a few No. 11 seeds.
The women’s tournament had a hard time filling some arenas for the opening rounds, but sure, let’s add more teams to the equation.
Look, I don’t blame the NCAA for its effort to raise additional funding, given how much has been spent on the House settlement, along with court battles that seemingly pop up every month.
The NCAA Tournament was in a good spot this past season. The fans seemed to enjoy it, and they have certainly been vocal about not needing to expand.
But at the end of the day, money wins. Some might preach that it’s about inclusion, but don’t fall for the trick. The exact same thing can be said for college football.
Is this microphone on? I guess not.
