March Madness to 90 Teams?

[Zak57]

NCAA Transformation Committee Recommends Expanding March Madness Fields​

Still have to vote on it.

March Madness expansion recommended by NCAA committee - Sports Illustrated

The current format is 68 teams.

www.si.com

NCAA postseason championships, including the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, would be expanded under recommendations made by the NCAA transformation committee.

After nearly a year’s worth of meetings, the transformation committee, charged with reshaping archaic NCAA policies, produced a 40-page final report that was released Tuesday to selected media members. The report will go to the Division I board of directors for consideration at the 2023 NCAA convention in San Antonio next week.

Among the many recommendations is incorporating more teams in NCAA postseason championships. The NCAA should consider expanding championship brackets to accommodate access for 25% of participating teams in the sport, the committee’s report The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament encompasses 68 teams, or about 19% of the sport’s 350-some active members. The tournaments would have to expand by about 20 teams—incorporating around 90 total teams—to reach the 25% mark.

 

[bac2therac]

Awful idea

Also its just a broad recommendation for every sport to have 25% representation in championship tourney...really makes no sense

 

[newell138]

why not just invite everyone at that point? Give everyone a trophy

 

[MikeR0102]

Current 68 format is good. Maybe you can do more play in games to get more bubble teams a shot, but it probably doesn’t matter.

 

[Degaz-RU]

90 teams!?! Great way to make the regular season and conference tournaments basically irrelevant if every team with a .500 record will make it. Leave it to the NCAA to screw up a PERFECT thing.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

Just a horrendous idea which means it will probably pass due to the selfishness of those with the vote and the total disregard for common sense. And they don't need to let more "little guys" in or have any more bubble team play in games. The conference tournaments serve that purpose. The little guy has a chance to compete with the big guys by handling business in their dinky conferences and everyone has a chance to play their way in by impressing in their conference tournaments as well.

 

[RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove]

I'm still annoyed at 68. It should have been kept at 64.

Get off my lawn!

 

[koko2315]

Current 68 format is good. Maybe you can do more play in games to get more bubble teams a shot, but it probably doesn’t matter.

100%…last 8 in should be the play in games, but the 16 seeds like that guaranteed game 2 $ for one of the teams.

 

[RW90]

Once again, the NCAA shows they are focused more on maximizing profits than the integrity and landscape of college sports. Just like they did nothing to standardize NIL regulations and simply punted to the court system.

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

Why not make it 96 teams - 32 get a bye and 64 face one extra game. I would personally go with 128 with the extra game on the home court of the higher-seeded team. Not sure about all the whining about going to 90. We're already at 68. There is something like 360 D1 basketball programs. More NCAA tournament games = more fun and excitement.

If I had my way, I'd would eliminate the conference championships in favor of more NCAA tourney games. But the championships are highly profitable for the top conferences, so they probably ain't going nowhere.

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

Once again, the NCAA shows they are focused more on maximizing profits than the integrity and landscape of college sports. Just like they did nothing to standardize NIL regulations and simply punted to the court system.

The NCAA fought NIL all the way to the Supreme Court - that's the opposite of punting. I don't mind the NCAA maximizing profit so much as I wish they would find a way to reasonable NIL regulations after so many years of stonewalling the students, err workers.

 

[RUONTHERISE]

I would rather go back to 64

 

[Joey Bags]

I just won’t pay attention until the round if 64 unless rutgers is in it

 

[DJ Spanky]

Ah, heck, we should go to 128 teams!

 

[ColonelRutgers]

Why not make it 96 teams - 32 get a bye and 64 face one extra game. I would personally go with 128 with the extra game on the home court of the higher-seeded team. Not sure about all the whining about going to 90. We're already at 68. There is something like 360 D1 basketball programs. More NCAA tournament games = more fun and excitement.

If I had my way, I'd would eliminate the conference championships in favor of more NCAA tourney games. But the championships are highly profitable for the top conferences, so they probably ain't going nowhere.

Conference tournaments are great. They're great on television and awesome in person. And the buildings are usually packed. More NCAA tournament games and no conference tournaments would certainly not be more fun and exciting. The current early round games in the NCAA tournament are normally played in mostly empty arenas. It would also devalue the regular season even more than people think it does now. All this to kowtow to non-college basketball fans that only pay attention when they have a chance to win money in a bracket? No thanks.

The conference tournaments ARE play in games it's just not the NCAA signing the TV contracts w/ CBS and Turner for them.

 

[RutgHoops]

Ah, heck, we should go to 128 teams!

Will folks be as interested in filling out a 128 team or 90 team bracket as they are today? (IMO)Folks are interested for the first 48 hours because they fill out brackets and play in pools. And with 64 teams its a relatively straight forward process. Make it hard and complicated and it loses something I would think.

 

[BigLou]

I'm not for it but if it had to happen, you go to 96 teams. Top 32 gets a bye. First round games on the home court of teams 33-64. That brings you to o64 teams in round 2.
But like I said, I don't like it.

 

[ScooterSports]

Going for more teams would be dumb. March Madness is already almost perfect. Don’t change it.

 

[fatsam98]

It will make the regular season so much less meaningful. Awful idea so that the rich can get a little richer

 

[RedTeam1994]

I'm still annoyed at 68. It should have been kept at 64.

Get off my lawn!

haha . my thought exactly - including the "get off my lawn" part

 

[G- RUnit]

Why not make it 96 teams - 32 get a bye and 64 face one extra game. I would personally go with 128 with the extra game on the home court of the higher-seeded team. Not sure about all the whining about going to 90. We're already at 68. There is something like 360 D1 basketball programs. More NCAA tournament games = more fun and excitement.

If I had my way, I'd would eliminate the conference championships in favor of more NCAA tourney games. But the championships are highly profitable for the top conferences, so they probably ain't going nowhere.

I would go 128 too. We already can add 32 NIT to 64. Lots of those NIT teams could win a game or too. Would limit at least to .500 teams in league. Conference finish would determine seeding if you do make it.

 

[RutgHoops]

The NCAA fought NIL all the way to the Supreme Court - that's the opposite of punting. I don't mind the NCAA maximizing profit so much as I wish they would find a way to reasonable NIL regulations after so many years of stonewalling the students, err workers.

Not sure fighting a battle that they lost 9-0 at SCOTUS was smart. Might not be "punting", but it sure as heck was an ill advised strategy. Fighting a battle you have zero chance to win while losing complete control of your "golden goose" is, at best, poor leadership. At worst it's incompetence.

 

[SirPerceval]

Horrible idea - regular season and conf tourneys need to be relevant

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

Not sure fighting a battle that they lost 9-0 at SCOTUS was smart. Might not be "punting", but it sure as heck was an ill advised strategy. Fighting a battle you have zero chance to win while losing complete control of your "golden goose" is, at best, poor leadership. At worst it's incompetence.

This I agree with. 100%.

That said, It is long past time for the NCAA to develop a set of reasonable NIL (and transfer policy) regulations. The Wild West is not a good look for the NCAA, the schools and it's athletes.

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

This is just my opinion, but the conference tourneys completely devalue the regular season. I might feel differently if all conferences got both their regular season and conference tourney champions into the tournament.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Oooooof no thanks.

 

[fatsam98]

 

[bac2therac]

Do people realize the drek that going to 96 or 128 entails...as well has wiping out the whole fun of bracketology...shoukd be lots of fun deciding between 17-13 Duquense and 19-12 Bowling Green

And forget about non conference..why bother scheduling tough when its largely meaningless

Note this almost would push the power 6 to create their own tourney

 

[fatsam98]

 

[bac2therac]

I would go 128 too. We already can add 32 NIT to 64. Lots of those NIT teams could win a game or too. Would limit at least to .500 teams in league. Conference finish would determine seeding if you do make it.

Lol 500 in league..why would power 6 agreevto this

 

[RutgHoops]

This I agree with. 100%.

That said, It is long past time for the NCAA to develop a set of reasonable NIL (and transfer policy) regulations. The Wild West is not a good look for the NCAA, the schools and it's athletes.

This would have been the correct strategy three years ago. It is my opinion that based on the path they took the NCAA lost the ability to now impose these rules on their student-athletes. And since they don't have anyone to negotiate "a deal" with, all a unilateral imposition of rules restricting NIL will do is set up another legal battle. That they will lose again.

In ten years there will be a business school case study on just how badly the NCAA handled this.

 

[knight82]

I'm still annoyed at 68. It should have been kept at 64.

Get off my lawn!

Or even better, back when it was only 32 with a limit of two teams per conference.

 

[Rokodesh]

The system now is perfect.

Keep expanding and you end up with a bunch of garbage teams that don't belong, similar to 5-7 bowl teams. 4 regions, 16 per, it's perfect as is.

 

[RUtrumpet92]

Terrible idea to go to 90+ teams. Way to dilute the greatest event in all of college sports! Brackets would not be as interesting for the general public, too, when you cannot easily print the bracket out on a single sheet.

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

This would have been the correct strategy three years ago. It is my opinion that based on the path they took the NCAA lost the ability to now impose these rules on their student-athletes. And since they don't have anyone to negotiate "a deal" with, all a unilateral imposition of rules restricting NIL will do is set up another legal battle. That they will lose again.

In ten years there will be a business school case study on just how badly the NCAA handled this.

I didn't realize this. Would the players need set to up a union - like the NFLPA? I guess NIL truly is in the hands of the courts then. I doubt that this new Congress will do anything

 

[RU848789]

Let's just do the top 4, like in college football...

 

[RutgHoops]

I didn't realize this. Would the players need set to up a union - like the NFLPA? I guess NIL truly is in the hands of the courts then. I doubt that this new Congress will do anything

Yes. Until/unless the NCAA players unionize (like the NFLPA as you wrote) and collectively bargain "a different deal" then NIL in its current form is settled law. The NCAA has no ability to place limitations on NIL.

 

[Saint Puppy]

March Madness is one of the top sporting events of the year - it was great at 64....not a fan of the 4 extra teams. but whatever. Why are they messing with something that is done so well? The answer is of course of obvious - $$$$, but really hope they leave this alone.

 

[fluoxetine]

I would go 128 too. We already can add 32 NIT to 64. Lots of those NIT teams could win a game or too. Would limit at least to .500 teams in league. Conference finish would determine seeding if you do make it.

This is double awful. The top 128 includes a LOT of teams that are below .500 in their conference. Why should they be left out in order to water down a field EVEN FURTHER than you would by going to 128 in the first place.

 

[fluoxetine]

Make way for Akron as an at-large team, won't that be exciting?