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The men’s NCAA basketball tournament could expand beyond the current field of 68 teams.
According to Dana O’Neil of The Athletic, college basketball insiders are “prepping” for a larger field that could become official “in the very near future.” While there may not be a major expansion, adding a few more teams to the tournament appears to be an option.
O’Neil noted that “a 72- or 76-team field seems the most likely outcome.”
While the prospect of growing to include close to 100 schools has been discussed among fans, it doesn’t appear that including such a vast amount of teams in future tournaments is a possibility.
“We’re not talking about 96,” said an anonymous college administrator, via O’Neil. “There is little to no appetite for 96 teams, or really even 80.”
Although an expanded tournament field is far from finalized, it may be a necessity. Per O’Neil, college basketball administrators fear that power conference schools will consider their own postseason if the NCAA tournament remains unchanged.
However, adding just four to eight teams comes with a fair share of hurdles as well. The exact teams eligible to be added are up for debate, while a larger field also means that schools will earn less from broadcasts, as the money will be shared with more teams.
NCAA president Charlie Baker revealed that he’s in favor of an expanded format in an interview with ESPN’s Dan Murphy.
“I certainly think there’s an opportunity there to do more to find a way to bring more teams into the tournament,” Baker said (h/t David Jones of PennLive.com).
While specifics still need to be ironed out, the men’s NCAA tournament appears to be heading towards a larger field.
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