The NCAA is seriously considering expanding the annual basketball tournament from 65 teams to 96 teams. Sounds ridiculous I know, but it is real.
I have no clue where this idea came from or when it started, but one day while skimming SI.com I saw a column discussing the idea. I originally thought this was the media being bored and just creating topics to write/talk about.
Then it started coming up on sports talk radio, specifically The Dan Patrick Show, which I listen to daily. Over a few weeks, Patrick had guests such as Jim Boeheim, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jay Wright, all of whom thought the expansion was a good idea and that it would be put into play in a few years, if not next year.
With the tournament coming up in just a few weeks, I decided to take a look at what the 96-team tournament would be like. Just like everything in life there is a good side, a bad side and of course, an ugly side.
96-Team NCAA Tournament: The Good
More basketball!
I am not going to say no to more college basketball. I dare you to find someone who does not want to watch an extra weekend of March Madness. It is impossible. College basketball lives and dies through the tournament. More games + more airtime = more money.
Speaking of which….
More money
The talk is that the NCAA would option out of its current contract with CBS, which is worth about $1 billion, and structure a new contract with a potentially new network .
With 96 teams making the tournament, that opens the garage door to let in more mid-majors than ever before. Making the tournament would greatly improve their school’s funding and income, which could, and theoretically should, allow their athletics department to have upgraded facilities. This would then bring in a higher level of recruits, which would then make that school more competitive in athletics, making college sports more enjoyable than they already are.
Theoretically.
96 -Team NCAA Tournament: The Bad
Regular season wouldn’t matter
32 more teams being added to the tournament means that the regular season won’t matter as much as it does now or as much as it should. One of the biggest storylines to watch right now is how teams like UConn, Minnesota, Florida, and Washington will finish in their conference tournament and if they can potentially get themselves a spot in the tournament.
If there are 96 teams then we wouldn’t have to worry about those 8- or 9- loss teams. We then switch to 12- or 13- loss teams like Arkansas State, Eastern Illinois and Lafayette making the tournament, when they normally wouldn’t. Are those teams that we really need to see every year? It is the basketball version of a team going 7-6 and getting into a Bowl Game?
It shouldn’t happen.
No Gus Johnson
Scary right? Think about it. If the NCAA signs a contract for the new-look tournament with ESPN/ABC that means the end of Mr. Johnson screaming his lungs out during an inbound pass between Gonzaga-Siena in the first round. Outside of the Musburger-Knight combo, Johnson is the only announcer in college basketball who can make me watch a game that I have no interest in.
[Editor's note: I couldn't resist posting this video...]
96 -Team NCAA Tournament: The Ugly
Brackets
BY FAR the best thing about the NCAA tournament is filling out 12 brackets, 7 of which have Kansas as a winner, then spending three days figuring out which one is “official”, then filling out another 10 brackets over two more days with your “official” picks. My bracket might as well contain my heart and soul during the tournament.
Filling out a bracket brings more fans to the tournament than would pay attention without it. One year my mother had a better bracket than I did, and she would routinely ask me how a certain team did. My mom is not a basketball fan, but if you include a bracket, that will change.
With a 96-team bracket, there is no way anyone is going to have an “official” bracket even close to what actually happens. How am I supposed to pick 16 teams out of 96? I can’t even do that with 64. If I don’t have a good looking bracket and Kansas doesn’t win, the NCAA tournament is almost worthless to me.
What do you think? What are the good, bad, ugly aspects of a 96-team NCAA Tournament from your perspective?
**********
* – Jim Boeheim photo credit: Washington Post
About Drew Lange
