If the tournament field expands to 96 teams, perfect brackets may become a relic of the past.
Every year in March, millions of fans attempt to craft the perfect bracket, and the NCAA gets to make ~$1B.
But soon, a perfect bracket may be even harder to crack and the NCAA may get even richer, as the organization is considering expanding its basketball tournaments, per Axios.
March Madness…
… currently includes 68 teams, but a proposed plan could increase the field to 96. Opinions vary among college coaches:
Miami’s Jim Larrañaga and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim favor the idea, believing it could give more teams more opportunity.
Others, like Virginia’s Tony Bennett, think expansion could lead to the tournament losing its luster.
If it happens…
… the NCAA would join several professional and amateur sports leagues that have added games in recent years, including:
The FBS, which introduced a four-team college football playoff in 2014.
The NFL, which increased its regular season from 16 to 17 games in 2021.
The NBA, which launched a play-in tournament for the seventh through 10th seeds in 2021.
The MLB, which expanded its wild card format from one game to a three-game series this season.
While expanding the tournament would objectively offer more opportunity, it’s hard to overlook the NCAA’s financial motives.
The tournament accounts for 85%+ of the association’s annual revenue, and every added game is another chance to milk the cash cow.