Rick Barnes pushes back on NCAA Tournament expansion

As the 2024 NCAA Tournament gets set to begin, conversations about the shifting landscape of college athletics remain ongoing. Major conference expansion has taken hold, with leagues getting bigger and bigger.

Many are wondering if college basketball might follow the same track as college football, which has recently expanded its playoff field to make it more inclusive.

Count at least Tennessee coach Rick Barnes out on expanding the NCAA Tournament field.

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“I don’t know where the future of the intercollegiate athletics is going with leagues getting bigger, things like that,” Barnes said. “But where we are today, I don’t think you can ask a team to win more than six games to win a National Championship. It’s really demanding, if you ask me.”

College basketball’s version of March Madness is already one of the most popular tournaments in sports. It consistently draws millions and millions of viewers, promising breath-taking finishes and historic upsets.

Some argue that expanding the NCAA Tournament field would only enhance that.

If the field is to expand, Barnes sees one avenue that might work. It isn’t doubling the field or allowing a ton more teams to make the field.

“If there’s teams that are right there that are worthy to be in, maybe you could add four more for play-in games, things like that,” Barnes said. “But teams have had great years or teams — again, winning six games in this tournament is hard, it’s really, really hard.”

That seemed to be Barnes’ primary focus in not wanting to expand the field much more. The more games you add, the more you introduce an element of chance. An turned ankle here, exhaustion there can ruin your chances.

Winning six games in a row against some of the best teams in the country is hard enough as it is.

And for Barnes, there’s nothing wrong with the current NCAA Tournament format.

“I think we do have a three-week window here where we captivate the country, and we’re in, I think, the most exciting sporting event because every state in the country can be represented some way, somehow,” Barnes said. “I’m not for expanding the tournament to make it a national champion having to win more than six games to get there.”