NCAA Tournament expansion "not imminent," says Division I Committee

The NCAA Tournament is not expanding beyond 68 teams — for now, at least.

In January, the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee recommended expanding all NCAA Championships to include 25% of teams involved. For Division I men’s and women’s basketball, that would mean approximately 90 total teams in the NCAA Tournament. During meetings in Indianapolis this week, the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee discussed the proposal but said that “expanding the 68-team field is not imminent.”

“The committee must be good stewards for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball. “They are committed to doing their due diligence looking at a few different models to make an informed decision that’s in the best interests of the championship, and that may very well include deciding against expansion.”

“The committee and staff will continue studying options and gathering feedback from various constituents,” Gavitt said. “Whether the tournament expands or not remains to be seen.”

The NCAA Tournament field was last expanded from 65 to 68 teams in 2011. In 2001, an opening-round game was introduced, marking the first time the field had expanded since it went from 53 to 64 in 1985 when there were 282 Division I schools.

A few weeks ago, Myron Medcalf interviewed college coaches about potential NCAA Tournament expansion at the NBPA Top 100 Camp. The reviews were mixed, with some coaches speaking out in favor of expansion and others against it.

“I just think it’s going to get watered down,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo told ESPN. “I worry about that a little bit. It wouldn’t bother me if they did that, but I do worry that if it gets watered down, it’s not good. … I think 68 has been a pretty good number. I think you get enough good first-round games. That’s me.”

“I’ve been saying we should go to 96 forever,” Miami’s Jim Larranaga said. “If the NCAA tournament is the biggest goal for every college basketball team but only 18% of the kids get to experience it and each year at least half the field is from the year before and the year before that … it only makes sense to expand it and give more college student-athletes the experience.”

For this year at least, the NCAA Tournament field will stay at 68 teams, but the fact that the Committee didn’t shoot it down entirely suggests the conversations will continue.

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