Is NCAA Tournament expansion a ‘slam dunk’? Where talks stand as March Madness begins

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Is NCAA Tournament expansion a ‘slam dunk’? Where talks stand as March Madness begins

NEW YORK — All that stands in the way of expanding the NCAA men’s basketball tournament appears to be money.

College sports leaders have been discussing with increasing diligence the possibility of allowing more teams to participate in March Madness for about four years. The iconic three-week event dominates the sports calendar and generates hundreds of millions in revenue for the NCAA and its 356 (and counting) Division I member schools.

Where do those conversations stand as 68 teams from Duke to St. Francis (Pa.) prepare to make a championship run and/or secure a few seconds in the “One Shining Moment” montage? In short: If those involved, including TV network partners CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery, figure out how to cover the costs of staging more games and paying out more schools without cutting current payments, expansion of the tournament field almost certainly will happen. Probably as soon as next year — no matter how unpopular it appears to be with fans.

There is also no guarantee the finances can be made to work, and if they don’t, expansion almost certainly will not happen.

“I’d say it’s not a foregone conclusion that the championships would expand,” NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt told in January, a message he has reiterated in more recent interviews. “We’ve certainly been looking at it for some time.”

Driving this push to expand are the four wealthiest and most powerful of the 32 Division I conferences.

“I’m in favor of expansion to 76. I think that’s the right number,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said last week. “I think there will be some decisions over the next 90 days, 60 days. I think the economics, candidly, have to work. CBS and TNT have a marquee asset with the tournament. I know they know that. But in order for us to expand, they have to come to the table and provide the right economics. No one wants to get…

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Publish date : 2025-03-17 12:16:00

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