Expanding the NCAA Tournament won’t make it better | Opinion

INDIANAPOLIS – The greed is astounding.

Not from the athletes, who the power brokers and even the president of the United States would have you believe are bringing about the ruin of college sports. No, the people who have broken the system are the esteemed leaders of college sports, the commissioners and university presidents willing to burn it all down if it means more cash in their pockets.

Advertisement

It wasn’t enough to destroy the fabric of college sports, the traditional, mostly geographically-based rivalries by supersizing the power conferences. Now they appear set on watering down the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments so the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 can get a few more of their mediocre teams in.

Armour: Dan Hurley isn’t actually a jerk. He just plays one on TV

Why not just say the hell with it and make it all comers? If 76 teams will wring a few more zeroes out of CBS and TNT and ESPN, imagine what 350-plus would bring!

It’s shameful, and it will do more to destroy the best thing left in college athletics than any 20-something who’s finally getting paid.

1 / 37

See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

1 / 37

See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

2 / 37

See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Kansas Jayhawks cheerleaders perform before a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament against the St. John’s Red Storm at Viejas Arena on March 22, 2026 in San Diego, Calif.

3 / 37

See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/expanding-ncaa-tournament-wont-better-001500392.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-04-04 00:15:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.