In sports, there are plenty of stories that seem to be dug up and refreshed each year. Among them is postseason expansion and March Madness is the latest to enter these conversations.
The NCAA’s top dog was part of the organization’s record $1.16 billion haul in 2021 – making up around 85% of the earnings. With that success, the NCAA is reportedly in discussion about increasing the 68-team tournament. Anywhere from 96 to 128-team brackets have been proposed, but all will get the NCAA the one thing they care about: a bigger slice of pie.
Not only is expansion of the tournament a crime against the phrase “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” but it could destroy what makes the tournament – and the season that leads up to it – great already.
Background
As the cash cow of the NCAA, a successful March is vital. The contract that networks CBS and Turner Sports have with the NCAA currently runs through 2032, and the latest extension to that deal will provide the NCAA with an extra $8.8 billion.
It’s an outlandish amount of cash until you figure that 18.5 million people viewed the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship. Not only did 18.5 million people watch a 72-69 Kansas Jayhawk victory, but they watched ads scroll across the scorer’s table, an excessive amount of CapitalOne commercials and a never-ending stream of marketing ploys.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 tournament was the first March Madness with full arenas since 2019. The rebirth of the tournament not only treated the networks right, but it got coaches and the NCAA thinking: “What if we gave them more?”
The Reason to Add
77-year old Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said that he’s been fighting for this expansion for 30 years. Baylor head coach Scott Drew said that his preference would be a full field of 128 teams. Even SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is on board with examining a larger field for his soon-to-be 16-team conference.
These talking heads advocate for more teams in the tournament for a few reasons. The first is because the current format leaves too many talented squads out. There are currently 358 teams in college basketball and only 19% get the privilege of competing for a national championship.
The second reason expansion has taken off is because some coaches think that seeing more teams involved and given a chance is not only fair, but is more fun for the fans. Last year’s darlings, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, became the first 15-seed to reach the Elite Eight. This 3,000-student school in New Jersey quickly became a fan-favorite and caused the nation to cheer for David on its path against multiple Goliaths.
The final main reason decision-makers are pushing this is much quieter, but it goes without saying: a larger tournament lowers the odds of winning for everyone. Talented tournament regulars like Duke are fine with adding another game, especially if it makes it harder on Cinderella to even get to the ball.
The Fight Against
As a firm believer that the NCAA tournament is the best postseason in all of sports, I think an expansion to the tournament loses the glamor that the regular season brings. Additionally, it won’t solve the problem of including all the worthy teams and is only for the money.
To start, in last year’s March Madness, Michigan made the field despite losing their first game in the Big 10 tournament and finishing with a meager 17-14 record. The argument for Michigan was that they played a difficult non-conference schedule and played in an uber-talented conference. While true, I can’t wait to see the argument for when a sub .500 team makes the field because they played hard teams and took “quality losses”.
If you’re the Wolverines, for example, why schedule any top teams in your non-conference slate? If you schedule winnable games and perform average in the Big 10, you’ve got an incredible chance to be included in a 128-team field.
Another point that supporters mention is that expanding the field will help include all the teams worthy of postseason contention. While awaiting an agreed upon definition of what makes a team “worthy,” let me dissect why that problem will never go anywhere as long as someone is eating at the kids’ table.
Let’s go back to the Wolverines here. Again, Michigan made the NCAA tournament last year with a 17-14 record. The top seed in the NIT tournament last year, the Dayton Flyers, finished the season with a 23-10 record. An increased tournament is sure to include both, so while the argument between No. 68 and 69 is solved, the No. 128 and 129 battle has just begun. Until all 358 teams are included, someone will always be unhappy.
Time to Blow the Whistle
To go against singer Jessie J in “Price Tag,” it’s actually all about the money. The NCAA is a business, and while their business is providing college athletes a space to compete and is always about the “student-athletes,” they need to find ways to make money and keep their product at the top. Becoming stale is something that dooms a product, so a stagnant March Madness field may give the leaders that impression.
The shot clock needs to expire on expansion talks for the NCAA tournament. Doing so will save the importance of the regular season and will keep the bottom line intact: that only the best of the best join the madness.
