For nearly four decades, the men’s NCAA Tournament has been one of the most revered spectacles in sports, a 68-team, three-week gauntlet where legends are made, brackets are busted, and chaos reigns. But could it soon be bigger?
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark believes it should be.
Speaking ahead of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday, Yormark laid out his vision for an expanded 76-team March Madness field, a move that could arrive as early as next year.
“I’m in favor of expansion.”
“I’m in favor of expansion to 76. I think that’s the right number,” Yormark said. “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 need to come to the table and provide the right economics.”
The current 68-team format—introduced in 2011—has worked, but change is inevitable. The tournament first expanded to 64 teams in 1985, then the women’s bracket followed in 1994. In 2022, the women’s field grew to 68 teams, mirroring the men’s tournament.
Now, conversations are heating up again.
Last year, the NCAA proposed modest expansion options, including four or eight more teams, while keeping the core 64-team bracket intact. Additional teams would enter as play-in matchups among 10-through-12 seeds—similar to the First Four.
“Not a lighthearted decision”
The NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, Dan Gavitt, has long been cautious about expansion. But in a recent interview with CBS Sports, he sounded more receptive than ever before.
“Expansion, even at a modest level, is complex, more complex than I think has been recognized and reported, because it is expensive,” Gavitt explained.
His father, Dave Gavitt, famously helped oversee the 1985 expansion as chair of the NCAA selection committee.
For years, NCAA leadership resisted change. But the landscape of college basketball has shifted dramatically. With conference realignment, NIL deals, and the transfer portal reshaping the sport, Gavitt admitted that men’s basketball, in particular, might be ready for a larger tournament.
“There’s no sport that is deeper overall and has more parity than men’s college basketball,” he said. “There’s great basketball played at every level in men’s basketball right now. So I think it’s important to keep the tournament contemporary and relevant, based on what is going on in college athletics.”
More teams, more games, more excitement?
For Yormark, expansion isn’t just about keeping up with the times—it’s about giving more teams a chance.
“I think there will be some decisions over the next 90 days, 60 days,” Yormark said. “No one wants to be diluted, and we have a great asset here. We’ll see how it plays out.”
While expanding March Madness won’t be universally accepted, it’s clear that momentum is building. More teams, more games, more drama—it’s an enticing prospect.
The question now is not if change will come, but when.
