The debate over NCAA tournament expansion continues to rage on, with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball committees meeting last week to discuss plans to add four or eight teams to the field.
While wildly unpopular with fans of the sport (one poll on X by prominent college hoops personality Rob Dauster showed just under 94% disapproval of the concept), expansion has more popularity among college sports administrators and some coaches. Without significant new media rights money on the table, the main case for expansion as explained by many in positions of authority is “access.” The NCAA tournament is one of the most exclusive American postseason events, with fewer than 20% of the now 365 Division I teams getting an invite. That said, among the most common criticisms expressed is that an expanded field would only further cater to power-conference teams and still leave behind top mid-majors that often just miss the cut on Selection Sunday.
