MINNEAPOLIS — There were 275 colleges that claimed Division I status for the 1984-85 season, when the NCAA expanded the field for its men's basketball tournament to 64.
There were 350 schools eligible for the D-I tournament this season, with another eight colleges waiting out their apprenticeship to become eligible for what's now a 68-team tournament.
The opinion here is that more schools playing at a level they don't really belong makes for putrid entertainment to start most seasons, and for increasingly shoddy play over the three weeks of the Big Dance.
