Rumors and conversations about the NCAA March Madness Tournament expansion continue to circulate. There are active agents pushing the narrative that it's good for basketball, but as it's been discussed before, it's good for greed. While the fans of the sport and the millions of people who faithfully fill out brackets every year do not want to see it expand at all, the possibility of it happening even this year is still there.
In a statement made last week, Dan Gavitt, the NCAA SVP of Basketball, said:
"“The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees met this week. The topic of expanding the field for each championship was discussed at length but no decision or recommendation was made. The still viable outcomes include the tournaments remaining at 68 teams or expanding the fields to either 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2026 or 2027 championships.”"Dan Gavitt, NCAA SVP of Basketball
The reality is that as soon as TV Networks and other media-rights holders started to get involved and money figures began to get thrown around, the NCAA's desire for the money may outweigh the purity of the product.
The NCAA calls it a "still viable outcome" for March Madness Tournament expansion
The good news is that greed may also be what stalls the inevitability of the expansion, too. Reports indicate that media rights holders plan to air expansion but will not pay additional rights fees until a new contract is negotiated. This could delay the desire.
The other piece of good news is that the discussions Gavitt mentioned in the NCAA Division 1 Men's and Women's Basketball committee have not yet reached a consensus. It continues to be discussed, but the conclusion is never to move forward to the next steps. There may be a few sane people in the room after all.
It's still shocking that it's even being considered, it's more shocking that it could happen this season.