John Calipari reacts to NCAA Tournament expansion, stresses need to 'help mid-majors'

After the NCAA announced tournament expansion is happening in 2027, John Calipari had questions. But the Arkansas coach told ESPN’s Dan Wetzel he hopes the 76-team field allows more paths for mid-majors to reach the Big Dance.

Starting in 2027, March Madness will grow to 76 teams. It will now include an expanded “opening round” with 24 teams, and the 12 winners at the two sites – Dayton and another to be announced later – will join the other 52 teams in the main bracket.

Calipari wondered why expansion was necessary and the NCAA decided to “mess with something that’s working” with its decision. But he had an idea. He proposed giving more bids to mid-majors by growing the bracket.

“Half of the additional bids need to go to the non-Power 5 conferences,” Calipari told ESPN. “You have to help the mid-majors.”

With so many teams, John Calipari also said the idea of Cinderella is part of what makes March Madness special. He’s been on both sides of it throughout his career with stops at UMass and Memphis before his run at Kentucky and, now, Arkansas. That’s why he wants to preserve spots for those smaller programs in the bracket, rather than giving power conferences more bids.

“You have to ask, why is this tournament so huge?” Calipari said. “Because of David and Goliath. And I’ve been both. I’ve won as David and lost as Goliath.

“That’s what I keep coming back to, if you are going to do this, if you are going to add all these games, it can’t be just to add more Power 5 conference teams.”

In the new opening round, all 16 seeds and two of the 15 seeds will make up half of the initial 24-team field. The final 12 teams will be a mixture of all the 12 seeds and two of the 11 seeds. The 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams will occupy those 24 spots.

Talk of expanding the NCAA Tournament came up multiple times throughout the 2025-26 season, though NCAA executive vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said talks would hit pause until this past year’s event ended. Momentum then grew quickly toward going to 76 teams as soon as 2027 and the final votes took place Thursday.

By growing the field, the NCAA is also set to receive $300 million across the final six years of its media rights deal with CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery. In the process, the TV partners will also get access to more sponsorship opportunities throughout the tournament.