Report: NCAA votes to expand NCAA Tournament for men, women to 76 teams

Days after reports emerged that the NCAA was in the final stages of its efforts to expand the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to 76 teams, the news is official. The NCAA voted to make the change, bringing about a new era in the sport, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

The NCAA had been considering expanding both tournaments for more than a year. Things began accelerating in that direction two weeks ago.

Top NCAA officials reportedly met with the tournament’s various media partners to finalize the proposed expansion, according to ESPN, and all sides were in agreement on the terms of updated media contracts. The committees responsible for finalizing NCAA Tournament expansion required signed contracts before any formal decisions were to be made.

“I believe the decision to expand the basketball championships field size is a wise and proactive measure to meet the current and future needs of NCAA schools and conferences without reducing the value and importance of the regular season and conference tournaments,” NCAA SVP of basketball Dan Gavitt said. “The management of the NCAA tournaments in a new and evolving environment was a significant consideration by the basketball committees in their analysis of expansion for well over a year. Ultimately, their decision to marginally grow March Madness to 76 teams is a forward-thinking strategy to contemporize the value of the tournaments for decades to come.”

With the new expansion, the additional eight teams would be added to the current “First Four” play-in round, currently held on Tuesday and Wednesday. The newly expanded play-in round would then feature 24 teams playing 12 games over two days before the winners join the other 52 teams already in the traditional first-round field that initial weekend.

Rebranding was expected around the current “First Four” NCAA Tournament language. Of note, the opening round — now featuring 12 games — will still include both at-large and auto bids.

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander had previously reported on the anticipated format, which was altered slightly following the NCAA the vote. All 16 seeds and half 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 half of the 11 seeds. The 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams will occupy those 24 spots.

The idea of NCAA Tournament expansion beyond the current 68-team field has been a point of contention between collegiate power brokers and college basketball fans for several years. NCAA officials and their member schools see major dollar signs as a result of renegotiating the tournament’s current media rights deal for the NCAA’s biggest money-making product, especially during a precarious time for college athletics.

Meanwhile, most college basketball fans worry that further expansion will only water down the already-entertaining postseason format. Many were vocal when the accelerated move toward expansion was first reported on.

FOX Sports analyst Colin Cowherd was among them. He went on a rant about the potential NCAA Tournament change.

“God do I hate the idea of the NCAA Tournament expanding to 76 teams. Yuck,” he said. “March Madness, we already have it dialed in. I’m not paralyzed by change, but I’m also selective. March Madness is one of the few things in sports that feels right. Sudden death, survive and advance. The big dogs usually win, but there’s just enough chaos to keep you hooked. Seventy-six teams feels like one giant participation ribbon, and here’s the irony: College basketball is actually fixing itself (already).”