Topline
The NCAA is set to expand March Madness to 76 teams starting next season, according to multiple reports—the tournament’s most significant expansion in decades.
The change will be effective next season.
Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images
Key Facts
The expansion, which is in the final steps of being greenlit, according to ESPN, will increase the number of March Madness teams from 68 to 76.
The expansion will reportedly apply to both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
NCAA officials are in the final stages of sorting out media contracts for the new format, ESPN reported, noting the expansion is not expected to generate a windfall for the NCAA—though unnamed sources told the outlet there will be “a modest financial upside.”
How Will The March Madness Expansion Work?
The tournament’s existing “First Four” play-in games, which whittled the field down from 68 to the 64 that participate in the official first round,, will be replaced next season. There will instead be an “opening round” of 12 games played by 24 teams in two different locations—one of which will be Dayton, Ohio, according to CBS Sports. Dayton has traditionally hosted play-in games. The other 52 teams will be slotted into the main 64-team bracket. The new opening round will be half made up of at-large teams, which are teams that did not win their conferences tournaments, and half teams that secured automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments.
How Does The March Madness Expansion Impact Perfect Brackets?
The abysmal odds of picking a perfect March Madness bracket (1 in 9.2 quintillion) could remain unchanged if platforms choose not to incorporate the expanded bracket into user picks, as has been the case for the “First Four” play-in games. In that case, the expansion will only impact the opening games for teams playing for a spot in March Madness, not the standard, 64-team March Madness bracket typically used for picks in March Madness pools.
Key Background
Men’s March Madness began as an eight-team tournament over 85 years ago. By 1975, the number of teams multiplied to 32. March Madness expanded to 68 teams in 2011 for the men’s tournament and 68 teams for the women’s tournament in 2022. Supporters of the tournament’s many expansions have argued the changes are important for accessibility amid a growing number of Division I schools in the last few decades. They have also pointed to revenue opportunities created by having more teams. Critics have said expansions dilute the competition of March Madness by incorporating average teams with a spot to participate. Concerns around expansions have also centered around the regular season losing a sense of urgency for some teams given the higher chances of making the tournament. Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in March, “I don’t think you mess with something that’s gold,” referring to the 68-team format.
Further Reading
NCAA March Madness: Only 4 Perfect Brackets After First 3 Days (Forbes)