Jake’s Take: Should the NCAA Tournament field be expanded?

There has been much talk over the past few years about expanding the NCAA men's basketball tournament field from 64 teams (now 68) up to as many as 96 teams. This has caused a great debate in the sports world about what is right and what is wrong for college basketball. There are currently 342 Division I college basketball teams who can make the NCAA Tournament, so expanding the field to 96 teams would mean just less than one-third of the college basketball teams would make the tournament field.

So what would be good about crowning a champion of 96 teams instead of 64 or 68? First, the NCAA would make more money, which is what many people think this is really about. Expanding the tournament to 96 teams means more games need to be played, and since every game in the tournament is televised, it would make millions of dollars more than it does now. Of course, money looks good to anyone, especially when it comes in seven figures.

The second good thing about expanding the tournament field is that with 96 teams, you find a true champion. In 1975, the tournament expanded to 32 teams before it finally expanded to 64 teams in 1985. To think that only half of the teams that usually make the tournament would have made it in 1975 is a sad thought. There would be no such thing as a 12-seed upsetting a 5-seed, and there would be no possibility of the University of Northern Iowa Kansas University. Imagine what could happen if the tournament went to 96 teams. The possibilities are endless. However, other than these two reasons, it is really hard for me to think of why expansion is a good idea.

There are plenty of reasons NOT to expand to 96 teams. The first reason really has to do with the emotion of fans. People like me really get excited for college basketball, and to think that the regular season has little meaning is just sad. According to RealTimeRPI.com, the 96th-best team in college basketball is currently Drake University (Drake was 11-8 the last time the Rankings Percentage Index was released). This means that a team can go nearly .500 during the regular season and still have a chance to win a national championship. Also, conference tournaments like the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament would mean less because five or six teams can make the NCAA Tournament field instead of the usual one to three teams. There is no reason the sixth place team in the MVC should ever make the NCAA Tournament.

Expanding the field to 96 teams not only hurts fans like me, but it also hurts fans like my mom. My mother is the type of fan who peeks her head into the college basketball world right when March comes around because she knows it's time to fill out a few brackets and win some money. Filling out a bracket is one of the greatest parts of the tournament because it keeps everyone involved and interested. Trying to fill out a 96-team bracket would be a problem. I'm not sure I'd be able to read any team names on that sheet of paper (if it could even fit on just one sheet), and filling out that bracket would take up more time than some people even spend watching the tournament on television.

Sixty-eight teams is perfect for an NCAA men's basketball tournament, and 96 would just be a hassle. If the NCAA cares about the fans' feelings at all, they will realize that their thoughts of expanding are just crazy. A few extra million dollars per year sounds terrific, but is it really worth losing thousands of fans? Unfortunately, it's not for me to decide.