Tournament to expand likely

In 1985, there were 282 D1 programs. So the 64 tournament teams represented 22% of teams.
In 2023, there are 357 D1 programs. So if you were to get to 22% again, it would be 78.

That logic makes it more acceptable to me, but I would be strongly against:
  1. Ballooning it any further
  2. Any conference getting automatic qualifiers outside of the tournament
  3. Make the additional games all play-in games for non-conference tournament champions.
 
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dk423 said:
  1. Make the additional games all play-in games for non-conference tournament champions.
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Ya- not a fan that two of the 16 seeds don't get a direct ticket to face a 1. seed.

If 16 teams have a "Play-In" for the 8 11/12 seeds - that would put the Tourney at 72 teams...

Would a fun two days in Dayton...
 
whatever makes it difficult for non sports fans to fill out a bracket is bad for college basketball. I also expect this will all change when the top Football teams figure out their approach to the future.
 
dk423 said:
In 1982, there were 282 D1 programs. So the 64 tournament teams represented 22% of teams.
In 2023, there are 357 D1 programs. So if you were to get to 22% again, it would be 78.

That logic makes it more acceptable to me, but I would be strongly against:
  1. Ballooning it any further
  2. Any conference getting automatic qualifiers outside of the tournament
  3. Make the additional games all play-in games for non-conference tournament champions.
Click to expand...
I could be totally off base (would not be the first or last time), but this is for the sole purpose of appeasing the mega 2 1/2 football conferences by adding more basketball schools.

Even with the insane NIL money at thier disposal, there are limits. Most is being absorbed by football, especially if you expect to attract a 4 or 5 star QB.

Having their hoops programs make the NCAA tournament keeps them relevant, allows for further expansion, and a rationale behind spending a larger portion of NIL for basketball.
 
I have long figured the power football schools will work toward killing off everyone else, which would include Big East schools. Lately, as I watch the continued evolution, I am slightly more optimistic (key word slightly.) As the B10 and SEC continue to expand and expand, the focus has continued to be markets, and football. Top annual national power basketball schools such as North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Duke, and yes UConn, have not been a focus. And TV revenue is what drives everything and many of the Big East schools are unique with immense TV markets but no football.

Point being for football, those two conferences could break away just about now and destroy everyone else. In basketball, however, if they had their own tournament, with no disrespect to powers such as Kentucky, Ohio State, UCLA, etc., a lot of nationally relevant programs would not be involved. Would most viewers pick it over a tournament of the rest of the conferences? For football, I'm no football guy, but the answer seems a resounding yes to me. Basketball, not so much.

Feels now like cutting everyone out of the football money (which is the big money anyway) is easier and more lucrative. So maybe the Big East can stay relevant for another ten years. Crazy to look farther out, I'm probably crazy to even look at any of this at all.
 
The worst case scenario would be to expanding it past 80+ and/or giving these mega conferences like the SEC/Big 10/Big 12 preferential treatment (something like giving any team over .500 an autobid). I haven't heard anything about the latter, but that would be the type of manipulation I can see them wanting like they did with the college football playoff.
 
IDRAFT said:
For football, I'm no football guy,
Click to expand...
Me neither. NYC and the whole northeast in general really has never been a big College Football crazed scene, EXCEPT, big football school alum who move here, ND subway alumni, Army loyalists and a teeny bit when Rutgers is good.

Football let's fact it college or pro has magic when it comes to $$$$$$$.
A made for T.V. sport
Play once a week
Not that many games in a season
BUT, the bottom line is football is perfect for betting. Betting puts more bodies in the stadium but more so Eyeballs on the screens, thus big TV numbers.

College BB heats up for the Tourny, but its TV numbers (I guess) dwarf college FB.

In College sports, football drives the bus, and BB is in the back with one foot out of the door.
 
IDRAFT said:
I have long figured the power football schools will work toward killing off everyone else, which would include Big East schools. Lately, as I watch the continued evolution, I am slightly more optimistic (key word slightly.) As the B10 and SEC continue to expand and expand, the focus has continued to be markets, and football. Top annual national power basketball schools such as North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Duke, and yes UConn, have not been a focus. And TV revenue is what drives everything and many of the Big East schools are unique with immense TV markets but no football.

Point being for football, those two conferences could break away just about now and destroy everyone else. In basketball, however, if they had their own tournament, with no disrespect to powers such as Kentucky, Ohio State, UCLA, etc., a lot of nationally relevant programs would not be involved. Would most viewers pick it over a tournament of the rest of the conferences? For football, I'm no football guy, but the answer seems a resounding yes to me. Basketball, not so much.

Feels now like cutting everyone out of the football money (which is the big money anyway) is easier and more lucrative. So maybe the Big East can stay relevant for another ten years. Crazy to look farther out, I'm probably crazy to even look at any of this at all.
Click to expand...

Agree completely. A number of years ago I predicted that the (a) there would a lot more football conference consolidation and (b) the Power 5 would ditch the NCAA and its rules, form its own 60-team football league, and keep all of the football money. HOWEVER, I felt that they would NOT touch the NCAA Tournament - the money driver for that is the diversity of the schools that get involved.

Fast forward and it hasn't worked out exactly the way I thought - Now we are headed in the direction of the Big 10 and the SEC having about 50% of the big time college football teams and two-thirds of the money, the Big 12 and the ACC are trying to stay relevant (think it will be tougher for the ACC to do that than the Big 12) and the PAC-12 has imploded completely. Meanwhile the NCAA has become mostly irrelevant and will probably become even more irrelevant.

So now what I think will happen is the Big 10 and the SEC will figure out how to preserve some "national" structure in which they have two-thirds of the money and power, let the other conferences hang around to make it look good and keep national interest in the product - and I STILL don't think they will screw with the NCAA tournament. The main impact will be what we are already seeing - schools with money have a better chance to compete, and the big money is in football.
 
If they insist on expanding, they should make both regular season champs and conference tournament champs autobids. Would rather see 28-win mid and low majors that collapsed in their conference tournaments in there instead of something like a 16-15 N.C. State.

(I seem to have an inordinate amount of hatred for N.C. St., because I think I use them as an example every time I bring up a crap major conference team that doesn't belong in tourney.)
 
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