I’m not going to get into what I actually think of this move by the money-hungry NCAA because my blood pressure needs to stay at acceptable levels. Every time I hear about this move it makes me question the entire NCAA as a whole.
But despite any negative feelings from sports writers, fans, coaches or anyone else, expansion is going to happen. The question now is whether it will happen next year or in 2014 when the current TV contract is up. My money is on next year. The NCAA wants to make more cash as soon as it can. This is one sure fire way to do it. Nevermind that the regular season would become more pointless than it already has become or that 32 teams would actually get a first round bye in the tournament. None of that matters. Just money.
Let me say that I’m not surprised by this. Businesses make changes to make more money all the time. I guess I foolishly allowed myself that the NCAA might not be exactly like every other business. Maybe the NCAA was just a little bit different. A little more concerned with the integrity of competition and the sport itself. Wrong.
NCAA concludes 96-team field would be best fit for expansion
The NCAA appears to be on the verge of expanding the men’s basketball tournament to 96 teams.
Insisting that nothing has been decided, NCAA vice president Greg Shaheen nonetheless outlined a detailed plan Thursday that included the logistics and timing of a 96-team tournament, how much time off the players would have and even revenue distribution.
Shaheen said the NCAA looked at keeping the current 65-team field and expanding to 68 or 80 teams, but decided the bigger bracket was best fit logistically and financially.
It would be played during the same time frame as the current three-week tournament and include first-round byes for 32 teams.
Although the plan still needs to be approved by the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and passed on to the board of directors, most of the details already seem to be in place.
ESPN’s Dana O’Neil had a good column on the prospect of expansion this morning.
The NCAA made its annual state-of-the-game presentation as the Final Four festivities kicked off across the street from its headquarters. In the process, it unveiled the concoction the evil scientists have been working on over at the lab.
All the bubble battles in the weeks leading up to the tourney? Likely just seeding battles in the future.
No one said a 96-team NCAA tournament was coming for sure.
But they sure used an awful lot of words to explain how hypothetically such a tourney might look.
To be exact, 2,505 words were uttered in the opening address by Greg Shaheen, the NCAA’s vice president for basketball and business strategies.
Yes, I counted.
