NCAA expected to finalize expansion of men’s, women’s tournaments to 76 teams, per report
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NCAA leadership is apparently set to make a bold announcement shortly after this year’s NCAA Tournament ends.
According to sources cited by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the NCAA is “expected to finalize an expansion of the men’s and women’s tournaments to 76 teams … soon after the completion of this year’s NCAA Tournament.”
A social media post on Friday by Sports Business Journal indicated that a proposal would add 8 games to the First Four, which currently includes 4 games at the beginning of each year’s tournament in Dayton, Ohio. By this reported proposal, there would be 12 First Four games comprising 24 teams playing in the opening round, with those opening-round teams playing for a spot in the main bracket of the tournament.
This First Four proposal would severely add to the First Four scheduled played over the first Tuesday and Wednesday of the NCAA Tournament. According to the proposal, the 24 teams playing these 12 games would still take place over just the 2 days but instead of only being held in Dayton, the First Four would include another site.
The report also stated that “plenty of this could change through the course of continuing talks with TV partners Warner Bros. Discovery and CBS.”
Under the First Four proposal, these 12 opening-round winners who emerge from the 24-team derby would be added to the 52 teams that would already be in the original NCAA Tournament bracket. That would mean 8 teams would be taken away from the main bracket and 8 teams would be added as new at-large selections under this proposed expansion.
With the future format of the NCAA Tournament reportedly under discussion, there is a tournament currently being staged right now, with the Final Four set for Saturday and Monday in Indianapolis. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the odds for the 4 teams to cut down the nets on Monday night:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
