During his Big 12 Tournament press conference on Tuesday morning, commissioner Brett Yormark was asked about the possibility of expanding the NCAA Tournament beyond the current 68 teams.
When asked about the 76-team number, which has received plenty of attention and speculation as of late, Yormark said, “I think that’s the right number.”
The NCAA expanded from 64 to 68 teams in 2011 when they added the “First Four” round, which included two extra games, and the winners would advance to the field of 64.
The conversation on further expansion of the NCAA Tournament was first reported over the summer. At that time, ESPN reported that the NCAA had devised a format that could add either four or eight teams to the field.
The structure of the Round of 64 would not change much. The additions would be to the “First Four” round, which now would consist of more “play-in” games for the No. 10, No. 11, and No. 12 seeds.
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NCAA President Speaks
In December, NCAA president Charlie Baker was reportedly “bullish” on the prospect of the NCAA basketball tournaments expanding to 72 or 76 teams in the near future.
“I’m bullish on the conversations we’ve had about going to 72 or 76, and I think the committees are willing to consider that, but I don’t think it’s going to be anything beyond that,” Baker said after speaking about the future of the NCAA at a conference hosted by Sports Business Journal.
Baker said he has been having productive conversations with television partners and members of the NCAA’s basketball committees on expanding from the current 68-team bracket. He said the NCAA would have to make a decision to move forward by the end of this year’s March Madness in order to implement the expanded field for the 2026 tournament.
Baker did explain that the tournament is unlikely to grow beyond 76 teams because of the limited window they have to schedule games between the time when conference championships end and coverage of The Masters golf tournament begins.
