March Madness tournaments will expand to 76 teams each : NPR

The iconic March Madness tournament is set to see some changes, with the addition of eight more teams and games, and a new emphasis on beverage sponsorships including beer and possibly wine.

On Thursday, the NCAA announced that both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will expand to 76 teams each beginning next season. This expansion is financially supported by opening sponsorships to the previously restricted alcohol category.

“I would say that expansion would not have happened without that agreement,” stated Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball.

The revised 76-team format will incorporate eight additional games, totaling 12 games involving 24 teams, into the early part of the first tournament week. The current First Four will be rebranded as the March Madness Opening Round.

The 12 victorious teams will advance to the main 64-team bracket, which will continue to start on Thursday for the men and Friday for the women. In total, there will be 120 games across both tournaments over seven days, leading up to the Sweet 16s.

“Things will look a little different, but feel very, very similar,” remarked Amanda Braun, the women’s tournament committee chair.

The additional games, which may not attract attention on their own, are part of the first men’s tournament expansion in 15 years. This expansion, previously increased to 68 teams for men and later for women in 2022, is funded by approximately $300 million from new sponsorships in beer, wine, spirits, and hard seltzer. This includes more advertising slots on CBS, TNT, and other partners under an $8.8 billion deal extending through 2032.

The NCAA stated that it will distribute over $131 million of the new revenue to schools participating in the tournament.

A ‘money grab’ for big conferences and an opportunity for Cinderellas, as well

The number of available at-large tournament slots will increase from 37 to 44, according to ESPN. Most of these slots are expected to go to teams from powerful conferences that already dominate the bracket. The Southeastern Conference, for example, set a record by placing 14 teams in the men’s bracket two years ago, while the Big Ten had nine teams last season.

Recently, UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma expressed his views.

“This is strictly a money grab for the Power Four conferences to get teams that finished 6-10 in their conference to get into the tournament,” he said.

He also raised concerns about the necessity of expanding the women’s bracket. Only seven of 32 round-of-64 games were decided by single digits this year, compared to 11 for the men.

This development reflects current trends, including significant conference expansion. For instance, the Atlantic Coast Conference has expanded from nine to 17 teams since 1996. Additionally, mid-major schools with talented athletes often see them recruited by better-funded programs that can offer financial incentives.

Despite these changes, there is still room for underdog success stories in the tournaments. However, no mid-major teams have advanced past the first weekend of either tournament in the last two years.

“As someone who has been both David, and won some, and Goliath, and lost some, that’s what makes this tournament special,” said Arkansas coach John Calipari earlier this week. “We can’t afford to lose that special piece of our sport.”

Decision-makers are less concerned about this issue now, as television ratings consistently show that fans prefer watching teams like Duke and North Carolina over underdogs like St. Peter’s and San Diego State, especially in the later stages of the tournament.

“The impact on everyone was considered,” said Keith Gill, the men’s tournament chairman. “We actually think it’s, overall, going to be positive. And we think that’s for folks at the autonomy level (Power Four) and folks that are non-autonomy.”

All conferences agreed, but big conferences pushed hardest

According to Gavitt, none of the 32 NCAA conferences objected to the proposal, although the power leagues were the strongest advocates for these changes.

These schools are keen to ensure that promising teams are not left out of what remains the most significant postseason event in college sports, especially in favor of lesser conference champions who earn automatic bids.

“You’ve got some really, really good teams who are going to end up in that 9, 10, 11 (seed) category that I think should be moved” into the 64-team bracket, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said last year while discussing his support for expansion.

The revenue generated from beer and wine sponsorships will enhance what the NCAA distributes in “units” awarded for placing teams in the bracket and for each round they advance. Last year, this amounted to approximately $350,000 per unit for the men’s tournament.

Some of this additional revenue will also benefit smaller programs. This provides all 16 seeds (and some 15s) an opportunity to compete in the play-in round, potentially winning a game and earning the extra “unit” that accompanies it.

“Also, as we continue to grow our basketball profile, additional at-large spots positions” are possible, Big Sky Conference commissioner Tom Wistrcill said.

Leaders in the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC have all acknowledged that smaller programs contribute to the essence of March Madness, even as they steadily expand their influence in NCAA decision-making. This brings with it the implicit threat that they could break away and disrupt the NCAA’s most successful event—the basketball tournament.

This expansion might postpone such a move, but it is not expected to significantly alter the TV broadcast beyond the advertising component.

Gavitt indicated that the new games will likely be part of tripleheaders on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The NCAA will select a venue to join the traditional First Four host, Dayton, Ohio, for some of these games. Then, beginning on Thursday, the tournament will feature a 64-team bracket, offering a format that remains familiar: three weeks of basketball culminating in the Final Four.

Gavitt mentioned that while it is impossible to predict what might happen after the current TV contract expires, the 76-team format is “maxing out the opportunity here.”

“Anything’s possible, I guess, in 2032 or beyond,” he said. “But I can say with confidence that this is the format that will be in place through 2032, and, we think, for a long time after that.”