March Madness Expansion: NCAA President’s View
- NCAA President Charlie Baker said he sees potential benefits in expanding the NCAA tournament, aiming for a decision within months.
- Baker raised the possibility of increasing the tournament field from 68 to either 72 or 76 teams.
- "we've had good conversations with CBS and WBD," Baker said, referring to Warner Bros.
NCAA President charlie Baker is seriously considering expanding the March Madness tournament, a move that could significantly alter the landscape of collage basketball. Discussions revolve around adding more teams,potentially increasing the field to 72 or 76. This potential NCAA tournament expansion comes amidst talks about revenue sharing, the transfer portal, and name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation. The Big 12 coaches seem to generally favor the proposal,as seven teams from their conference received bids in 2025.Expanding the secondary_keyword tournament would open doors for deserving teams, as illustrated by the case of Indiana State. Facing complex logistics,a decision is expected in the coming months,after the last expansion in 2011. News Directory 3 will continue its coverage of march Madness. Discover what’s next for college basketball.
NCAA Considers Tournament Expansion Amid Revenue Talks
Updated May 29, 2025
NCAA President Charlie Baker said he sees potential benefits in expanding the NCAA tournament, aiming for a decision within months. He addressed the topic Thursday during Big 12 spring meetings, where leaders discussed revenue sharing, the transfer portal, adn name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation.
Baker raised the possibility of increasing the tournament field from 68 to either 72 or 76 teams. The NCAA tournament expansion would provide more opportunities for deserving teams.
“we’ve had good conversations with CBS and WBD,” Baker said, referring to Warner Bros. Discovery. “Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there’s a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this.”
The tournament last expanded in 2011,adding the First Four round. this round features the lowest-seeded at-large teams and conference champions competing for a spot in the main 64-team bracket. Baker suggested the current format has shortcomings.
He highlighted the case of Indiana State, a competitive team that missed the 2024 tournament, as an example. Indiana State subsequently played Seton Hall in what Baker called one of the best NIT title games.
Kansas coach Bill Self noted that Big 12 coaches generally support NCAA tournament expansion. The Big 12 received seven bids in 2025, compared to the SEC’s 14.
“There was a little bit that was brought forth, and the consensus among the coaches, even though it was very little, would be in favor of that,” he said.
What’s next
The NCAA aims to finalize its decision on tournament expansion in the coming months, considering logistical implications and feedback from stakeholders.