Over the past several seasons, there has been a lot of discussion and conjecture about NCAA Tournament expansion. The NCAA keeps pushing the notion that March Madness will grow to include at least eight to ten additional schools in the upcoming years, despite the fact that the majority of sports fans and commentators appear to be strongly against it.
According to NCAA President Charlie Baker, the expansion of the NCAA Tournament might occur as soon as the 2025–2026 season, therefore this process may be moving more swiftly than expected.
At the Big 12 Spring meetings in Orlando, FL, Baker was mainly focused on the expansion of the NCAA Tournament than anything else.
“Trying to do this for next year would be the aim. We’ve been discussing 72 and 76,” Baker said to David Rumsey of Front Office Sports.
As of right now, it appears that the most likely possibility is that the NCAA Tournament will grow to 76 teams, drastically altering the competition as it now exists. Even though so many college sports fans consider the tournament to be the greatest sporting event, it seems strange that the NCAA would alter it in any manner.
Back in February, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on College GameDay on the likely NCAA Tournament expansion, hinting to the possibility of 76 teams above all else.
Behind the scenes, plans are being made for how this event may seem in 2026, Thamel stated. There have been talks about expanding the tournament to either 72 or 76 teams, according to NCAA President Charlie Baker. This week, I heard from a number of highly regarded sources that expanding the tournament to 76 would be the more likely choice. It has been discussing this with its media partners for some time, and in the next months, a decision about whether it will go to 76 will be made.
According to reports, a switch to 72 or 76 teams might be implemented as early as the 2026 NCAA Tournament, radically altering collegiate basketball as we know it. Numerous analysts and fans will probably become more opposed to the March Madness expansion as its chance increases.
