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March Madness NCAA Tournament expansion decision gets loose timeline
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- March Madness NCAA Tournament expansion decision gets loose timeline
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The post March Madness NCAA Tournament expansion decision gets loose timeline appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The NCAA Tournament, affectionately referred to as March Madness , has been the same for the last 15 years. The introduction of the First Four games expanded the field from 64 to 68 teams. NCAA president Charlie Baker's decision has been a massive success. But March Madness could get even bigger next season .
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His next alteration could see the tournament add up to eight teams. That would making it more difficult for the Florida Gators and UConn Huskies to repeat.
Baker and the NCAA are talking with media partners , according to ESPN writer Pete Thamel. The proposal would see the field increased from 68 to at most 76 teams in the men's and women's tournaments. The expansion of the field would allow more "bubble" teams into the tournament.
While the College Football Playoff changes made news earlier this year, changes to March Madness would be just as impactful. The league has gathered input from schools, but the final decision is the NCAA's.
Baker is for the change, saying that a bigger field helps fringe teams , according to the Associated Press.
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"If you have a tournament that's got 64 or 68 teams in it, you're going to have a bunch of teams that are probably among what most people would consider to be the best 68 or 70 teams in the country that aren't going to make the tournament, period," Baker said. "The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76 is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament."
While conversations have gone well, Baker awaits the final media deal.
"We've had good conversations with CBS and WBD," Baker said. "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. If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated."
A bigger tournament brings more excitement to March Madness . For teams like the Gators and Huskies, it brings more competition into the field. Despite that, schools and their players are for expansion.
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