NCAA president Charlie Baker said Thursday that he’s aiming to expand the men’s national basketball tournament from its current 68-team format for the upcoming 2026 edition.
“That would be the goal, to try and do this for next year. … We’ve been talking about 72 and 76,” he said during the Big 12 spring meetings, according to David Rumsey of Front Office Sports.
The NCAA increased the number of teams competing in March Madness from 65 to 68 in 2011 with the introduction of the First Four. Prior to then, the overall field was set at 65, with the two lowest-ranked auto-bid schools squaring off in a single, opening-round game to determine who would advance to the main bracket as the 64th team. The implementation of the First Four was announced as part of a $10.8-million broadcasting rights deal signed with CBS and Turner Sports in 2010. That contract was initially set to expire in 2024 but all parties agreed in 2016 to extend it through 2032.
Kansas head coach Bill Self is among the Division I coaches most familiar with March Madness. A two-time NCAA Tournament champion, he’s also made the event every year it’s been held since taking over the Jayhawks in 2003. Self suggested Wednesday that his fellow Big 12 coaches are receptive to the idea of tournament expansion but still need to agree on the details.