Oh No, I Figured Out How to Make a 96-Team NCAA Tournament Work

Ever since I first heard the phrase “expanded NCAA Tournament,” I was against it. I didn’t even like expanding to 68, much less 90 or 96. The NCAA Tournament is perfect. Right?

My opinions changed forever on the night of Saturday, March 11, 2023.

The MAC title game between Kent State and Toledo probably seemed like an afterthought to most, especially relegated to ESPN2 while the Big East, Big 12, ACC, and Mountain West title games took place.

But on that night in Cleveland, I saw two very worthy teams go toe-to-toe in front of a raucous crowd with an atmosphere that came blasting through my television screen. This was high quality college basketball. And it was such a shame that only one team would make the…

That’s when the light bulb went off. What if the NCAA Tournament invited two teams from every conference instead of one?

Every expanded NCAA Tournament proposal has focused on essentially adding another 20-30 bubble teams from big conferences to the Big Dance. There is no fun in that. Not only would it dilute the tournament, but it would make the regular season beyond irrelevant for the top conferences.

However, one slight change in automatic bids could change everything. What if all 32 Division I basketball conferences received two automatic bids – one for the regular season champion, and one for the conference tournament champion? Everything would change.

How It Would Work

There are currently 32 conferences, which makes the plan exceptionally easy to envision.

• 32 regular season champions (#1 seed in conference tournament)
• 32 tournament champions (if #1 seed wins conference tournament, who they beat gets the bid)
• 32 at-large bids

Amazing, this would technically be fewer at-large bids that we have today, but the multi-bid leagues would get two automatically instead of one, changing the math.

Looking at this year’s bracket, there were 23 one-bid leagues. So the “extra” 28 teams in a 96-team would actually only add five at-large berths. In 2023, those would be UNC, Oregon, Rutgers, Clemson, and Oklahoma State. Those were five teams that were legitimate bubble teams. I don’t think anyone would bat an eye if any of those five teams were added.

Click Here to See What a 96-Team Bracket Would Look Like in2023

By going to 96, the NCAA Tournament would get to add another 32 games to its TV portfolio for TV partners and the schedule would be extremely easy to fit into the current format. The top 8 teams in each bracket would get a bye, leaving the other 64 to play games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

We would then get four full days of 16 games a day (Tues-Friday) instead of two. The NCAA wouldn’t even need to add any new sites – the first/second round sites would merely get a third day of games, adding to their value for the hosting cities and schools.

There would need to be a slight adjustment to Championship Week to make it feasible for all teams to be ready on Tuesday. That means all title games are done by Saturday night, and the bracket is revealed at noon on Sunday – similar to college football – instead of the traditional Sunday evening timeslot.

What’s most remarkable about a 96-team tournament with 2 auto-bids per conference is that it actually enhances the regular season, among other things.

Why 96 Teams Would Be Better

I know, because I was once like you, that the thought of a 96-team NCAA Tournament seems abhorrent at first. Of course, it’s a blatant money grab. There’s no other reason to expand. But the 64-team was perfect, and they couldn’t stop messing with that. So, let’s count the ways my proposal would improve the college basketball product.

1) The Regular Season Would Matter

The absolute #1 problem facing college basketball is no one outside of diehard fans cares about the regular season. For top teams, they are merely fighting for seeding for months, and seeding doesn’t really matter. For one-bid leagues, the regular season literally means nothing because only the conference tournament gets you into the Big Dance. That leaves most of the focus at the end of the regular season on bubble teams – and only bubble teams. What’s the fun in that?

With an expanded 96-team bracket, two things change dramatically. First, the top 8 seeds getting byes puts an emphasis for top teams to get into that top 32. Instead of only a “bubble watch” for getting into the tournament, there’s a new “bubble watch” for teams in that #6 - #11 seed range trying to avoid playing an extra game.

For the one-bid leagues, the entire sport is changed. The regular season doesn’t just matter, it’s now everything. With regular season games locking up tournament bids, maybe it’ll be more than just me and other basketball-addicted (or gambling-addicted) fans watching Kent State play Akron on a Friday night in February.

2) Eliminating the First Four

Last Saturday, Howard made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992. All I wanted for the next 24 hours was them to not be sent to Dayton. The Dayton games are not the NCAA Tournament, no matter how many times the NCAA tells us it is. We don’t pick those games in our brackets. No one cares, outside of the teams playing.

Also, it’s grossly unfair, especially to the four unfortunate #16 seeds that get stuck there. I’ve argued before the First Four should only be at-large teams, but that’s also unnecessary. Let’s make a true bracket where everyone is in the tournament proper from the jump.

3) More Brackets, More Games, More Fun

I’ve long opposed the expanded tournament because seeing a bunch of games between middling 17-16 major conference teams sounded dreadful. However, if the additional teams are mostly mid-majors, you’re now adding two more days of potential chaos and upsets. 

From an economic standpoint, it makes too much sense for the NCAA. People can fill out 96-team brackets or wait until Thursday morning and do the usual 64-team brackets. Or even better, they can do both.

There will be an additional two days and 32 games for gamblers, both in Vegas and everywhere else, to enjoy. That means an additional two days of upsets, small schools, and stars being born.

Click Here to See What a 96-Team Bracket Would Look Like in 2023

Will It Happen?

In a word, no.

The expanded NCAA Tournament is a money grab by the big schools, not all the schools. My proposal would not only generate the extra wealth the NCAA leaders are desperate for, but it does so for the entirety of Division 1. As we’ve seen with college football, the playoffs are not being expanded for everyone – they are being expanded so the rich get richer.

I sadly assume that is the case for the NCAA Tournament, and the goal of expansion is to get 13 Big Ten teams into the tournament instead of 8.

That won’t work. But my plan could.

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