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Will NCAA tournament expansion help the mid-majors?
The NCAA says the larger field will add opening-round opportunities and more than $131 million in new revenue, but critics fear power-conference teams will benefit most.
- The NCAA is expanding its Division I men's and women's tournaments from 68 to 76 teams, announced May 7, with plans to distribute more than $131 million in new revenue to schools over six years.
- Illinois-Chicago coach Rob Ehsan argues that including smaller schools would add positive excitement to the tournament, addressing concerns that expansion might primarily benefit the bottom half of Power Five conferences.
- Historically, the 'first four out' to miss the tournament have included 38 power-conference schools and 22 others; Loyola coach Drew Valentine remains supportive, noting even with 96 teams, exclusivity persists.
- Valparaiso coach Roger Powell Jr. emphasizes the tournament's beauty lies in giving smaller programs a chance to make a run, as scheduling grows increasingly difficult for mid-majors prioritizing 'Quad 1' opponents.
- Arkansas coach John Calipari has advocated for half of the additional bids to go to non-Power Five conferences, raising questions about whether expansion will sideline mid-major teams in the Missouri Valley and Atlantic 10.
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Duluth News Tribune+15 Reposted by 15 other sources
Will NCAA tournament expansion help the mid-majors?
CHICAGO — Illinois-Chicago men’s basketball coach Rob Ehsan thinks the NCAA tournament is one of the greatest sporting events in the United States, if not the world. He is “100% supportive” of the NCAA giving more athletes a chance to experience it by expanding the Division I men’s and women’s tournaments from 68 to 76 teams. Loyola coach Drew Valentine is equally in favor of the expansion. Amid all of the laments on social media about the NCAA …
·Cherokee County, United States
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left0Leaning Right8Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Right
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Right
67% Right
C 33%
R 67%
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