If the Tournament Expands to 96 Teams

• Prescott

  The regular season will be devalued. There will be ZERO incentive for teams from power conferences and even a team like Gonzaga to schedule games with other "Power" conference schools.
• reclegend22

  

  I'm with you.
  
  This would be the most foolish and dispassionate decision in the history of sport. In terms of historic sporting sanctuaries, it would be like setting bombs on the bases of Fenway Park or Wrigley Field and detonating. You stupid, stupid men.
  
  I would add perplexing to the list of adjectives describing this confounding turn of events, but we all know what the NCAA leaders are in bed with. As for the coaches, including my beloved Coach K, they really need to get their heads out of the fucking dirt. Bobby Knight and the like have put up the good fight -- and, to their credit, so have the crew of Bristol -- and have voiced their concerns over tampering with something so special, but I am afraid they are losing. The NCAA Tournament as we know it will probably cease to exist within one or two seasons. And that will be that. A great thing ruined.
• Laley23

  

  Worst idea ever. The OOC games would have no meaning and they wouldnt be viewed NEARLY as intently. The revenue made up by the extra round wouldnt touch the revenue lost by ratings declines, etc during the regular season.
• dave

  i agree this would suck. i don't know 1 person who wants it.
• mallymal614

  I agree with everyone else. The regular season would be pointless. Plus it would mess up the tradition of people across the country filling out a 64 team bracket. This would be terrible for college basketball.
• reclegend22

  

  ^^You wouldn't. That American past time would be over. Those who are not college basketball fans wouldn't care about it any longer and the Tournament would lose its luster.
  
  This will be a sad day. As close to the death of a close friend as something in sports could ever be. I hope all of those who want it (the NCAA decision makers) all die.
• Mulva

  

  It would only be an extra 1/2 round. I would definitely still fill out a bracket.
  
  I don't support expansion, but I don't think it would necessarily make the regular season unimportant (for example, if regular season AND conference tournament champions got auto bids it would actually make the regular season more meaningful for smaller conferences).
• enigmaax

  Prescott wrote: The regular season will be devalued. There will be ZERO incentive for teams from power conferences and even a team like Gonzaga to schedule games with other "Power" conference schools.

  I don't think I like the idea because its more of the same old reward mediocrity with which this country is becoming more and more enthralled (which is one reason why I actually LIKE the BCS). But I disagree with this statement. Power conference schools could afford to play and lose more OOC games early knowing that a 17-15 record will get them in the tourney.
  
  I think the idea is to try and get more mid-majors into the tournament, but I also think it is a given that this would also benefit those major conference bubble teams (and worse) just as much. So while the regular season won't mean as much, it still wouldn't discourage more decent match ups.
• Ironman92

  

  Unfortunately 32 teams and their fans would want it.
  
  I want no part of it. Everyone knows what you get and 95%+ love it.
  
  I swear those soccer moms making sure the 4th place team out of 5 teams got a trophy in their age 4-6 league is the root of this crap.
  
  Not everyone makes the honor roll, not everyone is attractive.....and NorthfreakingWestern doesn't belong in the field.
  
  
  Good God.
• Fab1b

  

  I don't want this, keep it as is!
• Gblock

  its not if its when
• Bond... James Bond

  I do not like the fact that this expansion would result in the playing field no longer being level. The 1985 expansion to 64 teams resulted in the elimination of all first-round byes - a move that was viewed with widespread appreciation by coaches, analysts, and fans alike... there was no longer any advantage afforded to a higher-seeded team and all teams had to win six games to capture the championship. The proposed expansion would again require the establishment of first-round byes for the top 32 seeds and would seem to favor these higher-seeded squads.
  
  Still, there is precedence to the contrary of this theory... most notably 'Black Sunday' at Raleigh in the East Regional second round of the 1979 tournament, where second-seeded Duke was upset by tenth-seeded St. John's - followed by ninth-seeded Pennsylvania knocking off top-seeded North Carolina. Obviously, both St. John's and Penn may well have benefited from the experience gained in playing a first-round game.
  
  I really dislike the idea of completing a 96-team bracket... I have enough trouble trying to fill out one with 64 teams! :-/
• FairwoodKing

  The NCAA wants 96 teams in the basketball tourney but doesn't want eight teams in a tourney for football. How do you figure???
• queencitybuckeye

  Prescott wrote: The regular season will be devalued. There will be ZERO incentive for teams from power conferences and even a team like Gonzaga to schedule games with other "Power" conference schools.

  I'm not so sure. With a larger field, there would be no reason for someone not to play such games, as a loss won't potentially put you on the bubble. That said, expanding the tourney is a bad idea.
• enigmaax

  The other thing about this is - 1st round upsets are exciting when you are talking the 12s, 13s, etc. I'm not sure how exciting a 1st round upset is going to be when a 24 beats a 9 or anywhere in-between. And seeing as how only a handful of 15s have ever won a game and ZERO 16s have ever won a game, why would we want half again as many teams who obviously have little chance of winning or even having a close (now) second round game?
• NOL fan

  http://www.theonion.com/video/ncaa-expands-march-madness-to-include-4096-teams,14317/
• redstreak one

  

  FairwoodKing wrote: The NCAA wants 96 teams in the basketball tourney but doesn't want eight teams in a tourney for football. How do you figure???

  
  Stop making sense, you know the NCAA is about making sense, just cents! lol Those bowl games are to rooted in tradition to bust them up, but then again I thought the tourney field was to! lol
• Emmett Brown

  

  How would the seeds work. Would the 16 seeds now become the 24 seeds? and would the at large teams (miss st, UNC, Illinois, Uconn etc.) now be a 16 or 17 seed? If so, you would not want a #1 seed then having to play one of those teams in the first round. Or would they keep it the way it is where the 16, 17 seeds are the the worst teams in the tourney and then give the 20 seeds to the at large teams that just bearly make it into the field.
• End of Line

  

  I don't want it. I'd rather just see 32 teams.
• j_crazy

  

  the conference tournaments are essentially allowing every Div. 1 team the opportunity to play for the national title. I think it's stupid.
• gorocks99

  

  Big Ten commish Jim Delaney says the NCAA will vote at the end of April to expand, and it's "probable":
  
  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/2010/news/story?id=5043254
• sleeper

  

  I'll still watch it, wait no I won't LOL
• Prescott

  There go the bracket pools. A 96 team bracket wont fit on standard size paper.
• JU-ICE

  It will ruin what I feel is the most exciting four days of the year, that being the 1st and 2nd rounds. Bad idea all around, just look at the NIT field, how many of those team had any shot at getting to the Final Four? For christ sake, UNC is in the final! Leave it alone or at least do it like congress does when they are looking for support to pass bills and attach some pork to it like an 8 team football playoff, then maybe we could deal with it...
• Big Red Monster

  I will stop watching the tournament when it goes to 96 teams.