Tournament Expansion

Over the years, the NCAA Tournament has been one of my favorite sporting events. It is full of traditions, excitement, and memories. This year has been another great year for the Tournament but it could be the last year of the Tournament as we know it. Reporters from across the country are now saying that the Tournament is most likely going to expand its field of 65 teams to 96 teams starting in the 2011 season. A move like this would be a drastic change to the event I have grown to know and love.

The idea of moving the tournament to 96 teams is made to give a lot of mid major teams a chance at national glory. It is not expected to have a huge impact on potential National Championship contenders, for the champion usually comes from one of the top 32 teams in the nation. NCAA Vice President Greg Shaheen expanded on this point saying, "The champion typically does not come from a certain portion of the field, however, the opportunity exists [for a lower seeded team to win the title]". An article further explaining how the expansion will work can be found here.

All in all, I do not really like the idea of the NCAA Tournament expanding to 96 teams. I feel this will ruin the traditions of the Tournament and even make it more confusing. This plan allows average to below average teams to compete for a National. Championship. This should not be the case, for I feel only the elite teams should be able to compete for the title just like in every other sport. I hope the committee thinks long and hard about this before making such a drastic change. Until then, I will be enjoying the Final Four this weekend.

-Tim