68 Is Enough

NCAA Tournament's proposed expansion to 68 would have got Seth Greenberg and Virginia Tech in if the idea was pushed through for this past season, but better late than never. (Photo courtesy of Washington Post)

It's been brought up throughout the season, especially during last month's NCAA Tournament, and continues to be a key topic in the offseason; one that many coaches are in favor of for better or worse. However, what looked like total chaos has been scaled back to some degree, as the NCAA Tournament's expansion to 96 became 68, barring any votes against the measure. The new procedure will be instituted beginning next season.

While it remains to be seen how the three newcomers to the "Big Dance" will have to earn their way in, one idea particularly stands out after it was brought to my attention this past February by Jim Hoffman, the compliance officer in the athletic department at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. While I was there as the public address announcer for a St. Francis women's basketball game, Hoffman discussed the possibility of expansion with me pregame, and shared the vision of adding three extra 16 seeds, thus opening the door for three additional play-in games.

This would be a win-win situation for everyone involved; as you would now have 37 at-large bids into the tournament, which would help power conferences such as the Big East and ACC to continuously send eight teams into the field in any given season; while simultaneously affording smaller conferences the exposure of playing a nationally televised game in the NCAA Tournament should they be selected as a 16 seed. In addition, should one of these schools win their play-in game, they could sell it to prospective recruits. Honestly, who would be unfazed by someone saying "We won an NCAA Tournament game?" In addition, ESPN (who currently owns the broadcast rights to the lone play-in game) and either TBS/TNT would benefit from adding a prime-time tournament game to their schedule, and would more than likely see a ratings increase as a result.

There has also been talk of adding four more 12 seeds, but if the selection committee and NCAA officials are looking for a formula that will be beneficial to everyone, three extra play-in games would be the best thing for everyone.