NCAA Tournament Wants To Add More Teams

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The models would expand the 68-team field to 72 or 76 teams, with additional at-large selections as well as at least one additional First Four site. Any expansion would begin, at earliest, in the 2025-26 season. If the men’s event expands, the women’s tournament is likely to undergo a similar expansion.

Any new expansion to the field is expected to result in at least one additional First Four site, perhaps in a Western time zone. But expanding the tournament — by even just four teams — is a complex issue.

Officials are planning to retain the current 64-team bracket. With play-in game winners needing a spot in that structure, space has to be made. More 10-12 seeds, originally in the 64-team bracket, could find themselves having to win play-in games on that Tuesday or Wednesday to advance to the first round on Thursday or Friday.
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There’s something else, too: Will the additional games generate more revenue? It remains an unanswered question. CBS and Turner are not required to increase the amount in which they pay, according to those with knowledge of the contract.

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