Ncaa president Charlie Baker arrived in Orlando for the 2025 Big 12 Spring Reetings with expansion in his mind, but that has nothing to do with the future of University football playoffs. Instead, Baker focuses on basketball, and more specifically, what is the next step for Mars madness.
Baker, who is in his third year as president of the NCAA, told journalists inside the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando that one of his main priorities is to discuss what a widened male basketball tournament of NCAA could resemble 2026.
“It would be the goal, to try to do it for next year”, ” Baker said to the sports journalist at the Front Office David Rumsey. “… we talked about 72 and 76” “
The expansion of the NCAA male basketball tournament at 68 current teams was an important subject of discussion during the Big 12 spring meetings in Orlando. Kansas coach Bill Self revealed on Wednesday that he and his peer colleagues from the conference were favorable to the expansion of March Madness.
“Bill Self talks about Big 12 meetings in Orlando,” said Henry Greenstein of Lawrence Journal-World via X / Twitter. “He said that the league coaches would be in favor of expanding the NCAA tournament.”
It has been 14 years since the NCAA male basketball tournament increased from 64 to 68 teams with the implementation of the first four games. Before the expansion of 2011, the NCAA entertained a proposal aimed at extending the number of teams to 96, although a new television contract with CBS / Turner Sports in 2010 has slightly increased the land. Before that, March Madness’s format had remained unchanged since the adoption of the field of 64 teams in 1985.
In February, Pete Thamel d’Espn has provided an update on the place where the expansion of the NCAA tournament is located. The number that target leaders seems to be 76, adding eight teams to the mixture. A move could be made from the NCAA 2026 tournament.
“There is development behind the scenes of what this tournament could look like in 2026,” said Thamel College gameday. “The president of the NCAA, Charlie Baker, was tried by saying that there were discussions on the growth of the tournament at 72 or 76 teams. I had several high -ranking sources tell me this week that the most likely option if the tournament was to develop for 76 years.
Opinions through university basketball will differ on the subject. Some will be in favor of adding other places, while others believe that the event is perfect as is. The comments of the coaches could end up being the most important and in the Big 12, they would give the boost to the expansion.
– Griffin McVeigh d’On3 contributed to this report.
