NCAA Basketball Tournament Expansion an Example of Why College Sports Need a Reality Check

College athletics have seemingly undergone a lot of change over the years. Since 2020, NIL has been introduced, the transfer portal has created more fluidity and the playoff field, at least in college football, has expanded to 12 teams. Now, another change is coming.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the NCAA has begun the final steps to expand the men's and women's basketball tournaments to 76 teams. An increase from the current 64-team format.

This news perfectly encapsulates the current state of college sports: Whether fans want it or not, change is inevitable. But that should immediately be followed up by saying not all change is good change.

Why College Sports Need a Reality Check

NCAA president Charlie Baker speaks during a press conference celebrating the 25-year anniversary of the NCAA moving its national office to Indianapolis on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. | Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The college football playoff field expanded to 12 teams just two seasons ago, and now, it seems like it is only a matter of time before it eventually grows to 24 teams. Mind you, the playoff format held strong at four teams for nearly a decade, and now it looks like the format will be changed a second time within a 10-year span.

Arguments can certainly be made that the expansion of postseason play is a good thing. It offers more opportunities to more teams to compete for national titles every year, but is that really why these changes are being made?

Sure, that might be what the fans are told, but one could also understand why fans feel like all of this is an effort in order to generate more revenue. In fact, that seems to be at the forefront of all of this, whether the decision makers would admit it or not.

More college football playoff games means TV revenue and the same goes for the NCAA basketball tournaments. That means more ads to sell, more ratings to drum up and longer engagement from the fans overall.

When the conversations sparked up about the college football playoff was nearing expansion, some figured the likely landing point would be going from four teams to eight teams. Give the expanded field a test drive, see if it works, and move from there. Instead, they jumped to 12 teams. And now, the college basketball tournaments are adding 12 more teams into the mix as well.

I don't want to speak for every college sports fan out there, but I don't recall fans asking for any of this. Sure, the playoff field probably needed to expand, but I think most would agree that 24 is too much. Some might even say 12 is too much.

As for the basketball tournaments, March Madness is considered to be one of the most perfect postseason formats in all of sports. It's one of the most beloved times of the year, and yet, change is at the doorstep now.

College sports fans are some of the most passionate people this world has to offer. It's what makes Saturdays in the fall so special, and a big reason why March Madness is as special as it is. They are the pulse. Yet it doesn't seem like their opinion is valued very much when it comes to some of these decisions.

I am not saying that the fans should be the ultimate decision makers, and again, not all change is bad. I think most would agree that college athletes being paid was a step in the right direction, despite how out of hand it seemingly has gotten.

But when things like expansion are constantly thrown in the faces of fans, it doesn't come across as a group of people trying to make college sports better. It comes across as a pure money grab.

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