Drastic changes in NCAA hoops looming

[richfame]

The word is that the NCAA TOURNAMENT is going to go to 96 teams. In this scenerio the top 32 team will earn a first round bye.

CBS is partnering with the Turner Network to put ina bid against ESPN. CBS contract is up at the end of this year. CBS Would get the next 3 final fours then it would alternate between CBS and TNT.

I dont like this, it would be teams 33-96 need 7 games to become champion.

Teams with the bye would be in there first region for only one game, then sent immediatly to there next region.

I think 68 teams would have been a good comprimise.
Your thoughts??

[The Stig]

I agree on 68 teams. 4 play-in games, all with at-large teams. Teams that win the play-in game enter the tournament as a 12 seed.

[skyhoya]

I think it is too big right now. Should go to 48 teams, top 16 teams get a first round bye.

[happyhoya1979]

If this occurs, it the last time I will ever spend money to see a meaningless regular season game. Season ticket sales will plummet even at UNC and Kentucky. This is so incredibly stupid that I could never see it happening.

[wrestlemania]

People are looking at this backwards. They are not really expanding the NCAA tournament in any substantive way, since teams 64-96 will invariably be one or two and done. All they're really doing is extending the regular season a little beyond the conference tournaments to reclaim local TV viewership they would otherwise lose if 64-96 are out. Fans in local markets will watch those games, and there's money in that.

Selection Sunday, however, would become unwatchable.

[skyhoya]

We play the regular season to see who is good enough to get in. If we go to 96 teams, the BE will have 12 teams in it.

[TBird41]

And it just dawned on me that a bigger tournament is one that extends later, meaning the end of one the best days on the Sports calender--Opening Day/NCAA Championship Monday

[happyhoya1979]

Whatever incremental TV revenue from the new frst round games, the complete dimunition of value of the season packages for the Big 10, Big East and ACC networks should fill the drawers of any three digit IQ NCAA executive or major school AD.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

Welcome to the NBA playoffs, NCAA tournament. Glad to know I'll now be be able to care about the NCAA regular season as much as I care about the NBA regular season.

Winning major conference regular season will become meaningless. Winning conference tourneys will be heavily diminished. Expansion only leads to a corruption of why we like this game, in this case.

[jgalt]

you guys want to field a team next year then? sounds like they will be giving spots away.

They will go to 96, for a few years. Then the bitching will be too much and they will go back. Also after a few years the returns and added revenue from the new teams that are in will decrease and not make it worth it.

[SFHoya99]

It will never go back.

Some thoughts:

• Anyone who thinks that this will honestly substantially reduce demand for season tickets is crazy. Even tv ratings will not decrease.
  
  
• While I think the NCAA is greatly overestimating the draw of these first round games on tv and in person, they will still be incremental revenue.
  
  
• Anything that makes more money will never, ever go away.
  
  

[DonkDonk]

The NCAA is banking on people like me saying that we are against expansion, and then ultimately watching all of the extraneous games.

Well, I think if enough people feel strongly enough that expansion is a mistake and they make a concerted effort to avoid watching these games or going to them, then the NCAA would lose money.

I can already picture empty arenas for early round games. Look at the Big East Tourney. Is that the "NCAA Tournament experience" that proponents preach? Gross.

What are the proponents for expansion's arguments against a 192 team field?

Reading coaches' articles/statements (read Boeheim and Donovan) that are for expansion on the subject make me sick. They are so disingenuous and completely illogical.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

I agree with SFHoya; if they expand, they won't go back. Shame. It's perfect the way it is. Any guys who were around when it went from 32 to 64 have an opinion on how that went and how this might compare?

The other question is: who else will get in? 10-15 more mid-majors? 15-20 more high-majors? Will the Committee's criteria and methods be the same?

I'm going to play a game on Selection Sunday this year: add 31 teams based on RPI and conference records and post a "who gets in with a 96-team field." Say hi to the Pac-10!

[SSHoya]

Pretty comprehensive article on potential NCAA expansion:

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/stewart_mandel/02/23/tournament.expansion/2.html

[SFHoya99]

To be clear, I hate the idea.

But the apocalyptic results that many opponents are putting forward simply won't happen. It's essentially a play in game for the tournament, for 32 teams. A lot of people actually like that concept, if it were applied to less teams.

[guru]

Would last year's Hoya team have qualified for the tourney under these rules?

Because that team had absolutely no business competing for the NCAA championship. If teams like this are getting invited, it's just a round of really bad teams playing each other.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

It will just basically make just making the tournament no longer the bench mark for a good season.

[hifigator]

From the personal interest angle, it will probably give us even less time to get our brackets filled out and entered in time. As it is, the field is announced on Sunday night, so realistically Monday is the first day to get brackets out. Then I have to have everyone's entry in by Wednesday night, so I have time to compose the mini-master and get a copy of everyone's entry printed up by Thursday before I go to work. By the time I get off on Thursday, 8 games are already over. I know that doesn't matter to most, but even in this day of internet and yahoo entries, we still prefer the old fashioned paper version. Anything that gives us less time is not an improvement.

[Buckets]

I looked into last year's tournament and final RPI standings, and I think it was like 9 teams were actually outside the RPI top 96 (I think 5 #16s, 3 #15s and 1 #14) so you're basically looking in the upper 80s of RPI. This year, that includes such stellar teams as 14-14 South Carolina, 16-14 North Carolina, 13-14 Georgia, 14-14 Arizona, and 16-13 Indiana State.

[jgalt]

Just because it is a "tournament" game doesnt make me any more interested in watching Washington St. play South Carolina. I have not interest in either of those teams at any time of year unless they are both ranked.

Also, I am not filling out a bracket with 96 teams on it. No way. That is two pages. That is too complicated. There are TONS of people each year (my mother is one of them) who couldnt care less about sports all year but they fill out a bracket and that makes them watch the games. These people will not fill out brackets with 96 teams, half of which they have never heard of/ know nothing about. People already have a hard time with it when teams like Sienna are a 7 seed or something. What happens when Cleveland St. is a 23 seed?

Its bad from a marketing stand point and it wont have the long term returns that they want it too.