80-team NCAA Tournament

by **PretzelDawg** » March 12th, 2024, 1:11 pm

There has been some consideration of an 80-team field with the NCAA. I think it is a good idea. One article I read mentioned that when they first went to a 64-team field that it comprised 22% of the teams playing D-1 basketball. Today, only 19% of teams playing D-1 basketball make the tournament. If they would go to an 80-team field, then the number again goes to about 22% of the teams making the field. It is relatively easy to add 16 teams. If they consider 16 regions of 4 teams, all this is adding one additional team to each region.

What would bother me though is if this idea opens up 13 more slots for the Power 5 and only 3 slots for mid-majors. There would need to be something in play that mid-majors and low-majors are guaranteed a number of slots in some particular way. I certainly don't have the answer on how to guarantee those parts.

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by **MissouriValleyUnite** » March 12th, 2024, 1:14 pm

Ross Dellenger says he expects a 72-team tournament and only a few voices want to go all the way to 80. Either scenario is good news for the Valley.

by **BEARZ77** » March 12th, 2024, 1:37 pm

If you think adding teams is too help MM like the MVC , I've got ocean front property in the Ozarks for sale. You can add all the slots you want but if the criteria for an at large starts and ends with Q1 wins, it doesn't help .

by **TheDrake** » March 12th, 2024, 2:03 pm

BEARZ77 wrote:If you think adding teams is too help MM like the MVC , I've got ocean front property in the Ozarks for sale. You can add all the slots you want but if the criteria for an at large starts and ends with Q1 wins, it doesn't help .

This. Power 5 leagues aren't pushing for expansion to add more valley teams into the tournament.

by **BCPanther** » March 12th, 2024, 2:08 pm

They're going to expand AND take away autobids for everybody outside the 12 real DI leagues (FBS plus WCC, A10, Valley). We're going to keep our autobid but the chances of getting multiples isn't any better than it is now.

by **bradley_townie** » March 12th, 2024, 2:11 pm

No, no, and no.

Expanding would just be a way to get more mediocre P6 teams in. For anyone that wants expansion, just pretend your school made the NCAA tournament and that Arch Madness is the first round.

by **unipanther99** » March 12th, 2024, 2:59 pm

BCPanther wrote:They're going to expand AND take away autobids for everybody outside the 12 real DI leagues (FBS plus WCC, A10, Valley). We're going to keep our autobid but the chances of getting multiples isn't any better than it is now.

What? No low-majors anymore?

If this is true, we just became a permanent 16 seed.

by **BUFanatic** » March 12th, 2024, 5:14 pm

They want to expand for the same reason the CFP expanded. Money. A 12 team CFP would have added Bama, FSU, Oregon, Mizzou, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Arizona, and LSU. 2 G5 teams finished in the Top 25. They aren’t looking for a Cincy Cinderella run.

I hate it I really do, just build relationships (starting in the Big East) where we can start to get some quality non con games and keep the upward trajectory of the conference going. Eventually they’ll have to listen like they have to consider top 3 in the WCC.

by **municup14** » March 13th, 2024, 4:09 am

Go to a 80 team tournament.First eliminate conference tournaments, that wont happen because of TV money. Secondly, any team with a 500 overall record or worse can't receive a at large bid and if you have a losing conference record you cant receive a at large bid.

by **sivert** » March 13th, 2024, 7:59 am

Muni, neither of those things would be acceptable to the P5s or 6.

You would have a better chance at getting all the non P6 conferences together and forming a union. One rule. We ALL only schedule home-home games.