Baker: Expanding March Madness Brackets Could Add Value; Decision Looms Soon

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - NCAA President Charlie Baker said Thursday he sees value in expanding the NCAA Tournament by a handful of teams and wants to reach a decision on the matter in the next few months.

Baker spoke during Big 12 spring meetings , where conference leaders are talking about anything from the multibillion-dollar revenue-sharing House settlement into the intricacies introduced by the transfer portal and NIL compensation.

Baker talked about enlarging the roster from 68 teams to either 72 or 76.

"Baker mentioned that they have had productive discussions with CBS and WBD," which refers to Warner Bros. Discovery, a company owning the Turner networks broadcasting NCAA Tournament matches. He added, “The aim is essentially to reach a clear decision—yes or no—within the coming months since considerable planning would be required for such an undertaking. Should we proceed along these lines, factors like the opening weekends’ logistics and determining how far certain teams might need to travel must be considered as elements adding complexity.”

In 2011, the NCAA Tournament grew from 64 to 68 teams. This expansion brought about the addition of the First Four round, which consists of preliminary matches featuring the four lowest-ranked at-large teams and conference champions vying for positions within the standard 64-team structure.

Baker pointed out that the present system has shortcomings and mentioned that it would be advantageous to provide more chances for deserving teams.

"Given a tournament with either 64 or 68 teams, many squads considered within the top 68 or 70 nationally will likely not get selected for participation,” stated Baker. “Expanding the field to 72 or even 76 spots primarily aims at providing opportunities for additional deserving programs—those potentially ranked between 64th and 76th nationwide—to join the competition.”

Baker pointed out the case of a competitive Indiana State team failing to make it into the tournament. He mentioned that this team later faced Seton Hall in the 2024 NIT championship match, describing it as one of the finest games that season.

Bill Self, the Kansas coach, mentioned that other Big 12 coaches appear to support expanding the NCAA tournament. In 2025, the Big 12 received seven invitations, which was just half the number awarded to the SEC.

He mentioned that only a small portion was presented, but despite this limited information, most coaches were inclined to support it," he stated. "It’s uncertain whether one could ensure complete fairness for everyone involved. There will surely be exceptions in every scenario.