NCAA initiates final steps to expand basketball tournaments to 76 teams
The NCAA has introduced its final steps to expand its basketball tournaments to 76 teams, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Tuesday. Leonardo Eriman | Daily Orange File Photo
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The NCAA has introduced the final steps to expand its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to 76 teams, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Tuesday evening. The expansion includes eight additional at-large bids and, pending its formalization, will be implemented for the 2026-27 season.
The move largely affects Syracuse’s men’s and women’s squads. SU’s men’s team is amid a five-year tournament drought, its longest since 1967-72. Even though the Orange’s women’s team reached the NCAA Tournament last season, eight new additions to the tournament bring an extra layer of comfort as they retool after losing numerous key pieces in the transfer portal.
“Part of being in college at Syracuse as a student is that the basketball team needs to be good,” SU men’s basketball head coach Gerry McNamara said. “That should be a non-negotiable.”
The current First Four, which includes eight teams, will expand to 12 games played by 24 teams, meaning eight teams that would’ve qualified for an at-large bid will now face the new additions.
The expansion has been discussed and debated for years, with proponents celebrating extensive access and adversaries arguing it’d lessen the regular season’s importance. Since the bigger tournament will generate additional revenue, the move was agreed upon.
An official announcement is expected in mid-May, but a source told ESPN that, “They have what they need to move forward.” The next steps include reaching out to media members about new contracts and securing approval from various committees involved in both tournaments.
Although the expansion will increase profit, the leading driver of the move is access, per ESPN. The deal has been motivated by power conferences, which have grown throughout the years of conversation. Now, with their help, the NCAA Tournament will expand for the first time since 2011, when it transitioned from 64 to 68 teams.
