Should The NCAA Expand The College Basketball Tournament More

There has been significant talk about the ideal size of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, fueled by the ever growing number of schools that want to participate in the championships. In 2011 there will 342 schools competing for 65 spots in the tournament, meaning fewer than one in every six will qualify.
So what is the big deal about making an appearance in the tournament? Only one team will win, and a real “dark horse” candidate has not succeeded since Villanova nearly thirty years ago. There are a number of reasons schools are clamoring for access including the amount of money the schools receive for making the appearance. Just as schools are well compensated for a bowl game appearance in football; every game that a team plays in the NCAA Basketball tournament earns them a share of the television revenue. Revenue that can help cut down the expense of running a program and in some cases even fund additional sports programs on their campuses. Additionally, the exposure for the schools acts as free recruitment for future players and brings awareness of the school overall. Schools like Davidson and Butler have seen increases in quality players attending their school as well as attracting the non-athlete.
So the demand is there, but how many is too many teams for this tournament? Some coaches, most notably Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, have called for expansion to 128 teams as a solution to the problem. That would include a third of all teams into the field and create a real potential for the upsets that people love to see during tournament time. I mean, we all love the underdog, right? Personally, I think that expansion is warranted but must be carefully watched and evaluated. The true spirit of the tournament is to granted young men an opportunity to represent their schools on the biggest stage imaginable, and to deny them access because there simply is not enough room is disappointing.