The sources told ESPN that a decision on expanding whether or not basketball championships in NCAA will be expanded in the coming weeks.
If the decision is made to expand, the expansion will begin in the 2025-26 season, for all sources, and the tournament will expand to more than 76 teams. The sources indicated to the ESPN for several months that 76 is the option of the most weighting expansion of 72, as the current coordination of the men and women championships is 68 teams.
NCAA is still talking with its media partners about the potential expansion, which has been going on for months.
The expansion of the championship will be a historical and controversial step for NCAA. The eight -team addition will be the biggest jump in how the NCAA basketball championship is at risk since 1985.
Men’s Championship expanded to 64 teams in 1985. An additional team was added in 2001, and the expansion of the current 68 teams returned in 2011.
Expecting that both men and women will grow at the same amount of difference.
The president of NCAA, Charlie Baker, was open publicly about the expansion of the championship, and told reporters at a large meeting 12 in May that NCAA was “a good conversation” with its media partners.
Baker said at that time: “Our goal here is to try to reach yes or not at some point in the next few months because there are a lot of logistical works that will be associated with doing so. If we go to this way, you are only thinking about the opening weekends, which have to travel to the longest, it becomes complicated.”
One of the logistical services is the expected addition to at least one additional location, such as Dayton at the NCAA Men. ESPN stated in February that the site is expected to be outside the eastern time zone.
