Read the debate intro and the opposing argument from Bleacher Fan about whether or not the NCAA Basketball Tournament should expand.
March Madness is about to explode into full fledged insanity. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is exploring the potential of expanding and moving to cable. This is not a good idea… it is a GREAT idea.
Early estimates suggest that the tournament could grow from 65 teams to 96 teams. A tournament that big would be so full of no look passes, monster dunks, and buzzer beating upsets that it would be too much for broadcast television to handle, it would have to move to cable. This is big. This is really big, and of course bigger is always better. Think about it. What’s better than a 50-inch HDTV? A 72-inch HDTV. What’s better than a 100-foot yacht? A 200-foot yacht. I could go on, but I think you get my point. The tournament is already a billion dollar business and it is about to become even more lucrative.
From a financial standpoint this move is an absolute must. It would immediately result in more money for the NCAA. More teams generate more matchups. While that does increase ticket sales, the big money would come from the TV rights, which already account for approximately 90 percent of the current generated revenue. The NCAA would of course have to exercise its opt out clause and walk away from a 27-year relationship with CBS and more than two billion dollars in guaranteed money, but the potential is too great to ignore. The expanded tournament would certainly benefit the broadcaster as well. The equation is simple.
More teams = More games = More sponsors and commercials.
And of course the benefits trickle down to the participating teams and their respective schools. Unlike college football, college basketball does not have a bowl system that offers individual high profile season-ending matchups. Other than an invitation to the Big Dance the best a team can hope for is a spot in the NIT, but an expanded NCAA tournament would mean fewer disappointed teams. Tournament appearances can result in increases in every thing from ticket and apparel sales to admission applications. With all these benefits it is hard to believe that this idea has not been seriously explored sooner.
The NCAA tournament is ultra important for national exposure. It introduces some schools to America. In 1999, Winthrop University’s basketball team won its first Big South Conference title. As people built their brackets that year they had to research this small university in South Carolina, but their one big break with the tournament blossomed into a three-peat of tournament appearances and a first round victory over Notre Dame in 2007. For other schools the tournament means a Cinderella story, like the 2008 Davidson team who took a #10 ranking and advanced to the Elite Eight. The tournament cements a legacy, an iconic stature in the nation’s basketball memory for teams like Kentucky, Duke and UNC. The tournament makes schools and makes college basketball. It would be foolish not to encourage its growth.
Also, you have to believe that this is something that fans want. To the college basketball junkie the tournament is their moment in the sun. It is their opportunity to boast fictitious degrees (i.e. Masters of Bracketology and PHD in Krzyzewski-tology) that actually impress their friends. To the March Madness faithful, expanding the tournament is like introducing Daylight Savings Time, it actually adds productive hours to their life. The idea is an instant winner.
[...] The NCAA Basketball Tournament Expansion Debate – The Really Big Dance [...]
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