Whether we like it or not, March Madness is going to expand, reportedly by 4 to 8 teams starting in 2025-26. My guess is that simply will be the steppingstone to a 96-team field by the year 2030, if not sooner.
I am not in favor of tournament expansion, HOWEVER, if the greedy folks in the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big XII offices are hellbent on messing with the best postseason in all of sports, here are my thoughts on how we go about building a 96-team field. Let’s let all champions in to ensure both the regular season and conference tournaments (Championship Week is the bomb) still mean something, and thus have a “flex” number of at-large bids every season.
Automatic Bids = 31 to 62
There will be 31 conferences in 2024-25 (so long, Pac 12). Let’s give every regular season/#1 conference tournament seed & conference tourney champion an automatic bid. So there’d be anywhere from 31 automatic bids if every conference had a “double-champion”, to 62 if there were multiple champions in every conference.
At-Large Bids = 34 to 65
Using this past season (32 conferences) as an example, there would have been 43 at-large bids with 53 automatic bids. … 21 multiple-champion conferences (= 42) + 11 conferences with a “double winner”…America East (Vermont), Big East (UConn), Coastal (College of Charleston), Horizon (Oakland), Patriot (Colgate), SoCon (Samford), Southland (McNeese), SWAC (Grambling State), Summit (South Dakota State), WCC (Saint Mary’s), and WAC (Grand Canyon)
53 auto bids + 43 at-large bids = 96.
Using the 2024-25 NCAA Tournament sites, here’s what a “Field of 96” could look like. Obviously, there are no sites listed for first-round games (seeds 33-96 on the “S’ curve). In addition to BYU being placed at Thursday/Saturday sites, I have only one hard & fast rule. … teams can’t face a conference opponent until the Round of 32. I only had to tweak the seeds of BYU (from 6 to 7) and Florida (from 7 to 6) to accomplish the former.
The main thing that stands out? Those 1-16 & 2-15 matchups in the Round of 64 would be competitive much more often.
FIRST/SECOND ROUND (Round of 96 to Round of 64) — First Round sites TBD
SOUTH REGIONAL (Atlanta)
Wichita
#1 Houston vs. #16 McNeese/#17 Appalachian Statte winner
#8 FAU vs. #9 Michigan State/#24 Wagner winner
Seattle
#4 Kansas vs. #13 Providence/#20 South Dakota State winner
#5 Saint Mary’s vs. #12 Saint John’s/#21 Western Kentucky winner
Cleveland
#2 Marquette vs. #15 Iowa/#18 College of Charleston winner
#7 Dayton vs. #10 Colorado State/#23 Morehead State
Wichita
#3 Creighton vs. #14 Virginia Tech/#19 Vermont winner
#6 South Carolina vs. #11 Virginia/#22 Longwood winner
WEST REGIONAL (San Francisco)
Raleigh
#1 North Carolina vs. #16 Grand Canyon/#17 South Florida winner
#8 Mississippi State vs. #9 Northwestern/#24 Central Connecticut winner
Raleigh
#4 Auburn vs. #13 Villanova/#20 Colgate winner
#5 Wisconsin vs. #12 Pitt/#21 Quinnipiac winner
Denver
#2 Arizona vs. #15 Duquesne/#18 UAB winner
#7 Washington State vs. #10 Colorado/#23 Norfolk State winner
Cleveland
#3 Kentucky vs. #14 Wake Forest/#19 High Point winner
#6 Florida vs. #11 Indiana State/#22 Long Beach State winner
EAST REGIONAL (Newark)
Providence
#1 UConn vs. #16 Princeton/#17 Richmond winner
#8 Utah State vs. #9 TCU/#24 Grambling State winner
Seattle
#4 Duke vs. #13 Utah/#20 Toledo winner
#5 Gonzaga vs. #12 Seton Hall/#21 Eastern Washington winner
Lexington
#2 Tennessee vs. #15 Kansas State/#18 Yale winner
#7 BYU vs. #10 Nevada/#23 Stetson winner
Lexington
#3 Illinois vs. #14 Cincinnati/#19 Morehead State winner
#6 Clemson vs. #11 Drake/#22 Saint Peter’s winner
MIDWEST REGIONAL (Indianapolis)
Milwaukee
#1 Purdue vs. #16 James Madison/#17 UC-Irvine winner
#8 Nebraska vs. #9 Texas A&M/#24 Howard winner
Providence
#4 Alabama vs. #13 Ohio State/#20 Oakland winner
#5 San Diego State vs. #13 Oklahoma/#21 Sam Houston winner
Milwaukee
#2 Iowa State vs. #15 NC State/#21 Samford winner
#7 Texas vs. #10 Boise State/#23 Eastern Kentucky winner
Denver
#3 Baylor vs. #14 Oregon/#19 Akron winner
#6 Texas Tech vs. #11 New Mexico/#22 Little Rock winner
Last 4 In: Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Iowa, Kansas State
First 4 Out: Butler, VCU, Memphis, Washington
Next 4 Out: San Francisco, Bradley, SMU, UCF
Power 5 Tournament Bids: 45 (Big XII 13, Big Ten 9, ACC 8, SEC 8, Big East 7)
Non-Power 5 Tournament Bids: 51
As a point of reference, this past season the Power 6 conferences and non-Power 6 conferences each had 34 bids.