Tournament Expansion Immediate?

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SelectionSunday

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http://www.ncaa.com/champ/m-baskbl-d1-champ.html

I find it very odd the NCAA isn't taking ticket requests yet for the 2011 NCAA first- and second-round games, as well as the regionals (semifinals & finals). They are no longer listing the sites of the first- and second-round games, or for that matter the regionals. That wasn't the case as of a few weeks ago. Something has changed. A couple weeks ago my buddies and I narrowed our yearly NCAA trip down to Tampa (1st and 2nd round) or San Antonio (regional semis and finals). Now those sites are nowhere to be found on the NCAA's web site. Even the "opening round game" (always in Dayton) is listed as TBD. Makes me wonder, what gives?

Have been taking these NCAA trips since 1992, and ticket requests for the following year ALWAYS start being accepted shortly after the NCAA tourney starts. Not so this year. As of today no ticket requests are being accepted for any of the (now mysteriously disappeared) 2011 sites. Looks to me like the NCAA perhaps already has decided the tournament will expand immediately, or at minimum some modifications are on the immediate horizon.

I would expect to hear "official word" from the NCAA about an expanded tournament shortly after its prize jewel (the NCAA Tournament) is completed. They won't release anything now because they know it would bring mucho negative publicity as well as take attention away from the Final Four.

Just a hunch, I could be way off base.
 

Please be way off base, Hodger!

We may need to wage a New Coke/Classic Coke campaign right out of the box.
 

Once I saw those ads about how the 96% of the revenue is used to fund x number of championships I figured it was a done deal. It seems like they are trying to get ahead of the PR curve.
 

It is coming, be ready for expansion and the NCAA tournament on ESPN.
 

the expansion is going to ruin all of the fun of the opening tournament rounds and championship week. i mean for *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#s sake. you have the greatest marketing system and championship structure in all of sports (bar the NFL which is essentially the SAME system) why mess around with it? DONT FIX WHATS NOT BROKEN.
 


Wow, this would be just horrible. Why not just throw every team in DI in the mix? They need to get busy fixing the football side of things, which is the worst system of deciding a champion in all of sport. I just don't get it...
 

Two questions

1. Do you think it is likely that they will add a minimum conference record requirement (i.e. two games below .500, 8-10, 7-9 for example) if expansion occurs?

2. What would the format be? Will the 1 seeds play the winner of a 9 vs 24 matchup, or will they play the winner of a play in game between two of the bottom teams in the field?
 

Cheapen the regular season

My biggest fear with tournament expansion (to 96) is more what it will do to the regular season than the impact it will have on the NCAA Tournament. Going to 96 teams basically will render the regular season meaningless for teams like Minnesota. Weaken schedules even more in November and December, win 6 or 7 Big Ten regular-season games. ... presto, you're in the NCAA Tournament. Would that be something to celebrate?
 

SelectionSunday said:
My biggest fear with tournament expansion (to 96) is more what it will do to the regular season than the impact it will have on the NCAA Tournament. Going to 96 teams basically will render the regular season meaningless for teams like Minnesota. Weaken schedules even more in November and December, win 6 or 7 Big Ten regular-season games. ... presto, you're in the NCAA Tournament. Would that be something to celebrate?
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Maybe it won't matter in some smaller places, but if they are looking at the money piece for their "member" institutions, the gates at places like Minnesota will go down because the season is watered down.

I do think the tournament is hurt because it actually makes it harder for the little guys. The more games you make them play, the less likely they are able to knock off the big guys and make a run in the tourney.

This has the potential of becoming the NHL where you really do have a "second season."

Yuk.
 



SelectionSunday said:
My biggest fear with tournament expansion (to 96) is more what it will do to the regular season than the impact it will have on the NCAA Tournament. Going to 96 teams basically will render the regular season meaningless for teams like Minnesota. Weaken schedules even more in November and December, win 6 or 7 Big Ten regular-season games. ... presto, you're in the NCAA Tournament. Would that be something to celebrate?
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SS you are right it will cheapen the regular season. The couple of scenarios I have read online have talked about byes through the first and second rounds and stuff like that. As it stands right now the bar is set where if a team makes it to the tournament it is a good year, but with this new system I am thinking the new bar will be whether or not a team gets a bye.
 

Another thing I am thinking will happen is they will get rid of all conference tournaments since the NCAA will take the entire month now.
 

I agree Holy Man. Make no mistake, a "Field of 96" will hurt the little guys much moreso than the big guys. Far more likely we'll have fewer "David vs. Goliath" matchups. That's where I think the NCAA would be making its biggest mistake. The Cinderellas are a large part of what makes the tournament so special. We're likely to lose a lot of that if they go to 96 teams.
 

The "cinderellas" are likely to just get even lower seeds. The added teams will mostly be bubble teams from the major conferences. A lot of conferences will stay at 1-bid. I think we have enough teams as it is, but the NCAA didn't consult me.

This will probably kill off 2 of the 3 "also-ran" tournaments, there just won't be enough left for them. I would prefer the NIT to survive over the CIT and the CBA, because the NIT has history. In any case, the NIT wouldn't get nearly as many big name schools, as these schools would now make the NCAA. It would become more dominated by mid and low major teams.

If the NCAA became the only tournament, it would screw over a lot of conferences - they wouldn't get any more NCAA bids, and then would be deprived of the NIT. At the big conferences, the NIT is looked down upon, but for the smaller conferences, an NIT invite is something to be celebrated.
 



ilovethebarn said:
Another thing I am thinking will happen is they will get rid of all conference tournaments since the NCAA will take the entire month now.
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Getting rid of conference tournaments is dumping a lot of money down the tubes. ESPN will need to pony up big time to make up that difference.

How about this: Is anyone taking into consideration how much more class the players will be missing?

This a big farce and a raw money grab. And really risky in my opinion.
 

If you're against this, one thing to do. Don't watch the games, don't fill out brackets on web sites, etc. Complete boycott. They can't seem to add a playoff where it's needed, and keep their hands off the playoff that works and everyone loves.
 

Section2 said:
If you're against this, one thing to do. Don't watch the games, don't fill out brackets on web sites, etc. Complete boycott. They can't seem to add a playoff where it's needed, and keep their hands off the playoff that works and everyone loves.
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That's the irony. They're leaving millions on the table in college football in the name of 'class time' yet they're about to screw up thier biggest money-maker in the name of a few short-term $$. The ratings this year have been up and I'm sure CBS is thrilled. I guarantee when they water this down and move it to ESPN, the ratings will plummet. The casusal fan is no longer going to bother with the office pools, etc.

Worse, the regular season ratings will also drop, not to mention that many teams will be hit hard at the gate. Tubby or no Tubby, get ready for the days when only Wisconsin and MSU sell out, and the other Big 10 games have 12,000 there if you're lucky. And those horrible non-conference games? Get ready for more of them played in front of 8-10,000.

If they truly want more money, fine. Opt-out and take the tournament in its current form to ESPN. Even that would upset me, but I'd get over it. ESPN is out-bidding the networks for everything because it can pass the cost on to the cable/satellite companies. The networks can't as easily. I'm sure ESPN would trump what the NCAA currently gets from CBS.
 


The brackets I fill out wont look as cool with 96 teams. How will they do it? Will there be 64 teams in the opening round and 32 get byes?
 

SelectionSunday said:
My biggest fear with tournament expansion (to 96) is more what it will do to the regular season than the impact it will have on the NCAA Tournament. Going to 96 teams basically will render the regular season meaningless for teams like Minnesota. Weaken schedules even more in November and December, win 6 or 7 Big Ten regular-season games. ... presto, you're in the NCAA Tournament. Would that be something to celebrate?
Click to expand...

They could do similar to football. You have to be 500 in your conference to be eligible an at large bid. That would eliminate the 6-7.

Also make post season tourney and regular season champs locks. I am not sure how spots that would tie up alone.

The biggest reasons I would be for a post season tourney expansion (this does not mean 96 teams)

1) 1 Championship. No side NIT CBI or whatever else.
2) 16/15 seeds could potentially get a chance to play 2 games and win 1 game. I feel bad that a team has no chance to win (historically).

We'll see where this goes.
 

I am NOT for expansion in any way but would it be possible that something good could come out of this? Wouldn't schools such as - ahem - Minnesota be MORE likely to schedule big-time NC games since they could afford more losses than what would normally qualify for a 64-team field? Thoughts?
 

As much as I hate the idea of expanding to 96 teams, it's not because of the time commitment involved - it would only take one round to whittle the field from 96 to the 64 we're used to - that's only one extra game for the 64 teams playing in the first round (while the other 32 teams have a bye) - that round could be accomplished on the Monday or Tuesday following Selection Sunday with the rest of tourney schedule remaining the way it is now; under that scenario, I think it would make more sense to require that conference tournaments be completed by Saturday so that the field could be selected Saturday night instead of Sunday.
 

That is the plan if it is approved. A question unanswered at this point, extend the tourney 1 week forward (not favored by anyone) or ask conference's to eliminate their tournament's (pretty unlikely).
 

Try as hard as you can...you can not fit a 96-team bracket on to an 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper. This is why it's such a terrible idea.
 

This would destroy the regular season. You think non-conference schedules are bad now, just imagine what they will be like if this happens; not just for the Gophers but for everybody.
 


I don't see that getting rid of the NIT is a benefit. It doesn't harm anything, and while it is of little interest to the big schools, it is a prize for a team in the lower-tier conferences.
 

ruralgopher said:
Once I saw those ads about how the 96% of the revenue is used to fund x number of championships I figured it was a done deal. It seems like they are trying to get ahead of the PR curve.
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That was my thought too. But maybe we're just cynics. :)
 

RodentRampage said:
I don't see that getting rid of the NIT is a benefit. It doesn't harm anything, and while it is of little interest to the big schools, it is a prize for a team in the lower-tier conferences.
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The NCAA loses a bunch of money on the NIT. Getting rid of it and putting those teams in the NCAA Tourney is a huge win dollars wise. As usual, not so good for the fans though.
 

alltimetwinsfan said:
Try as hard as you can...you can not fit a 96-team bracket on to an 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper. This is why it's such a terrible idea.
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Its a good point. A lot of the casual interest in the tournament (interest that helps drive viewership/ratings) is due to the popularity of bracket pools. I mean, each year economists come out with forecasts about how much productivity is lost due to the tourney. Are Joe and Jane Casualfan going to stay interested if the bracket changes?
 

GoAUpher said:
Its a good point. A lot of the casual interest in the tournament (interest that helps drive viewership/ratings) is due to the popularity of bracket pools. I mean, each year economists come out with forecasts about how much productivity is lost due to the tourney. Are Joe and Jane Casualfan going to stay interested if the bracket changes?
Click to expand...

Probably not, economists and CEO's Rejoice!
 

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