Among the major storylines of the current college basketball offseason is the NCAA’s ongoing study to expand both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The proposal basically includes going from the current 64 teams to 76.
Jeff Goodman Prefers Reducing the NCAA Tournament Rather Than Expanding It
Renowned college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman is not completely in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament field; rather, he prefers reducing it. However, his primary expectation is to modify the entry pathways to the event.
Goodman shared his opinion in a recent post on his X account, which has more than 330,000 followers.
My preference is obviously to remain at 68 (actually it’s to return to 64), but if they expand do it with a format like this:
Play-In with the final 8 high-majors against the final 8 low to mid-majors.
Winners advance into the 64-team bracket.
Would actually have some…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 28, 2025
The proposal that currently sits on the NCAA’s table includes expanding the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments from the current 68 teams to 76. This could happen as early as the 2025-26 season.
The main goal is to add more play-in games (similar to the current “First Four”) to introduce the additional teams while keeping the 64-team main draw intact.
The primary collegiate sports governing body is still in talks with its media partners, who play a key role in this decision. If approved, the expansion could bring more access to the so-called “bubble” teams while maintaining the integrity of automatic bids for conference champions.
According to ESPN, the NCAA is very close to a final decision on this matter. If approved, this would be the largest expansion since the tournament increased to 64 teams in 1985.
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The origins of the NCAA Basketball Tournament date back to 1939, when only eight teams played. Since then, it has become one of the most followed basketball events in the world, leading to an increase in the number of participants and changes to its format.
In 1951, the tournament expanded from eight to 16 teams, and in 1975, the NCAA introduced the possibility of multiple teams from the same conference participating in it.
The biggest change to date came in 1985, when the format bumped to 64 teams. In 2001, one more team was added, along with a pre-tournament game between the two lowest-ranked teams.
In 2011, the third expansion brought the field to its current size of 68 teams. This process included the creation of the so-called “First Four,” a play-in round that determines the final qualifiers for the main 64-team bracket.