The NCAA doing something that I despise could actually benefit our beloved Syracuse basketball.
ESPN's Pete Thamel, an SU alum, first broke the news on Tuesday that the NCAA is undertaking the final steps to grow its men's and women's college basketball tournaments to 76 teams each.
Thamel notes that steps remain to have an expansion of both NCAA Tournaments officially approved, but he says this change "is on track to be formalized in the upcoming weeks, with mid-May as the target. The 76-team tournaments begin next year."
Sources: The NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams. The expansion is on track to be formalized in the upcoming weeks, with mid-May as the target. The 76-team tournaments begin next year. https://t.co/2ZGUjZR0uJ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 28, 2026
According to a story from The Associated Press, in response to the ESPN article, the NCAA said in a statement: "Expanding the basketball tournaments would require approval from multiple NCAA committees, including the men’s and women’s basketball committees, and no final recommendations or decisions have been made at this time."
The NCAA Tournament's expansion could be Syracuse basketball's gain.
A possible Big Dance expansion has been discussed for a while now, and it's understandable why the NCAA and other stakeholders - including advertisers - would want more participants in the annual March Madness.
More games mean more money, although Thamel reports that financial considerations aren't the main reason to grow the event. Instead, power conferences have pushed for the move, because they want access to more at-large bids.
I've opined on more than one occasion that if the NCAA Tournaments expand, I'd like to see more mid-major programs get in, but that's just not realistic. To that end, this expansion, assuming it transpires for the upcoming 2027 Big Dance, could "benefit" a school such as Syracuse.
Per Thamel, the NCAA Tournament on the men's side would consist of eight more at-large bids. The Orange, under first-year head coach Gerry McNamara, is trying to get back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2021.
Eight additional at-large invites, especially if those bids are primarily doled out to power-conference teams, is a good thing for the 'Cuse, although McNamara, I'm sure, isn't relying on this likely expansion as his path to hearing Syracuse basketball's name called on Selection Sunday.
The growth of the NCAA Tournaments isn't a surprise. It was inevitable. Even if I don't like it.
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