Latest news with #CharlieBaker
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
NCAA president weighing tournament expansion to 76 teams
March Madness could soon become even bigger, if Charlie Baker has his way. Speaking Thursday during the Big 12 spring meetings, the NCAA president said he sees value in expanding the NCAA Tournament to potentially 76 teams with hopes of coming to a decision on the matter in the next few months. "We've had good conversations with CBS and WBD (Warner Bros. Discover)," Baker said. "Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there's a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this. "If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated." The tournament field expanded from 65 teams to 68 in 2011, creating the First Four round that pits the two lowest-seeded at-large teams against one another as well as the two lowest-seeded conference champions for a chance to reach the traditional 64-team bracket. Baker said he has discussed growing the field to 72 or even 76 teams. As the NCAA president put it, the current format contains flaws, noting that even with 68 teams in the field, there are still some who believe their teams were snubbed. "The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76," Baker said, "is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament." Kansas coach Bill Self said Big 12 coaches favor expansion. His conference featured seven tournament entrants in 2025, compared with 14 boasted by the SEC. "There was a little bit that was brought forth and the consensus among the coaches, even though it was very little, would be in favor of that," Self said. "I don't know if you could make it where it was totally equitable all the way across the board for everybody. Certainly, there's going to be outliers on every situation." --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2023 - All Rights Reserved
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
NCAA president weighing tournament expansion to 76 teams
March Madness could soon become even bigger, if Charlie Baker has his way. Speaking Thursday during the Big 12 spring meetings, the NCAA president said he sees value in expanding the NCAA Tournament to potentially 76 teams with hopes of coming to a decision on the matter in the next few months. "We've had good conversations with CBS and WBD (Warner Bros. Discover)," Baker said. "Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there's a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this. "If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated." The tournament field expanded from 65 teams to 68 in 2011, creating the First Four round that pits the two lowest-seeded at-large teams against one another as well as the two lowest-seeded conference champions for a chance to reach the traditional 64-team bracket. Baker said he has discussed growing the field to 72 or even 76 teams. As the NCAA president put it, the current format contains flaws, noting that even with 68 teams in the field, there are still some who believe their teams were snubbed. "The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76," Baker said, "is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament." Kansas coach Bill Self said Big 12 coaches favor expansion. His conference featured seven tournament entrants in 2025, compared with 14 boasted by the SEC. "There was a little bit that was brought forth and the consensus among the coaches, even though it was very little, would be in favor of that," Self said. "I don't know if you could make it where it was totally equitable all the way across the board for everybody. Certainly, there's going to be outliers on every situation." --Field Level Media
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
NCAA Tournament could expand to 72 or 76 teams, with a decision hoped for ‘in the next few months'
ORLANDO, Fla. — NCAA President Charlie Baker said Thursday he sees value in expanding the NCAA Tournament in men's basketball by a handful of teams and wants to reach a decision on the matter in the next few months. Baker spoke during Big 12 spring meetings, where conference leaders are discussing everything from the multibillion-dollar revenue-sharing House settlement to complexities brought on by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness compensation. Baker discussed the idea of expanding from 68 teams to 72 or 76. 'We've had good conversations with CBS and WBD,' Baker said, referring to Warner Bros. Discovery, whose holdings include the Turner networks that air NCAA Tournament games. 'Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there's a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this. If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated.' The NCAA Tournament expanded from 64 to 68 teams in 2011. The change introduced the First Four round, a set of pre-tournament games in which the four lowest-seeded at-large teams and four lowest-seeded conference champions compete for spots in the traditional 64-team bracket. Baker indicated that the current formula has flaws and said it would be beneficial to give more opportunities to worthy teams. 'If you have a tournament that's got 64 or 68 teams in it, you're going to have a bunch of teams that are probably among what most people would consider to be the best 68 or 70 teams in the country that aren't going to make the tournament, period,' Baker said. 'The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76 is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament.' Baker cited a competitive Indiana State team falling short of the tournament last year as an example. The Sycamores went on to play Seton Hall in the 2024 NIT title game, which he referred to as one of the best games that spring. Kansas coach Bill Self said fellow Big 12 coaches seem to favor an NCAA Tournament expansion. The Big 12 had seven bids in 2025, half the total of the SEC. 'There was a little bit that was brought forth and the consensus among the coaches, even though it was very little, would be in favor of that,' he said. 'I don't know if you could make it where it was totally equitable all the way across the board for everybody. Certainly, there's going to be outliers on every situation.' Changes could come as soon as the upcoming season, but negotiations would have to move quickly. 'That would be the goal — to try and do this for next year — which is why the window to actually negotiate it will probably end sometime early summer,' Baker said.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
March Madness expansion could be decided 'in next new months' per NCAA president
NCAA President Charlie Baker said Thursday he sees value in expanding the NCAA Tournament by a handful of teams and wants to reach a decision on the matter in the next few months. Baker spoke during Big 12 spring meetings, where conference leaders are discussing everything from the multibillion-dollar revenue-sharing House settlement to complexities brought on by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness compensation. Baker discussed the idea of expanding from 68 teams to 72 or 76. "We've had good conversations with CBS and WBD," Baker said, referring to Warner Bros. Discovery, whose holdings include the Turner networks that air NCAA Tournament games. "Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there's a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this. If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated." The NCAA Men's tournament expanded from 64 to 68 teams in 2011, with the Women's tournament jumping to 68 teams after the 2020-2021 season, following a review of gender equality between the men's and women's side that also allowed the latter to use "March Madness" branding. The change introduced the First Four round, a set of pre-tournament games where the four lowest-seeded at-large teams and four lowest-seeded conference champions compete for spots in the traditional 64-team bracket. Baker indicated that the current formula has flaws and said it would be beneficial to give more opportunities to worthy teams. "If you have a tournament that's got 64 or 68 teams in it, you're going to have a bunch of teams that are probably among what most people would consider to be the best 68 or 70 teams in the country that aren't going to make the tournament, period," Baker said. "The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76 is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament." Baker cited a competitive Indiana State team falling short of the tournament as an example. Indiana State went on to play Seton Hall in the 2024 NIT title game, which he referred to as one of the best games that spring. Kansas coach Bill Self said fellow Big 12 coaches seem to favor an NCAA tourney expansion. The Big 12 had seven bids in 2025, half the total of the SEC. "There was a little bit that was brought forth and the consensus among the coaches, even though it was very little, would be in favor of that," he said. "I don't know if you could make it where it was totally equitable all the way across the board for everybody. Certainly, there's going to be outliers on every situation." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
New York Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
NCAA looking to expand March Madness as soon as next season in shocker
March Madness might be getting even bigger. NCAA president Charlie Baker said during this week's Big 12 Spring Meetings in Orlando that the college basketball tournament could expand as soon as 2026. 'That would be the goal, to try and do this for next year,' Baker told Front Office Sports. '…We've been talking about 72 and 76.' Kansas' Bill Self said his most of his Big 12 colleagues are also in favor of the expansion. '[Self] said the league's coaches would be in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament,' The Lawrence Journal-World's Henry Greenstein wrote on X. 3 NCAA President Charlie Baker speaks during the organizations Division I Business Session at their annual convention Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. AP The men's tournament last expanded from 64 to 68 games in 2011. Before then, the format had been unchanged since the first NCAA Tournament in 1985. During the meetings, Baker said the governing body and its television partners are currently going over logistics of the change. 3 A potential move to over 70 teams would be the tournament's first expansion since 2011. Getty Images 'We've had good conversations with CBS and [Warner Bros. Discovery],' Baker said, per ESPN. 'Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there's a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this. If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated.' Baker added that a bigger field could make sure fewer worthy teams aren't left out of the tournament. 'If you have a tournament that's got 64 or 68 teams in it, you're going to have a bunch of teams that are probably among what most people would consider to be the best 68 or 70 teams in the country that aren't going to make the tournament, period,' Baker said. 3 Florida Gators center Rueben Chinyelu (9) holds the trophy after winning the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect 'The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76 is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament.'
