March Madness is the premier college basketball tournament and runs for three weeks, where basketball fans get a glut of the best teams in the nation duking it out.
The NCAA Division I men's basketball committee on Thursday, July 13, discussed a proposal to expand the tournament beyond the current pool of 68 teams while adding the caveat that the execution of the discussion is not imminent.
Dan Gavitt, the NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball, commented on the news leaving fans with more questions than answers.
“Whether the tournament expands or not remains to be seen,” Gavitt said.
College basketball fans were in uproar on social media when the news broke. Most fans were against the proposal, wanting the sanctity of March Madness preserved.
The reaction from the fans was immediate, with one fan tweeting:
"NOOOOOO Just no. Do not touch it, don’t even look at it."
However, Gavitt added a snippet that will make the fans feel a whole lot better.
“The committee must be good stewards for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship,” he said. “They are committed to doing their due diligence looking at a few different models to make an informed decision that’s in the best interests of the championship, and that may very well include deciding against expansion.”
March Madness is a huge money-maker, and in 2016, the NCAA signed an eight-year television deal extension to 2032. The deal is worth $8.8 billion, showing just how widely-watched the tournament is.
The 2023 drama of March Madness
This year's March Madness produced new champions in both the men's and women's categories.
LSU Tigers superstar Angel Reese led her team under coach Kim Mulkey to the women's title. They defeated Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 in the championship game.
The women's edition attracted its highest-ever viewership of 9.9 million and the highest number of viewers ever for a women's basketball match. The Final Four games showed a 72% increase in viewership compared to last year.
The men's championship was won by the UConn Huskies, who beat San Diego 76-59. Led by Jordan Hawkins, who was drafted No. 14 by the New Orleans Pelicans and coached by Dan Hurley, UConn won their fifth title.
UConn started the year unranked but ended it with a dominant run, which is one of the most alluring aspects of the tournament. It was UConn's third title in the last 12 years, making them one of the most dominant teams in the past decade.
The upsets and underdog stories make March Madness a must-watch for most basketball fans.
