An idea that could truly reshape the college basketball landscape may already be in play. The NCAA has been pushing to expand March Madness from 68 to 76 teams for some time now. While no changes have surfaced yet, NCAA President Charlie Baker has voiced support for the expansion plan, suggesting the idea is moving closer to reality. And that very suggestion has drawn criticism from fans.

During a media appearance ahead of the organization’s annual mock NCAA Tournament seeding exercise on Thursday at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, Baker was asked about his views on the proposed expansion of March Madness, and he sounded immensely optimistic.

“I think there’s some very good reasons to expand the tournament, so I would like to see it expand,” he said.

With the current format, 31 teams receive automatic bids for the tournament. The winners of the postseason conference tournaments constitute these bids. Charlie Baker has confirmed that there will be no changes to these bids, even if the expansion is finally put to pen and paper. On a broader scale, the changes will reflect in the at-large bids.

Currently, the NCAA selects 37 teams based on their regular-season performance and NET rankings, in addition to the automatic bids. Thus, with the expansion in play, the governing org will get to select 8 more teams as at-large bids to fulfill the 76-team quota. The differences between the two formats will also be reflected in the tournament’s initial rounds.

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For instance, eight teams — including the lowest-ranked automatic qualifiers and the lowest-seeded at-large teams — compete in the First Four round. However, with the expansion, this round will feature 24 teams, signaling an early impact on the tournament. While the expansion might mean more games and more teams, fans have pushed back strongly against this idea.

Fans react to Charlie Baker’s stance on March Madness expansion

“It’s amazing it seems every president/commissioner of a league always are on the other side of what fans want. Every single ***** sport,” criticized a fan.

“There’s literally nothing the NCAA can’t screw up. It’s impressive, honestly,” wrote another.

NCAA’s bid to expand March Madness has context, though. For the governing body, they are looking at the cash they would earn from a bigger play-in round. As already stated, under the new format, the play-in first round will host 24 teams and feature 12 games. Thus, with more games than in the current format, the NCAA has the option to renegotiate its broadcasting deal with CBS and other like-for-like competitors to earn a big bag.

Moreover, as per Charlie Baker, this expansion will help the college spectrum include more teams that are often left out due to the 37 limited at-large bids.

“The more you do to create opportunities for the so-called bubble teams each year to get into the tournament,” he said.

However, for now, the fans are not buying into it.

“If it ain’t broke, break it,” wrote another.

“NCAA expanding March Madness? 😩 More teams means less magic… keep it at 68! 🚫🏀,” stated another.

Several fans have established the tone that March Madness is already a success with the 68-team format, and further expansion will break it. It’s true to a certain extent. With more teams, the threat to the quality and thrill of the games looms large. It can hamper the entertainment quotient that the NCAA capitalizes on and sells to the audience and broadcasters.

Additionally, it is also one of the most profitable NCAA events. According to reports, the Baker-led org earns around $900M annually from CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery for the broadcasting rights to March Madness. It accounted for nearly 69% of the NCAA’s total revenue in the 2022-23 season. Thus, if the fans’ perspective is taken into consideration, an already profit-making event doesn’t need further changes to attract attention.

“We do not need more power conference teams in March Madness,” opined a netizen.

It’s true that over the years, March Madness has been dominated by power conference teams. The ACC and SEC alone have combined for 27 national championships in the men’s division. In the women’s division, too, SEC teams have dominated the play. The expansion will further facilitate the participation of more teams from these power conferences.

It’s a given that the at-large bids are selected by the NCAA based on strength of schedule and regular-season performance, a process that tends to favor prominent teams from major conferences—an outcome many fans oppose.

The expansion rollout still has a long way to go for now. NCAA Basketball Vice President Dan Gavitt has hinted that the discussion will only take place after the conclusion of the 2026 March Madness.

Thus, for now, the undivided attention is on next month, when the biggest sporting event in college basketball will tip off.