The NCAA Wants To Expand March Madness. I Don't Want That To Happen | John Simmons

March Madness will soon be upon us, and I can’t wait. Other than the Stanley Cup Finals, it is the best playoff tournament on the sports calendar year after year. It’s always surprising, dramatic, and inspiring without fail.

However, there could be major changes coming to this beloved event.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel went on College GameDay to discuss reports that the NCAA and its media partners are considering increasing the number of teams invited to the bracket, bringing the number from 68 to 76 (the women's tournament would expand to this number too). The change could come as soon as next year, but nothing is official just yet.

During the broadcast, you could hear a bunch of Alabama fans booing because of this news. If I were in Tuscaloosa, I would be right there with them.

What makes this tournament so unique is that it is the closest thing to perfect you will see in sports. You can always debate about who deserves what seed, but other than that, it's flawless. You have the perfect number of games played each round. First, there's a buffet of games on opening weekend. That’s followed by a smaller number of games in the following weeks, but those are often better, which makes up for an occasional lack of close games.

Moreover, every round, and I mean every round, yields something you don’t expect. Whether it's UMBC beating Virginia in 2019 as a 16 seed, two-five seeds reaching the Final Four in 2023, or 15-seeded St. Peter’s going to the Elite Eight in 2022, the little guys always find a way to slay the powerhouse programs. Eventually, some of the higher seeds survive the gauntlet of their regional brackets to reach the semis, but the drama in the early stages makes it anything but easy.

With all that in mind, why would it be bad to increase the number of teams? Doesn’t that just mean more madness to enjoy? Well, yes, but more isn’t always better.

College Basketball: NCAA Final Four: UConn Hassan Diarra (10) in action, defends vs Purdue during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship game at State Farm Stadium. Glendale, AZ 4/8/2024 CREDIT: Greg Nelson (Photo by Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X00004 TK1)

Take the NBA for example. Would you say the playoffs were improved after they invented the play-in tournament? Of course not. All it does is allow a bunch of awful teams to play a couple of extra games before they get beat by better ones. We still have yet to see what teams would be let in an expanded March Madness, but that's what would probably happen if the tournament were to expand.

How about the CFP? While I believe expanding the four-team format was long overdue, you have to admit there was a bit of college football burnout by the time we reached the title games. After all, we played a title game on January 20. Playoff college football is great, but extending it as long as they did seemed a bit much.

This last point goes back to the aspect of March Madness having the perfect balance of games each weekend. It helps with the pacing of the event, the fan’s ability to follow it thoroughly, and leaves the audience hungry for more next year.

You don’t need to fix something that isn’t broken, and sometimes, less is more. The NCAA should avoid expanding the tournament and keep March Madness just as it is.