Well, well, well! It looks the NCAA, an organization notorious for making the most incompetent decisions in lieu of an almost universally well-liked alternative, has decided not to shoot itself in the foot and is keeping the NCAA Tournament at 68 teams until at least 2027.
There was plenty of talk this offseason - as there is almost every offseason - about the field of 68 expanding to 72 or even 76 teams, a conversation that is supposed to pick back up next spring.
And thus the merry-go-round continues, but for now, we are safe from any expansion talk for at least another year.
It was bad enough when the NCAA decided to expand to 68 teams in 2011 with their "First Four" selection of games.
A team seems to make a run from the First Four every year, so I can't be too upset with the decision, but it still waters the field down ever so slightly and, to be honest, I felt 64 teams was the perfect number and represented the heyday of March Madness.
Just thinking about 76 teams making it to the Big Dance is making my soul hurt.
At that point, why don't we just cancel the regular season and let every team into the tournament?
This might be a scalding hot Boomer take, but tournament expansion absolutely reeks of "participation trophy" culture permeating and seeping into every facet of our lives, including competitive sports.
There are only a handful of teams who can win the whole thing any given year as it is. Why do we continue to reward mediocrity?
I'll hop off my soapbox (for now) and give the NCAA the kudos the rightfully deserve, and it looks like I'm not alone in my praise.
Take a deep breath, college basketball fans.
You can rest easy knowing your beloved tournament is safe at 68… until next year when this same group of jerk offs gets together to vote on whether they want to ruin your March all over again.
A cynic? Me? Never!
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