NCAA Tournament Expansion, Pro Sports Gambling Changes on the Horizon

NCAA Tournament expansion is a three-word profanity for most college basketball fans. However, they aren’t the ones cashing the big checks. Power players within college athletics want even bigger checks, which has put the subject at the forefront for years.

Despite significant pushback from the general public, NCAA Tournament expansion talks have persisted. Now, it’s one step closer to becoming a reality.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that we will know “in the next few weeks” if the NCAA elects to expand the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments for the 2026 season. There is no clear consensus on exactly how many teams will be added to the NCAA Tournament field, but 76 teams feels more likely than 72.

What exactly will that look like? The NCAA Tournament will double its preliminary games from the “First Four” to the “First Eight.” Instead of just two games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton before the first round begins, we will get four total play-in games on each night. The other pod of games will be at a location outside of the Eastern Time Zone.

The NCAA Tournament is the largest revenue generator for the four-letter entity. This is a way to make more money from their broadcast partners to redistribute to power conference schools, who are looking for more revenue in the revenue-sharing era.

In an ideal world, this would give more opportunities for mid-major programs that win their conference in the regular season, but are upset in the conference tournament. We aren’t too naive to believe that will be the case. This will most likely pave the way for bubble teams from power conferences to play their way into the round of 64. Even though it disgraces the bracket we love, let’s be honest, getting more March Madness games isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Pro Sports Gambling for NCAA Athletes

Almost 20 years ago, I had to sit through “Don’t Bet On It” seminars from the NCAA before participating in AAU events. That was long before sports gambling became legalized and ubiquitous in American sports culture. Betting on sports you play in is still frowned upon, but is it so wrong to bet on sports you will not be playing in?

The NCAA Division I Council has drafted a proposal that could be finalized today that will allow student-athletes, staffers, and coaches to bet on professional sports games.

It seems fair. Why shouldn’t a college basketball player be able to make a $10 parlay on an NFL Sunday? For years, many coaches played the ponies regularly because it was their only avenue to gamble on sports. That restriction may soon be lifted.

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