Someone needs to forward a memo to the NCAA stating that expansion does not always fulfill the best interests of a product that already sells.
It did not work for the National Hockey League. It did not work for Krispy Kreme. And it could end up being a regrettable business decision for the Division I men’s basketball tournament.
Last night’s epic national title game where Butler fell short in a valiant effort against Duke may have been the last under the current 65-team format as the NCAA explores opting out of the final three years of an 11-year, $6 billion television deal with CBS to broadcast the tournament. Parting ways with CBS would allow the NCAA to pursue lucrative offers from other networks, which would include the option of expanding the tournament to 96 teams.
Never mind that penciling in a bracket would require an extra sheet of paper. More games equal more money. Who knows what profits can be reaped from a TV contract with, say, ESPN, which would open the possibility of airing games simultaneously on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
Under the expansion proposal, the top 32 teams will receive first-round byes, while teams Nos. 33-96 will square off for entry into the field of 64. All 31 conference champions will still receive automatic bids, but the number of available at-large spots will balloon from 34 to 65.
And it’s a certainty that the bulk of those extra at-large spots will end up in the hands of the BCS conferences because of the perceived strength of those leagues and the big-name programs affiliated with them. Revenue-generating North Carolina would probably receive an at-large spot despite placing 10th in the 12-team Atlantic Coast Conference.
Connecticut? Why sure, the tournament could use a 12th team from the 16-member Big East Conference. We might as well throw in 13th-place St. John’s. That should increase the conference’s odds of advancing four teams past the first weekend.
This is the sort of mediocrity that expansion would reward. Teams in “power conferences” could rack up 14 wins against obscure liberal arts colleges and go 7-11 in league play. A 21-11 record padded with victories over cupcake nonconference opponents might be enough to sneak a middling BCS conference team into a diluted 96-team field.
If expansion creates a mockery of the regular season for the big dogs, then it cheapens the tournament experience for the so-called mid-majors.
The majority of automatic qualifiers from fringe conferences — much like the Big West — would be given the lowest seeds possible like they already are under the current format. Only this time, they’ll face each other in the 32 first-round games, ensuring that fewer of them will survive into the round of 64.
The tournament could be stripped of a major element that makes the first weekend an unofficial national holiday if the likes of Murray State — President F. King Alexander’s previous school — aren’t in contention. These under-exposed teams need the tournament spotlight to prove they can compete with the heavyweights, and pitting them against each other would limit those chances.
It is a grave blunder — and even elitist — to marginalize the non-BCS schools after witnessing Butler instill hope into teams from outside the “big six” conferences.
The NCAA wants to tinker with a proven formula by adding more games at a time when most universities are still in session. Yet, no one will address the need for a playoff system for football in late December during winter break.
So much for the “but the athletes will miss too much class” excuse.
It shows greed and arrogance when an organization backs a proposal that 82 percent of respondents on an ESPN.com poll are against. The NCAA is a nonprofit that operates like a business, and we’ve seen in the past what can happen when businesses show contempt for consumers.
Remember when the NHL used to be a big deal?
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