NCAA Tournament moving to 96 teams?
The NCAA is in preliminary discussions exploring the value of expanding the men’s basketball tournament field and possibly moving the NCAA Tournament from broadcast to cable, Sports Business Journal reported Monday.
The report points toward the NCAA’s escape clause in it’s 11-year, $6 billion deal with CBS as a possible reason in the NCAA’s thinking. CBS has broadcast the NCAA Tournament since 1982, but the NCAA can opt out of the contract at the close of the 2010 Final Four.
One possibility has the tournament expanding from its current field of 65 teams to 96 teams, adding another week to March Madness. In that scenario, the top 32 teams would receive byes.
According to the report, the NCAA believes a move to cable would increase its revenue. In a similar move last year, ESPN signed a four-year, $495 million deal to broadcast the five college football BCS bowls, a 50 percent increase in its rights fee.
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(12/09/09 5:38pm)Report
DO IT! March madness is one of the best times of the year.