The NCAA is reportedly close to making a decision on a possible expansion of the NCAA Tournament, and these changes could be seen as early as next season. As things stand right now, the two most changes would either be an expansion to 72 teams or 76 teams.
It remains unclear how the bracket and scheduling would fully change from this potential expansion, but the most likely scenario would be additional games on Tuesday and Wednesday, effectively doing away with the current First Four and instead replacing it with a larger version that would likely involve 8 or 12 teams instead.
It would present the opportunity for more revenue across the board, on top of adding a few more games to the March Madness schedule. But even if it helps in that sense, further expanding the NCAA Tournament would be a big mistake by the NCAA.
The current 68 team format allows for plenty of opportunity for teams across the board to make the field either as an at-large team or as an automatic bid. But given that there's over 360 Division I teams, making the field of 68 in March remains a key accomplishment given the sheer size of the league as a whole, and expanding the tournament to 72 or 76 teams would certainly diminish the meaning of making the NCAA Tournament to a degree.
On top of that, the overall standard for what a "tournament team" looks like would take a bit of a hit as well. There has been several instances over the past few years where the NCAA Tournament bubble was already rather weak, most notably this year, which saw several teams make the NCAA Tournament that really didn't have a strong case to be in the field of 68. And if the field was expanded to 72 or 76? It would only increase the number of teams that would make the NCAA Tournament and fit that same bill. And in turn, it would diminish what it means (and the body of work required) to make the NCAA Tournament.
The overall level of competition would also take a hit as well, given that there would almost certainly be even more teams with significant flaws that are unlikely to make much of a run. And in turn, the number of early round upsets could drop even more. And if that becomes the norm, it is very plausible that overall interest in the NCAA Tournament starts to decline.
This year's NCAA Tournament saw plenty of chalkiness and very few upsets compared to previous years. It could be a blip in the radar, but given the separate effects that the transfer portal has had on the sport already, there's a chance that the chalkiness of this year's tournament could be come more common. And mixing the growing problematic effects of the transfer portal with an expansion of the field would not help correct that issue.
It's something that may look good on paper for the NCAA given the potential for increases in revenue and TV viewership, but it also has a lot of potential to hurt the prestige, interest, and meaning of the spectacle in the long-term, and that could harm the NCAA as a whole, even if the dip in prestige and interest of the NCAA Tournament is barely noticable.