I still think 72 teams is the best bet. Simply add 4 more play in games. I would also make every play in games at Large teams. Place it on the 10 and 11 seeds or 11 and 12 seeds. The lower seeds from below the play in games are auto bids from 1 bid conferences. The play in teams have a better chance of winning a extra unit for themselves and their conference.

(11-01-2023 09:54 AM)JSchmack Wrote:  

(11-01-2023 07:40 AM)shizzle787 Wrote:  I love March Madness, and I think the format is great. However, 64 is the optimal number, and there are too many schools in Division 1 so here is my proposal (assuming 31 conferences going forward):

40 at-large bids
24 auto qualifiers (top-24 conference tournament champions by resume)

This eliminates schools from jumping up for NCAA monies, brings the tournament back to 64, keeps the big boys happy, and keeps plenty of Cinderellas.

Other 7 conference champs would be guaranteed an NIT bid along with the top-2 non NCAA teams from the Power 6.

40 at-larges and 24 autos is "kinda fair"... however it should work the other way: the bottom conferences should be guaranteed a bid.

The power teams have 20 chances to prove they belong. You go 3-12 vs Q1, and we know you can't compete for a championship because you didn't compete for the conference championship when it wasn't single-elimination.


You don't even need a number on auto or at-large. Just change the committee guidelines to "Every conference must be represented." The CONFERENCES no longer pick who gets their automatic bid.

Every conference should be represented in both the 64-team NCAA Tourney and a 64-team NIT.

Regular season champs to NCAA, tourney champ (if not selected to NCAA) to NIT.

You basically eliminate bid stealers.

Really good concept, I like it!

(11-01-2023 04:07 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(11-01-2023 07:40 AM)shizzle787 Wrote:  I love March Madness, and I think the format is great. However, 64 is the optimal number, and there are too many schools in Division 1 so here is my proposal (assuming 31 conferences going forward):

40 at-large bids
24 auto qualifiers (top-24 conference tournament champions by resume)

This eliminates schools from jumping up for NCAA monies, brings the tournament back to 64, keeps the big boys happy, and keeps plenty of Cinderellas.

Other 7 conference champs would be guaranteed an NIT bid along with the top-2 non NCAA teams from the Power 6.

Give every conference an autobid, but get rid of 7 conferences.

If you're serious, which 7? D1 conferences are more than just basketball.

256 is optimal to make the regular season count even less

(11-01-2023 07:51 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  I get that it’s a personal wish, but putting aside the inevitable debate about whether every conference deserves an auto-bid, the simple reality is that things that make money don’t get smaller… and the NCAA Tournament makes a lot of money.

There is no debate about going to back to 64 teams. The debate is whether the tournament should go to 72, 80 or 96 teams.

I'd also prefer that they just stick to 64, 68 is a very awkward number. However, those 4 pre-Tourney games serve as a sort of lagniappe for the main course, and I can live with them since we're kind of stuck with them now. Expansion to any number greater than 68 though? No, thanks. And my team was probably the first or 2nd team out 2 years ago, so I understand that the disappointment can be crushing, but they have to draw the line somewhere.