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It's still a field of 68
NCAA says tourney expansion off the table for 2026. But beyond? Plus: BYU lands prized 2026 shooter, Davidson's EuroBasket star, what sets apart one of 2026's top prospects, and much more.
Mike Miller
August 05, 2025
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Good morning! Monday brought welcome NCAA Tournament news for most college hoops fans. Let’s dive into why.
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1. NCAA Tournament expansion officially on hold
Monday’s NCAA news prompted celebrations from The Field of 68 college hoops fans: The NCAA Tournament won’t expand.
At least for one year…
From Dan Gavitt
“Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships. However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.”— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock)
5:59 PM • Aug 4, 2025
Three things played into this decision:
Time (the logistics made 2026 expansion essentially impossible)
Money (there isn’t any additional media $$$ coming right now)
Negative public sentiment (most fans don’t want expansion)
The NCAA’s current media deal with CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery runs through 2032 and pays about $1.1 billion a year.
The logistics remain the biggest hurdle. Any expansion would include the women’s NCAA Tournament, which means additional sites, workers, referees and game officials, etc. And that then means it costs more, so without any additional revenue, there’s no overwhelming reason to expand.
Still, expansion sounds likely for 2027. And Matt Norlander noted that it’d be eight additional teams, not four. So get ready for the field of 76. (Sounds like a B movie from the ‘80s.)
Whether that news comes in a steady drip over the next few months or 1-2 well-timed announcements/news leaks — anything to get some public support — remains to be seen. In the meantime, we’ll get back to locking down as many url variations of the possible field expansion.
2. BYU’s newest shooting star + more commitment news
BYU’s first commitment in the class of 2026 will provide more of what the program’s had the last few years: Lots of 3s.
