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Gavitt said he doesn’t expect a vote in the
near future, though a late spring vote could theoretically make
a change possible in 2026. He said changes in game operation and
travel are among the many things that would need to be accounted
for, so it would be unlikely that anything would take effect
next year without an imminent vote.
“It’s not taken in a lighthearted way at all because of the
success of the tournaments and how important they are to college
basketball overall,” Gavitt said. “Expansion, even in a modest
level, is complex, more complex than I think than has been
recognized and reported, because it is expensive.”
This year’s March Madness will be the 40th men’s bracket since
the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The women’s bracket
increased to 64 teams in 1994.
Gavitt said he isn’t sure whether the field should expand, but
he's more positive about the possibility than he was a few years
ago. Name, image and likeness, conference realignment and the
transfer portal have changed the dynamics. He said men's
basketball, in particular, might be suited to handle it.
“There’s no sport that is deeper overall and has more parity
than men’s college basketball,” he said. “There’s great
basketball played at every level in men’s basketball right now.
So I think it’s important to keep the tournament contemporary
and relevant, based on what is going on in college athletics.”
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