The NCAA Board of Directors approved today the recent unanimous recommendation by the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee to increase the tournament size from 65 to 68 teams beginning with the 2011 Championship in Houston, Texas.
The approval comes after the NCAA announced a new 14-year television, internet and wireless rights agreement with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., for more than $10.8 billion on April 22.
What does this mean for college basketball fans you ask? It means for the first time in the 73-year history of the NCAA Tournament that all games will be shown live across four national networks. The college basketball fan won't have to set up multiple television sets in their living room or travel to a sports bar to see all of the games. No live look-ins or blackouts. The college basketball fan can choose which games to watch and when to watch them.
More importantly, the new deal provides more inventory for CBS (when the tournament inevitably expands to 96 teams?) and more stability for the NCAA. The new deal means that 96 percent of the revenue generated from the new deal will benefit student-athletes and their member schools. Beginning in 2011, the first and second round games will be shown nationally on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. CBS and Turner will split coverage of the regional semifinals. CBS will exclusively cover the regional finals and Final Four through 2015.
"The new 14-year contract validates the importance of men's basketball to the collegiate athletic landscape," Denver men's basketball coach Joe Scott said. "A contract of this magnitude gives the NCAA stability, but the expansion to 68 teams doesn't necessarily change the landscape of the tournament. It creates a little more opportunity, while maintaining the most competitive postseason of any sport."
Under the new deal, less than 20% of the 347 NCAA Division I men's basketball programs will qualify for the national tournament.
Scott guided the Pioneers to a 19-13 mark in his third season as head coach and his ultimate goal is to build a sustainable winning program with NCAA Tournament aspirations.
"This is the mountain we're trying to climb at Denver and we're certainly headed in the right direction," Scott added.
The new NCAA Tournament format isn't likely to be determined until this summer, when the men's basketball issues committee meets. It is believed the tourney will include four opening-round games, often called play-in games, instead of the one that has been used since 2001.
