NCAA Expansion to 96 Teams as Seen by John Feinstein of the Post
Here is the link to a very good article by John Feinstein, a Washington Post columnist, about the NCAA's moving to a 96 team playoff format. Per Feinstein, the NCAA is basically full of crap with respect to Bball as well as football. His columns are always worth reading.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/01/AR20100…
His Q&A was hilarious if you saw the transcript of the presser. He asked "so teams that win, a considerable number if this change happens, will miss their entire week of class during week 2 of the tournament?"
The guy kept saying well they won't in week one. Never answered his question. It was awesome.
Brought to you by the same organization that gave us the BCS.
But of course.
Maybe their argument is that if you average the two, you have a sensible system.
NCAA has nothing to do with the BCS other than some of the member institutions have devised a post season plan to enshrine a national championship. The NCAA itself does not regulate or have a financial interest in the BCS.
But the university presidents are the ones that say they are against a playoff (which would be administered by the NCAA), because of the extra classes the football players would miss.
The same university presidents need to sign off on anything done by the NCAA, and are basically OK with hoops players missing a whole week of class in March.
Excellent article.
I do think the point should be made that trying to squeeze more money out of their cash cow isn't totally evil. It kind of sucks for basketball, but wouldn't be right to shortchange the (for example) swimming or field hockey championships by cutting their expenses if it's possible to increase revenue instead and continue paying for them.
Still, I sort of hope the arenas for these weekday games have tumbleweeds blowing through while the game is being played. I think it'd be a hell of a lot better to extend the season a week and play these opening-round games at campus sites. I mean, how long before they just say "fuck it" and go to 128? Can't keep cramming more and more teams into an artificial three-week schedule.
already do have tumbleweeds blowing through the arena. It's pathetic to see all the empty seats at those games.
Not sure why you were negged, but I countered.
Excellent work, the whole NCAA Tournament experience would be ruined if it went to 96 teams.
It would seriously diminish my interest in the tourney, though I find it hard to articulate why. Yawn, I think.
Hypocrisy!! So, esentially, about 25% of schools will be able to participate in the college basketball playoff, while all of 1.67% of college football teams get to participate in the BCS championship game. And yet there are so many coaches, league commissioners, and NCAA officials who complain that even an 8 team football playoff would interfere too much with school? If you just go by rough percentages, there should be a 32 team football playoff to end the season!
Feinstein's main issue with the 96 team field (which he holds until nearly the end of the article) is that mediocre teams will make the tournament. So the 8th place team in the Big East was not mediocre this year? The notion of only the truly deserving making the tournament went out the window decades ago.
That's why I'll stick with college football, where the regular season actually matters!
I believe you mean the regular season matters if you are one of the BCS conference schools. Please don't pretend to tell me that Utah, TCU or Boise State's season matters.
Great news for the N.I.T.
accomplishes two terrible things at once: 1- the regular season is devalued and for most teams, akin to a series of exhibition games interspersed with a rivalry game or two, and 2- devalues the NCAA tournament, making it far less of an accomplishment worthy of celebration for getting in. Nice work NCAA.
96 teams is such a bad idea. College sports need to focus on the student-athletes and not the money! Plus I don't want to fill out a bracket that will need to be two pages.