Over the past few years, college sports have changed drastically as NIL, Revenue Sharing, and the Transfer Portal have shifted the landscape. As schools pay their players, the costs have continued to rise, and it was only a matter of time before a change came to benefit the schools. The first step came when the College Football Playoff expanded from 4 teams to 12 teams, giving the sport a larger playoff to pitch to television providers.
On Tuesday, the biggest move came when it was announced that the NCAA Tournament is set to expand from 64/68 teams to 76 teams as soon as next season.
NEW: The NCAA has begun the final steps to expand the men's and women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments to 76 teams, per ESPN🏀https://t.co/dtxKwpTXaf pic.twitter.com/hS04m6PQwl
— On3 (@On3) April 28, 2026
The College Football Playoff will expand whether conferences like it or not
Whenever the topic of the NCAA Tournament expanding was brought up, fans and most analysts hated the idea. Adding more weak teams to the field is only going to lead to more boring games to start the tournament, but it didn't matter as the change is being made, and we'll likely see the tournament eventually expand again.
Ever since the College Football Playoff expanded, the conferences have constantly held meetings, but they've failed to find a new format. After the NCAA Tournament's expansion, another round of College Football Playoff expansion is likely on the horizon.
Whether fans and conferences like it or not, there's a ton of money on the table if the Playoff expands, and it's eventually going to be too much to turn down. Every school is paying far more to invest in their rosters, and the extra television revenue will only help each school cover it's budgets.
How far the conferences go in expanding the College Football Playoff will be the biggest question along with how the format is laid out. Ideas have been pitched from adding as few as 2 teams to formats adding far more, and before the start of the college football season, we'll likely see a new format adopted.
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