NCAA Tournament expansion a sacrifice mid-majors forced to make in rev-share era

Despite objections from its audience, the NCAA officially expanded the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments to 76 teams on Thursday. As part of the increased field, a decision first reported as a realistic possibility in April, the 12 lowest-ranked at-large programs and 12 lowest automatic qualifiers will play in games dubbed the "March Madness Opening Round" on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the traditional Thursday-Friday Round of 64. The number of No. 16 seeds has increased from six to eight, and No. 15s from four to six, to accommodate the expanded field.  While that means fewer mid-major conference champions will make the opening round, that could be more beneficial than one might initially think, particularly in the revenue-sharing era. The NCAA Tournament will officially expand to 76 teams starting in 2027. https://t.co/g81aEaAjqU pic.twitter.com/Sd6uLF7Mcc A look at the new bracket pic.twitter.com/esm18WdUSJ As the NCAA's official release notes, the expanded field means more opportunities for universities to earn "basketball fund units," money that can be extremely useful for programs to attract athletes. In 2026, for example, teams that qualified for the field of 68 made roughly $2.1 million — paid out in six annual $350,000 increments — for each tournament victory. (h/t Associated Press) The amount of a unit is set to increase with expansion, as the NCAA shared it "will be able to award more than $131 million in new revenue distributions to member schools participating in the basketball tournaments over the remaining six years of the NCAA's broadcast agreements. "Because of the new Opening Round format, six conference automatic qualifiers, most likely outside the autonomy conferences," the NCAA writes, "will play at least two March Madness games — guaranteeing these conferences at least one additional basketball fund unit." That trade-off, the potential of more money while being relegated to an expanded version of the "First Four," is worth it to smaller schools that need the extra financing wherever they can find it. "During the last two years of the tournaments, men's and women's teams seeded 15 or 16 are winless in 32 first-round games," Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill, who also serves as Division I men's basketball committee chair, said in the NCAA's announcement of the expanded tournament field. "Moving forward, nearly half of the 28 men's and women's teams seeded 15 and 16 lines will win at least one tournament game," he continued. No one on the outside asked for tournament expansion, yet the NCAA forced it through anyway. In the modern era of college athletics, it may be a necessity for programs outside the Power Four to stay afloat. Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!