Report: March Madness could grow to 76 teams by 2026

“We have Selection Sunday a month away, and there’s development behind the scenes about what this tournament could look like in 2026,” Thamel said on "College Gameday" (h/t On3). “NCAA President Charlie Baker is on the record saying there’s been discussions about growing the tournament to either 72 or 76 teams. I had multiple high ranking sources tell me this week that the more likely option if the tournament were to expand would be to 76. This has been a discussion with its media partners for a while on this now, and a decision on whether it does go to 76 would come in the next few months.” 

This would hypothetically be a good thing for the media partners because more teams in the tournament means more fanbases locked in to March Madness.

The question would be this, though: Does adding more teams dilute the importance of being one-of-64? 

That was the question when the College Football Playoff went from four teams to 12 and there were some stinker games in the first round this past season. It was overall an exciting experience, though.

One has to wonder what lessons the NCAA may take from that expansion, though as with anything, the money that could be made will be the most important factor.