Changes in the 2014 NCAA tourney? A good thing or not?

[Blakeon18]

There is a brief mention in the linked article about Springfield bidding for the 2014
women's regionals on a different topic. It talks about how the NCAA may not award
the regional sites till late spring or early summer in 2013.

Reason? Apparently they are considering changes to the NCAA tournament...format and who knows
what else.

What might they be considering? Frankly I have little faith that any changes they make will be good ones. I suppose we can hope. Maybe The Horde can pursue this topic with Geno to see if he has heard anything.

I seem to remember a few years ago that they had only 8 sites for the first weekend.....not 16. Two
teams emerged from each site....that made the sweet sixteen with the usual 4 regions. I don't recall how long they did this....nor do I recall if it 'worked'. Maybe they are finding it hard to get 16 schools to host the first weekend?

Please tell me....please....that they are not considering expanding the field. It is hard enough to find
decent at-large teams to fill 64 spots as it is.

What other ideas might they be pondering?

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think they should consider excluding Notre Dame.

 

[JSB60]

The regional bidding is a good thing because one of the potential sites is five miles from my house.

 

[Vowelguy]

The 8-site pod system was tried for, I believe, 3 years. Didnt get the results they had hoped, so it was abandoned.

The only thing that occurs to me is if they are considering going back to having the early rounds not be at pre-determined sites, but instead hosted by the top 16. Not only do some folks think the current setup is unfair, but it also makes filling out the bracket a lot more difficult (see some of Creme's recent columns).

 

[ThisJustIn]

As always, the issue is finding willing hosts. You have to run your athletic dept AND a do the tournament thingy. AND hope you break even. People are *rightly* iffish about taking the risks. It also take looong term planning, organizing volunteers, getting sponsors etc.

If you're interested: NCAA TOURNAMENT HOSTING: Hidden Hurdles and Helpful Hints

As college basketball moves into its season of review and reflection, doubtless there will be many discussions about the 2009 Division I tournament and the logistics of seeding, the needs of hosting, the restrictions of television and the current economic reality.

But as the women’s game seeks to strike the balance between a competitively balanced tournament and a well-attended one, we would be remiss to not examine the successes and challenges faced by the host institutions themselves. What lessons were learned and how might they be applied to games and tournaments across the Divisions?