The NCAA tournament is about to get ruined.

[borninansonia]

I suspect that many alumni from the non-power 2 or 5 watch the tournament to cheer for the teams from their conference. If their conference teams are not invited, they will be upset, and I expect a big drop off from fans watching the tournament.
If the Big East teams are not invited, I won't watch.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The solution of how the B1G and SEC hijack the prominence of the NCAA Tournament is simple:

The B1G and SEC with the backing of FOX can create a new entity which conducts the post season tournament (ie. “The College Basketball National Championship Tournament) with the to 10 teams in the B1G and SEC with invites from
The solution of how the B1G and SEC hijack the prominence of the NCAA Tournament is simple:

The B1G and SEC with the backing of FOX can create a new entity which conducts the post season tournament (is. The College Basketball National Championship Tournament”) with the to 10 teams in the B1G and SEC with invites from the best teams from non Big10/ SEC schools to participate to compete with the NCAA tournament with larger payouts for participants. Both tournaments would claim to crown the National Championship but over time with the absence of the B1G and SEC schools the new tournament would win out Much like the NCAA torpedoed the NIT in the 1960s.

If I recall correctly this is kinda how the NCAA outpaced the once dominant NIT. Recall Marquette Coach Al Maguire snubbing the NCAA Tournament when he did not like his team’s seeding and the NCAA thereafter imposing a rule that if a school is invited to the NCAA it cannot play in another tournament.
the best teams from non Big10/ SEC schools to participate to compete with the NCAA tournament with larger payouts for participants. Both tournaments would claim to crown the National Championship but over time with the absence of the B1G and SEC schools the new tournament would win out much like the NCAA torpedoed the NIT in the 1960s.

Horrible line of thinking ESPN will just give up the most valuable basketball games played by the SEC each year and cede those games to FOX.

No, what will happens is FOX will have the B1G and several other conferences aligned under its umbrella. This will include the Big East. There will be a tournament televised on FOX entities.

At the same time ESPN will have a tournament for the SEC and its aligned conferences such as the ACC and they will crown a winner.

Then, the FOX branded champion will square off against the ESPN branded champion and that will be the national championship game. FOX and ESPN will alternate viewing that game.

Both Fox and ESPN will absorb smaller conferences under their umbrellas and the small cinderellas will get their chance, it just won't under the name of the NCAA Tournament.

 

[aburks41]

The good news is that even if the B1G left, no one would notice. All of them get bounced in the first round anyways lmao

 

[upstater]

The P2 will have more than enough cash to pay for their Olympic sports championships. Everyone else will have to make due. More playoff games on the higher seeds campus, etc.

I know that but it's still a logistical nightmare. They're going to have to start the whole operation from scratch.

 

[upstater]

And that is where the leverage comes in. D2 and D3 have absolutely none. At that point the p5 can threaten to leave and create their own thing. The non-power D1 will freak out and D2 and D3 die. Their existence is at the charity of the P5.

If the threat is we'll give you no money or we'll give you no money, then the D2/D3 will say well, since you're not giving us a choice at all, it's NCAA go kaboom!

 

[bobbyinaz]

I know that but it's still a logistical nightmare. They're going to have to start the whole operation from scratch.

Will they?

They are already running conference tournaments/championships for all sports so the logistics are in place, it's just the size of the event that changes.

 

[auror]

If the threat is we'll give you no money or we'll give you no money, then the D2/D3 will say well, since you're not giving us a choice at all, it's NCAA go kaboom!

Yes they'd probably have to incentivize a little bit. I thought it was something the board of governors could do, because D1 dominates that. but I think it's actually hard-coded into the constitution, so they'd have to actually offer some sort of carrot to prevent the spite "just kill us then" bluff calling from the full member vote.

 

[CL82]

I know that but it's still a logistical nightmare. They're going to have to start the whole operation from scratch.

Or maybe more accurately they’re going to have to set up two organizations from scratch. One of which will have abundant resources and one of which will have practically none. Still, it’s not as if they don’t have a template to work off off. It’s doable.

Don’t miss read that as me being in favor of the Money grab. I just think it’s inevitable.

 

[Guapo]

I dunno, I get being upset on one hand. On the other, a play-in tournament featuring the winners of like the NEC, MEAC etc. is somewhat more interesting to me as a sports fan than watching them immediately get smoked as a 16 seed. The thing that’ll really suck is more 17-14 FSU type teams getting in

 

[upstater]

Will they?

They are already running conference tournaments/championships for all sports so the logistics are in place, it's just the size of the event that changes.

Good point.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

It's not the NCAA, it's the SEC and B1G.

Honestly, I'd rather have future tournaments without the SEC and the B1G than future tournaments without mid-majors.

 

[bobbyinaz]

Honestly, I'd rather have future tournaments without the SEC and the B1G than future tournaments without mid-majors.

Your wish may be granted

 

[Icehawk]

I haven't looked but do viewership #s really support that supposition that folks tune in to the NCAA to watch the mismatches and not the games with two big dogs?

 

[uconndogs]

I'm sure the models show that the major conference can get more money with these types of changes to the NCAA tournament or maybe even their own tournament. There is no consideration of the fanbase or other member institutions. Certainly nothing collegial about any of it.

I've said it many times before. I can watch the best basketball players in the world in the NBA. I watch college basketball for a different reason. I have to believe I'm not the only viewer with that perspective.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

If this happens, and it likely will, the tournament will have the same watchability quotient as the college football bowl games now have. Zero, none.

Yeah prob will tune in for the Final Four, but with zero rooting interest I’ll be turning off the games at halftime.

…what’ll keep it afloat, with no viewers at home and no fans in the seats, will be the betting action.

 

[bobbyinaz]

If this happens, and it likely will, the tournament will have the same watchability quotient as the college football bowl games now have. Zero, none.

Yeah prob will tune in for the Final Four, but with zero rooting interest I’ll be turning off the games at halftime.

…what’ll keep it afloat, with no viewers at home and no fans in the seats, will be the betting action.

This will be the next step.

Conferences will start aligning themselves with gambling sites as official sponsors and broadcasts (like currently happens in pro sports) will drive activity to its sponsored sight.

We could end up with the eventual hoops tournament being called The BetMGM College Basketball Championship sponsored by FanDuel

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

I think doing this would officially cause Dicky V’s heart to stop.

 

[CL82]

This will be the next step.

Conferences will start aligning themselves with gambling sites as official sponsors and broadcasts (like currently happens in pro sports) will drive activity to its sponsored sight.

We could end up with the eventual hoops tournament being called The BetMGM College Basketball Championship sponsored by FanDuel

With player interviews during the game to push the action.

Sideline reporter: James that was a heck of a collision out there how are you feeling?

Player: I’m OK, I’m OK. My knees a little sore but I’m just gonna push through it.

Sideline reporter: well there you have it. James is injured but he’s going to keep going. How that’s going to affect the total score is unclear.

 

[HuskyHawk]

They're also greedy, they want to be a part of the NCAA tournament. Maybe I'm naive but I just don't see it creeping into basketball. Football sure, but nobody will care about their basketball tournament if those 2 break off

Agreed. The NCAA Tournament is going to be fine. If they split it will be all football.

 

[huskymedic]

The March Madness auto-bids debate: Killing Cinderella would be a losing strategy all around | Sporting News

The president of FGCU -- which gave us "Dunk City" a decade ago -- speculated the NCAA Tournament eventually will drop automatic bids for conference champions and kill Cinderella. That would be bad business.

www.sportingnews.com

 

[uconndogs]

Agreed. The NCAA Tournament is going to be fine. If they split it will be all football.

That tournament rakes in a small fortune. Why would the mega conferences stop after football?

This is professional athletics in every sense. These are valuable properties and universities and conferences are going to grab for everything they can. NIL has opened the door for huge payouts for the athletes and the money is going to have to come from somewhere.

I seriously doubt the NCAA Tournament even remotely resembles its current form in 5-10 years.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That tournament rakes in a small fortune. Why would the mega conferences stop after football?

This is professional athletics in every sense. These are valuable properties and universities and conferences are going to grab for everything they can. NIL has opened the door for huge payouts for the athletes and the money is going to have to come from somewhere.

I seriously doubt the NCAA Tournament even remotely resembles its current form in 5-10 years.

Because it wouldn't rake in nearly as much money without the broad participation of over 300 D1 programs. Meanwhile, they win most of the time anyway, so get an outsized portion of the revenue without having to run the tournament. Nobody would be interested in a P5 only tournament.

 

[CL82]

Because it wouldn't rake in nearly as much money without the broad participation of over 300 D1 programs..

I’m not sure that that’s actually correct, but in any event the analysis is not a whether a P5, or even a P2 tournament would make as much money as the existing NCAA tournament. The analysis is whether a P5, or even a P2 tournament would make more money than having those conferences participate in the existing NCAA structure. It would, by a large margin.

I’ve said this before, and it seems to be catching on here a bit, there is a notion that a P2 tournaments would definitionally only involve those teams. I guess that could happen, but not if they have any one who is reasonably intelligent setting the thing up. The way to do it is have a P2 sponsored tournament that invites other teams from D1 to participate. All they need to do is get a linear media deal to broadcast it and promise the teams that get the invite more money than they would currently get for participating in the NCAA tournament. Does that sound familiar, because it’s exactly how the NCAA nudged out the NIT as college basketball‘s premiere tournament. It really is just that easy.

This is low hanging fruit. It will happen, eventually, the question is not if, but when.

 

[uconndogs]

I’m not sure that that’s actually correct, but in any event the analysis is not a whether a P5, or even a P2 tournament would make as much money as the existing NCAA tournament. The analysis is whether a P5, or even a P2 tournament would make more money than having those conferences participate in the existing NCAA structure. It would, by a large margin.

I’ve said this before, and it seems to be catching on here a bit, there is a notion that a P2 tournaments would definitionally only involve those teams. I guess that could happen, but not if they have any one who is reasonably intelligent setting the thing up. The way to do it is have a P2 sponsored tournament that invites other teams from D1 to participate. All they need to do is get a linear media deal to broadcast it and promise the teams that get the invite more money than they would currently get for participating in the NCAA tournament. Does that sound familiar, because it’s exactly how the NCAA nudged out the NIT as college basketball‘s premiere tournament. It really is just that easy.

This is low hanging fruit. It will happen, eventually, the question is not if, but when.

Exactly how I see it. It's not how much overall money there is to be made, it's about optimizing individual shares. Unfortunate? Yes, in my opinion very much so.......

 

[huskymedic]

 

[auror]

So no mention of removing autobids, but of expanding the field again.

Sankey, though, makes no mention of potentially taking away automatic bids. He’s aware that tinkering with one of the most popular formulas in college sports could lead to enormous backlash. Instead, he talks about the quality of teams that either just barely make the field or are left out.

“I thought [SEC member] Texas A&M should have been in the field in basketball [last season],” Sankey says. “People didn’t agree. But the way they played at the end of the year, I firmly think they were one of the better teams in the country. I’m biased. But somebody else, Dayton was one of the first four out.

“Look at what UCLA did as an 11-seed [in 2021], what Virginia Commonwealth did as an 11-seed [in 2011], what Syracuse did as an 11-seed [in 2018]. Those are three teams that played [in the First Four] in Dayton and went to the Final Four eventually. It should broaden our thinking.”

 

[CL82]

So no mention of removing autobids, but of expanding the field again.

Those things are not mutually exclusive.

 

[Ha Who]

Don’t worry everyone. It is inevitable it will happen? But inevitably gaily. Just study big business failures

 

[auror]

Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Sure but no mention here, a sourced reporting saying he's aware of potential backlash, and a previous reporting that other small school people on the original call thought those who were up in arms were misconstruing things.

It's what we expect based on fear and continuation of football machinations, but there's no actual evidence anyone is even talking about doing it.

 

[CL82]

Sure but no mention here, a sourced reporting saying he's aware of potential backlash, and a previous reporting that other small school people on the original call thought those who were up and arms were misconstruing things.

It's what we expect based on fear and continuation of football machinations, but there's no actual evidence anyone is even talking about doing it.

My guess is that the greater inclusivity won’t be based upon auto qualifiers, but rather, a higher number of invites based upon the teams record including both win loss and, importantly, strength of competition. With the SEC in the Big Ten becoming mega conferences they will be playing fewer opponents outside of their conference. Therefore, it will be harder for schools outside those conferences to play opponents with high SOS rankings. So, the greater inclusivity will be more P2 teams. That’s just a guess, but it fits everything he said up to this date.