A Bigger Dance in March Would Be Madness

The NCAA is toying with the idea of a bigger dance a Monster March Madness, increasing the field of 64 (I don't count the play in game), to 96.  They say it would only add an extra weekend of basketball.  I say it would be the biggest joke in the history of sports.  I get it there are more teams playing D-I hoops and the College Football folks keep adding bowls, but that's already the biggest joke in sports. 

The coaches think this will let them sleep better at night, more job security.  Wrong!  The standards of evaluation will just change.  Plenty of bowl elgible coaches in football get fired every year.  The NCAA tournament is the best thing going in College Sports. No one will ever say that about the BCS.  Sure College Football's regular is more dramatic, but they screw up the end game every damn year.  Imagine how boring the regular season in College Basketball will become if you increase the field. The Conference tournaments will also become much less important and dramatic. 

I am so tired of hearing all these whiney overpaid coaches talk about how nice it would be to give more kids the chance to play in March. What a joke!  This is not little league where every team gets a participation trophy.  What's so wrong with making it tough to get to March?  I mean you want your tournament to be special and to stand out, right?  Plus let's count how many years after the tournament we have sat down and said boy if Team X had been in The Dance this would have turned out differently.  How about never!  Teams that have their bubble burst are no threat to win the title anyway.

The NCAA already has a huge credibility issue as it is with the whole "student athlete" thing. The coaches are making more money than ever and so are the conferences with some pretty pricey TV contracts. The TV networks, who really run the show clearly are cashing in too or they would not be willing to pay the outrageous rights fees.  I understand there is no turning back, but bigger is not always better in sports. Take a look at some of the expansion teams in the pro sports (if I ruled the sports world I would think seriously about contraction).  Anyway, the NCAA tournament is PERFECT in its current form, so leave it alone!  Plus imagine all the bracketologists (like Joe Lunardi pictured on left) that would hit an already over crowded job market.  I mean what hell would we do with these geeks?