The NCAA will expand its Division I basketball tournaments from 68 to 76 teams next season. The change isn’t expected to radically disrupt the familiar bracket for most casual fans.
Here is a breakdown of some key numbers to know.
0: The number of mid-major schools that advanced past the first weekend of either tournament the last two seasons.
1 in 9.2 quintillion: The estimated odds against picking a perfect bracket even before adding eight games to the mix.
4: Games matching No. 12 seeds and No. 16 seeds in the opening round.
8: The number of teams being added to each tournament (men and women). It’s also the number of new games being added to each tournament.
15: The number of years since the NCAA last expanded the men’s tournament (from 65 to 68 in 2011). The women’s tournament grew from 64 to 68 in 2022.
120: Total number of games for the two tournaments over seven days between the bracket announcement and the conclusion of the second round.
131: As in $131 million, the amount of new revenue the NCAA expects to share with tournament participants under the expansion.
300: As in $300 million, the extra funding the NCAA expects to get from new advertising opportunities tied to expansion, including the addition of liquor ads that had largely been off limits.
2032: The year the current $8.8 billion broadcast deal between the NCAA and partners like CBS, TNT and others expires, raising the potential for more change.
350,000: As in $350,000, the value of a NCAA-distributed “unit’ for a men’s team that reached the tournament.
