Coaches hope NCAA will expand tournament field
By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer
March 30, 2006
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Jim Boeheim wants more schools playing in the NCAA tournament, and his coaching colleagues appear to agree.
The Syracuse coach believes the tournament field should expand from its current 65 teams and hopes to start lobbying for an increase Friday during a meeting with the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
"I have a number in mind, I think it should probably be about four to six, somewhere in there," Boeheim said Thursday. "The problem really is that it shouldn't come down to logistics."
The field expanded from 48 to 64 in 1985, then added a 65th team to the field in 2001 when the NCAA increased the number of automatic bids from 30 to 31.
Boeheim believes the rapid increase in Division I schools, to more than 300, and increased parity, as demonstrated by George Mason reaching the Final Four, indicates its time to include more teams.
It's a proposal Boeheim said he has long supported, but he has not been able to convince those on the NCAA's selection committee in the past.
NCAA president Myles Brand said he has not much support to implement Boeheim's wish.
"There was some discussion of it in the last couple of years, and there hasn't been much enthusiasm for it at this point," Brand said. "I think that discussion needs to continue, but I don't see any movement in that direction."
Coaches, whose success is often measured by how often they make the tournament and how well they do in it, disagree.
After Boeheim discussed his plan during a news conference, Rice coach Willis Wilson and Clemson coach Oliver Purnell, both said they would support expansion. NABC executive director Jim Haney acknowledged it's an issue that warrants debate.
"At this point, I think the topic of expansion is a fairly new one, but clearly it's come up," Haney said. "I feel confident that it will need to be addressed."
Boeheim, who won the national championship in 2003, believes the primary reason against expansion is logistics.
NCAA officials may try to avoid playing more often than the current four-day schedule over three weekends, and it would be nearly impossible to place more than eight teams at one site.
One possible solution would be increasing the number of play-in games. Under the current structure, two teams play Tuesday night. One advances to a first-round game played on Friday.
But by adding six teams, the NCAA could have four play-in games at the same site, providing more of a tournament atmosphere.
"Even though you wouldn't want to be in that play-in game, you're still in the tournament," Boeheim said. "That's a lot better feeling than not being in the tournament."
Another factor in favor of expansion is George Mason's success.
The Patriots (27-7) of the Colonial Athletic Association became the first No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four since LSU in 1986, yet they were no lock to be in the field on selection Sunday.
Coaches believe the number of good teams has grown significantly. And why, they argue, should a team like George Mason be left out?
"There are deserving teams," said Purnell, who previously coached at Dayton. "George Mason could easily have been left out of the tournament. Obviously, they're a deserving team. If you expand it, you decrease the possibility of leaving out more deserving teams."
By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer
March 30, 2006
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Jim Boeheim wants more schools playing in the NCAA tournament, and his coaching colleagues appear to agree.
The Syracuse coach believes the tournament field should expand from its current 65 teams and hopes to start lobbying for an increase Friday during a meeting with the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
"I have a number in mind, I think it should probably be about four to six, somewhere in there," Boeheim said Thursday. "The problem really is that it shouldn't come down to logistics."
The field expanded from 48 to 64 in 1985, then added a 65th team to the field in 2001 when the NCAA increased the number of automatic bids from 30 to 31.
Boeheim believes the rapid increase in Division I schools, to more than 300, and increased parity, as demonstrated by George Mason reaching the Final Four, indicates its time to include more teams.
It's a proposal Boeheim said he has long supported, but he has not been able to convince those on the NCAA's selection committee in the past.
NCAA president Myles Brand said he has not much support to implement Boeheim's wish.
"There was some discussion of it in the last couple of years, and there hasn't been much enthusiasm for it at this point," Brand said. "I think that discussion needs to continue, but I don't see any movement in that direction."
Coaches, whose success is often measured by how often they make the tournament and how well they do in it, disagree.
After Boeheim discussed his plan during a news conference, Rice coach Willis Wilson and Clemson coach Oliver Purnell, both said they would support expansion. NABC executive director Jim Haney acknowledged it's an issue that warrants debate.
"At this point, I think the topic of expansion is a fairly new one, but clearly it's come up," Haney said. "I feel confident that it will need to be addressed."
Boeheim, who won the national championship in 2003, believes the primary reason against expansion is logistics.
NCAA officials may try to avoid playing more often than the current four-day schedule over three weekends, and it would be nearly impossible to place more than eight teams at one site.
One possible solution would be increasing the number of play-in games. Under the current structure, two teams play Tuesday night. One advances to a first-round game played on Friday.
But by adding six teams, the NCAA could have four play-in games at the same site, providing more of a tournament atmosphere.
"Even though you wouldn't want to be in that play-in game, you're still in the tournament," Boeheim said. "That's a lot better feeling than not being in the tournament."
Another factor in favor of expansion is George Mason's success.
The Patriots (27-7) of the Colonial Athletic Association became the first No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four since LSU in 1986, yet they were no lock to be in the field on selection Sunday.
Coaches believe the number of good teams has grown significantly. And why, they argue, should a team like George Mason be left out?
"There are deserving teams," said Purnell, who previously coached at Dayton. "George Mason could easily have been left out of the tournament. Obviously, they're a deserving team. If you expand it, you decrease the possibility of leaving out more deserving teams."
