KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said Tuesday that he is in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament and the College Football Playoff, though he remains cautious about exactly how two of college sports’ premier events will look in the future.
NCAA president Charlie Baker recently said that he supported the expansion of March Madness, which has included 68 teams since the 2011 edition. And while different numbers have been floated over the years, it appears that 72 or 76 teams with more “play-in” games could be on deck as soon as the 2027 tournament.
“That’s an NCAA decision,” Yormark said at Big 12’s annual women’s basketball media day, “but from a conference perspective, we’re in favor of modest expansion. Let’s use 76 as a working number — might not be the number, but a working number. But the right economics have to come with it.”
While expansion may not create much much additional revenue for conferences on the front end, since broadcast partners CBS and TNT have deals in place that run through the 2032 tournament, the additional teams would likely come from power leagues, and that could drive viewership and TV ratings for one of the NCAA’s signature events.
Big Ten counterpart Tony Petitti recently said coaches and athletic directors in his league have been “supportive” of expansion.
“I think there’s some momentum,” Yormark said. “We’ll see where it lands.”
The Big 12 commissioner also believes there is momentum for an expanded football playoff, which already has grown from four teams to 12 this past season. Yormark favors moving to 16 teams in a “5+11” model that would provide five automatic bids for the winners of the highest-ranked conferences and 11 at-large bids chosen by a committee.
Other leagues have floated other formats, though, and a subset of stakeholders believe 12 is already the right number.
“I’ve always said you have to earn it on the field. Nothing should be predetermined come the beginning of the season,” Yormark said. “If there was a conversation about a format that gave the power conferences the same number of (automatic qualifiers), I’d be all ears. I want to give our schools a chance each and every year to compete at the highest levels.”
In other news, Yormark said the Big 12 has no interest in private equity investment; the Big Ten recently backed off plans — for now — that would have called for a $2 billion investment in exchange for a 10% stake in its league-wide media rights.
The Big 12 had previously considered an investment from CVC Capital Partners to provide schools long-term financial security.
“It’s incumbent upon all commissioners to look at different options that they can bring back to their boards. Some of those options make sense, some don’t,” Yormark said. “We like where we are right now. That doesn’t mean we’re not exploring different options, but private equity for us doesn’t work. We’re bullish on our future. We’re not giving a stake to anyone. ”
Yormark also said the Big 12 supports the SCORE Act, a bill introduced in July that would preempt state laws regarding name, image and likeness payments that have been allowed since July 2021. Different states have different NIL rules, creating a “wild west” in college sports in which teams and conferences are forced to operate under different sets of rules.
The legislation also calls for schools to provide medical insurance to athletes after they leave school, among other things.
“At its core, the SCORE Act is about protecting the future of college sports for every athlete, every school and every college fan. It creates a national NIL standard,” Yormark said. “It protects a student-athlete’s rights to control their own name, image and likeness with a fair and transparent system. It expands scholarships, medical coverage, mental health resources and academic support. And it ensures student-athletes remain students, not employees.”
