With Lucrative New TV Deal, NCAA Will Expand Men’s Basketball Tournament to 68 Teams

The NCAA announced today that it had agreed on a 14-year, $10.86-billion deal with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting System to televise the men’s basketball tournament, which will be expanded to 68 teams from the current 65-team field. The new deal, which represents a 42-percent increase in revenue for the NCAA over the current 11-year, $6-billion contract with CBS, will take effect with the 2011 tournament. The modest increase in the size of the tournament was something of a surprise, with many observers expecting a jump to a 96-team field, but the new deal will allow all games to be broadcast live by one of the CBS or Turner stations. USA Today also noted that a 68-team field would ensure the survival of the National Invitational Tournament, whose 32 participants might have been absorbed into a 96-team NCAA field.