The four proposed teams would swell the tournament’s total to 72, and would fit in as a second “First Four.”
Have you ever looked at your NCAA bracket and thought, “You know, we need more teams here”? Yeah? Guess what: the ACC’s got your back.
As its spring meetings concluded, the ACC didn’t come to any consensus on the Rice report on collegiate athletic reforms, but it did put forth the idea of adding four new teams to the NCAA tournament. The four teams would swell the tournament’s total to 72, and would fit in as a second “First Four.”
“The idea of having two First Fours, if you will, maybe geographic [games],” said ACC commissioner John Swofford. “That’s such a quick turnaround. You could have one maybe in Dayton and one in the western part of the states. But we will be proposing that.”
ACC coaches proposed the idea, contending that there are more postseason opportunities for football teams than basketball ones. (For the record, 12 of the 15 ACC teams reached the postseason in 2017-18, nine in the NCAA and three in the NIT.)
The conference also pushed forth a package of rules changes such as extending the three-point line, widening the lane, and re-setting the shot clock to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound. However, the conference passed on approving of changes from halves to quarters.
Any expansion of the NCAA tournament will require more input and discussion from across the board, of course. The ACC declined to offer public commentary on the Rice report, but several ACC members are involved with the mandate to devise solutions based on the commission’s findings by August.
____ Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook .
