Count Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark as a fan of expanding March Madness—if the price is right.
“I’m in favor of expansion to 76,” Yormark said Tuesday ahead of the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament beginning in Kansas City. “I think that’s the right number.”
The men’s NCAA tournament has included 68 teams since 2011 (and the women’s since 2022), but further expansion has become a major topic in recent years. Yormark said he expects leaders to make some decisions over the next few months.
“I think the economics, candidly, have to work,” he said. “CBS and TNT have a marquee asset with the tournament. I know they know that, but in order for us to expand, they have to come to the table and provide the right economics.”
CBS and TNT Sports parent companies Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are collectively paying roughly $870 million annually for men’s March Madness rights through 2032. ESPN has rights to the women’s tournament, which is valued at $65 million annually, for the same time period.
While Yormark is confident that at least men’s March Madness should expand, the heads of the tournament’s network partners aren’t so sure.
“No one wants to do anything that’s going to negatively impact the tournament, and that’s where the focus is,” CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson said Tuesday morning during a March Madness preview call before Yormark’s comments.
“If it’s something that makes sense for the fans and the tournament we’ll be supportive,” TNT Sports chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser said.
