Southern Conference Statement Supporting March Madness Expansion
The Southern Conference (SoCon) 1 advocates for the NCAA utilizing the following principles to guide potential March Madness expansion:
PRINCIPLE #1 – SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE ACCESS
The NCAA transformation committee established that approximately 25% of teams should participate in postseason championships. Just under 23% of 282 schools participated in March Madness when the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Today, 18.6% of Division I schools participate. Critically, expansion must preserve automatic qualification for all conferences.
PRINCIPLE #2 – COMPETITIVE INTEGRITY
The First Four in Dayton features two games between the four lowest-ranked automatic qualifiers, and two with the four lowest ranked at-large teams. The primary purpose of March Madness is to crown a champion. Opening round participation should be based on merit, not the method of qualification, with the lowest NET teams playing in these games. Teams with a statistically better chance of reaching the Final Four should play fewer games. March Madness formats should utilize complete bracket integrity. If this is not achievable, the bracket should have all teams on a seed line playing the same number of games to reach the Final Four.
PRINCIPLE #3 – TRANSPARENCY
Schools spending millions of dollars annually on their basketball programs shouldn’t have to speculate about the math informing selection metrics. The NET is the committee’s foundational resource to rank teams, establish quadrants, and determine the cut line in the Wins Above Bubble (WAB) metric. Unfortunately, NET calculations remain unknown. Describing its formulas as “too complicated”; concerns coaches will “game the system”; and describing the NET as “only one tool” in an attempt to minimize its importance are not defensible rationales for withholding selection formulas. Metric transparency is crucial for trust and better decision-making by coaches and administrators across Division I. Disclosing NET and other selection metric formulas, while also revising the quadrants and WAB cutlines to align with a bigger tournament field, should be part of expansion.
1 The SoCon is fortunate to have representation on both the men’s and women’s basketball committees – incoming chair Martin Newton (Samford University Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics) and Ashleigh Simmons (Western Carolina University Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator). The SoCon’s statement does not necessarily reflect their, or their respective NCAA committees’ views. This statement is based on conference membership and SoCon staff consensus.