ESPN’s Jay Bilas calls expansion of NCAA tournament to 76 teams unnecessary

ESPN college basketball broadcaster Jay Bilas said the NCAA’s decision to expand the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments to 76 teams was unnecessary.

Bilas, 62, said that although he does not care about the NCAA’s decision to extend, no one is complaining about it.

“I don’t want to say I don’t care, but I’m not offended. It’s not a decision I would have made for the NCAA because — I’m not one of those ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ because nobody says, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t improve it or don’t fix it.’ But I don’t think it was necessary,” Bilas told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

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“Nobody was complaining about seeing a .500 team in a major conference make this tournament.”

Bilas mentioned that if the tournament had been extended to last season’s tournament, there would have been .500 teams in the tournament.

In the new expanded tournament, the first two days of the tournament will look very different. On that Tuesday and Wednesday, there will be 12 games to be played between the 24 teams due to the eight additional requests. The matches will be played at two different venues.

Bilas said it can be “a little confusing” for regular fans to fill out their bracket. He called the extra games “useless.”

“Most fans don’t think the tournament starts until the first Thursday of the 64-team bracket,” said Bilas.

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ESPN analyst Jay Bilas stands before the court before the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Florida Atlantic Owls at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Dec. 5, 2023. (Porter Binks/Getty Images)

“People still watch games and especially basketball nerds like me will watch them religiously, but for most fans, they’re kind of — I don’t want to say they’re not important, but they are.”

Bilas said that the winning teams will benefit from it.

“What it does is give a team of teams a chance to win an NCAA championship game. Even if a lot of fans won’t give them credit for it, they’re going to get credit. They’re going to get an NCAA championship game and be able to say, ‘Hey, we won an NCAA championship game, even though it was against a team with the exact same interest,'” Bilas said.

“It’s okay. I don’t think it’s as big a deal as others make it out to be,” continued Bilas. “Money is a good reason to do something. That makes me happy.”

UConn’s head coach, Danny Hurley, was one of the coaches who worried that the increased competition could shorten the regular season. Bilas said he understood Hurley’s point and agreed with him.

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ESPN College GameDay host Jay Bilas prepares to broadcast before the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, on Feb. 1, 2025. (Lance King/Getty Images)

“I understand it, and I think it does a little bit. So, the argument about who’s in, who’s out is less. Now, if we’re going to have .500 teams coming out of major conferences making the tournament now, do I think that’s good? No, I don’t,” said Bilas.

“But it’s not that big of a deal. Most of those teams will come out on the first weekend. It’s possible that someone will put it all together at the end of the year and be better than their record, but I think the horse is out of the barn.”

American Century Tournament

Bilas will be playing in the American Century Tournament July 10-12 at Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe.

The tournament has raised more than $8 million for local and national charities. American Century Investments donates 40% of its profits to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and has launched a tournament fundraiser to drive direct donations to Stowers each year.

Bilas said he was invited six or seven years ago and called it the equivalent of a PGA Tour player being invited to the Masters.

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ESPN basketball analyst and former Duke player Jay Bilas watches during the Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, on Oct. 19, 2012. (Lance King/Getty Images)

“When I was invited six, seven years ago and I was happy. I didn’t believe I was going to do it. And they always had to have a very low bar, but they invited me ever since. And for me, getting that invitation should be like a PGA tour player being invited to the Masters. So, you get my invitation, I believe in God, I believe that, ‘Oh, I believe, I believe in God. And.” And he’s the default,” Bilas said.

“It’s just fun. And it’s just as fun when you’re there because it’s a beautiful setting in Lake Tahoe at Edgewood Resort. The weather is always amazing. Seventy thousand people are there in shorts and sundresses and they’re just happy to see their favorite celebrities.”

Bilas said he loves participating in this competition, but he called the spirit what makes it special. He praised CEO Justin Thomas for welcoming and creating a family-friendly environment that everyone loves, in addition to the tournament’s incredible philanthropy. This competition will be broadcast on NBC and Pigogo.

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