Vanderbilt basketball coach Mark Byington would support NCAA tournament expansion, he said Feb. 20.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said he would support expanding the tournament on Feb. 19. He did not say what number of teams the NCAA would target.
However, if the tournament is to expand, news of expansion isn’t imminent. Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president, told reporters the same day that a decision on expansion won’t come until after this year’s NCAA tournament.
Byington led the Commodores to the NCAA tournament in his first season in 2024-25 and Vanderbilt is on track to make its second straight March Madness appearance in 2026.
“I’m a believer they should (expand),” Byington said. “I think the game has changed and there’s more teams deserving. I know there’s always a fear of having to water down if you have too many teams in there, but we’ve seen teams in the First Four make it to the Final Four. I think there’s so many players now, when you talk about the international players that are coming, right now, college basketball is as good as it’s been. NIL, got some things that don’t make things perfect, but there is a high level of player in college basketball right now, so I think there’s more teams deserving.”
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
