Cohen Applauds NCAA for Not Expanding March Madness to 96 Teams

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) today applauded the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for limiting expansion of March Madness to only three teams. The NCAA originally considered increasing the field of 65 teams to 96 teams. On April 6, Congressman Cohen joined with Congressman Timothy Johnson (D-IL) to issue a letter to the NCAA calling that proposal “shortsighted and unnecessary.”

“Adding more than 30 teams to the March Madness tournament would have been too much,” said Congressman Cohen. “We have to remember that these are student athletes and that their education comes first. The proposal to increase the tournament to 96 teams was based on money. I appreciate Congressman Johnson working with me on this important issue and I’m glad the NCAA did the right thing and focused on the students.”

The NCAA recently announced it would only expand the tournament by three teams – not 31 teams – and is signing a 14-year, $11 billion television agreement with CBS and Turner Broadcasting that would result in all future games being televised across the country.

In their April 6 letter, the Congressmen said they “were concerned about the impact expansion would have on the ability of athletes to keep pace with their academic demands. It appears that expansion would require a substantial number of students to miss almost an entire week of classes. We must not lose sight these players are student athletes and we cannot ignore how expansion would affect their academic needs.”