The NCAA hasn’t earned itself many fans as an entity over the past few years.
While there have been plenty of reasons to critique the NCAA in the past, things have recently hit a new fever pitch with the news that the organization is considering expanding the March Madness college basketball tournaments to include more teams.
As anyone who has filled out a bracket is already well aware, 64 teams was perfect, 65 teams was a minor inconvenience, and the current 68 with inclusion of the First Four, was working just fine. Now, a 72-team or 76-team format could be in play.
Michael Wilbon laid into the NCAA on Wednesday’s episode of Pardon the Interruption.
“There’s not a more worthless brand in sports,” Wilbon said. “There’s not a more mistrusted brand in all of sports than the logo that says NCAA. Because the people that rule for that body, they look like clowns much of the time.”
“When they convene, and they act in the name of NCAA, they get it wrong more often than not. They’re going to screw this up. It’s an iconic event, brand. The Final Four. March Madness. The Big Dance. All of that. And they’re not smart enough to leave it alone.”
Wilbon’s cohost Tony Kornheiser agreed.
“The logic in this is very, very simple. There is only one reason for expansion, just one: it is money. It is more money,” Kornheiser said. “You try progressively to ruin something, and eventually you will.”
"There's not a more worthless brand in sports ... than the logo that says 'NCAA.' Because the people who rule for that body, they look like clowns much of the time."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 9, 2025
Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser teed off on March Madness expansion today on 'PTI': pic.twitter.com/dtM1eEXADD
We’ve seen plenty of expansion from the NCAA playoff systems in recent years, and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down any time soon. If March Madness does indeed expand, get ready for some tiny, tiny fonts on your brackets in the coming years.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Michael Wilbon Says NCAA the Most ‘Worthless Brand in Sports’ Amid March Madness Expansion Talks.
