Big 12 Basketball Coaches Endorse NCAA Tournament Expansion
May 28, 2025, 2:26 PM | Updated: 2:42 pm
Kansas head coach Bill Self said that Big 12 Basketball Coaches are in favor of NCAA Tournament expansion. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, Fla. – If the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament expands beyond 68 teams, count Big 12 Basketball as being in favor of such a move.
The Big 12 is currently holding its spring meetings at the Waldorf Astoria at Walt Disney World.
Big 12 Basketball in favor of an NCAA Tournament expansion
KSL Sports asked Kansas head coach Bill Self if NCAA Tournament expansion was discussed during the early meeting session.
Self replied, “There was a little bit of that brought forth.”
What about a consensus among the Big 12 coaches that includes BYU coach Kevin Young and Utah coach Alex Jensen? How do they feel about the potential expansion of the 68-team field?
“The consensus among the coaches –even though it was discussed very little– was we’d be in favor of that,” Self said.
The legendary Kansas head coach didn’t point to a specific number for what the league would like to see expansion reach. But they are not opposed to the March Madness field expanding.
Earlier this year, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City that he was in favor of expanding to 76 teams, an increase of eight teams.
Looking to land more bids in the Big Dance
Regardless of how many teams make up the NCAA Tournament field, the Big 12 wants to improve on its seven bids from last year.
The Big 12 is looking to get back on top compared to the SEC, which had 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament this past season.
“One of the great things and one of the great challenges of coaching in the Big 12 is that you have to keep up. It’s competitive. The SEC got 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament last year; we only had seven.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
