NCAA plans to expand March Madness to 68

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Every tournament game will be shown live with new $10.8 billion TV deal

By Michael Marot


updated 4:12 p.m. PT, Thurs., April 22, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA has decided not to mess around too much with March Madness.

College sports’ largest governing body announced a 14-year, $10.8 billion deal with CBS and Turner Broadcasting on Thursday that will begin with an expanded men’s basketball tournament next March. But instead of jumping to a 96-team field, a possibility that drew criticism from bracket-obsessed fans to coaches, the NCAA plans to expand by only three teams, from 65 to 68.

Every game will be broadcast live nationally for the first time in the tournament’s 73-year history.