NCAA Expands Women’s Tournament To 68 So Fans Don’t Have To Share Teams

Indianapolis, IN – The NCAA today announced expansion of the annual women’s basketball tournament to 68 teams, so that each fan would no longer need to share the team they’re rooting for with another supporter.  While this increased count aligns with the men’s tournament format, the NCAA stressed increased competition was not the motivating factor driving this change.

“Were not trying to compete with March Madness, we’re not even trying to compete with ourselves”, clarified NCAA President Mark Emmert.  “This move was needed to allow each fan to have their very own team to root for.  Our research has shown our fans and heck, even our players aren’t really into competition.” 

Melody Kimble, the University of Texas Lady Longhorns fan, welcomes the move: “I want to cheer on my Longhorns and know I’m their #1 and only fan and not be in some sort of contest with another fan, simply because there aren’t enough teams in the tournament to go around. Competition just distracts from the beauty of the women’s game.”

When asked how this change will impact future seasons, Emmert sounded an optimistic view. “We hope this is only the beginning.  Analysts project explosive growth in lady basketball moving forward, elevating us to possibly 70 – 74 fans by 2030.  If that happens, we’ll increase the size of the tournament accordingly to welcome these new supporters.  The skies the limit…or at the very least, you know, the bottom of the backboard.”