With George Mason University reaching the Final Four in this year's men's NCAA Tournament, there is now talk to expand the tournament field from its current status of 65 teams.
The Patriots were one of the last teams to make last year's field, which is why some coaches are in favor of the change. The number of additional teams, if any, will be one of the topics discussed at this week's men's and women's basketball committee meetings in Orlando, Fla.
At most, the field could be expanded to 128 teams, but it will most likely be on a smaller scale.
Ball State University women's basketball coach Tracy Roller would be in favor of increasing the field, but not to 128, if changes are made on the women's side.
"The more schools they get in the tournament the better off it is," she said. " Everybody plays to try to get into the postseason. The more opportunities there are, the better options there are. But there's a point to where it gets watered down and you don't want that either."
Tom Collins, director of intercollegiate athletics at Ball State, said he's also in favor of adding teams, but only if the number is minimal.
"The concept doesn't bother me," he said. "Maybe if you add another six or eight teams, and only if you do it the right way. If you can expand without diluting [the tournament], it would be a good thing."
If the field increased to that number, the number of first round sites would double and an extra week of play would likely be added.
Another issue is the National Invitational Tournament. The NCAA bought the rights to the men's tournament in August for $56.5 million. If the number of teams in the field increases to 128, there's a chance the NIT could be eliminated. The NCAA does not own the right to the women's NIT.
A different proposed model would have four opening round games, also called "play-in" games, at Dayton, Ohio, instead of the one that is played now.
The NIT uses a similar format. Forty teams make it into the NIT, and 16 teams (covering eight games) play opening round games before advancing into the first round.
Ball State was one of those teams in the 2002 NIT, defeating the University of South Florida 98-92 in an opening round game at Worthen Arena.
The NCAA Tournament field went from 48 to 64 teams in 1985, then added a 65th team in 2001 when the number of automatic bids increased from 30 to 31.
Men's basketball coach Ronny Thompson declined to comment for the story.
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