We like to tinker with things. It’s just human nature. Have nine good pairs of shoes? Well, why don’t you have ten?
The recent announcement by the NCAA that they will seriously explore expanding to a 96-team field is a great example of the powers that be (i.e. university presidents) having their own tinkering problem. The 2010 NCAA National Final features two teams in Duke & Butler that should demonstrate that no changes are needed in college basketball’s ultimate showcase.
This year’s edition of March Madness has been one of the most exciting and satisfying sporting events of the last twenty years. I’m not just talking about the standard upsets that we see every year, although teams like Cornell & Northern Iowa certainly deserve credit. I’m talking about the chance for the mighty Butler Bulldogs can make history while reminding us why we really watch sports.
Butler isn’t Milan High circa 1954. Although they hail from a small, mid-major conference in the Horizon League, Butler is one of the winningest basketball programs over the last decade.
Since 2000, they have won more conference titles than Purdue, Notre Dame and Indiana combined. The fact that Brad Stevens’ team has won 25 games in a row to close this season is no accident.
Duke isn’t the goliath in the typical sense. Sure, they win a lot of games, and make it to the Final Four as often as any team not coached by Tom Izzo. Coach K has led his Blue Devil teams to an amazing twelve Final Fours.
On the other hand, Duke doesn’t recruit like any other basketball powerhouse. Coach K’s coaching cache can get him into any living room in the country, but it can’t convince a kid who just wants to play basketball that he’s got to go to class.
Duke players may say that they do things the Duke way, just like Butler players don’t mince words when talking about doing things the Butler Way. Ultimately, however, both teams do it the same way: the right way.
The NCAA will give several reasons why they feel expanding the tournament is a good idea, but none of them will be absolutely true. Yes, expansion means more coaches and hard-working young men would get to taste the greatness of March Madness, but at what cost?
For an organization that has supposed paramount task of protecting the sanctity of the student athlete making changes that will take students out of class even more hardly seems right.
Over the past three weeks, we have seen exactly why the NCAA tournament should remain in its current format for the foreseeable future.
Look at the competitive nature, academic integrity, and basketball acumen of both Duke and Butler. Do you see why March Madness is so great, that it always works?
Good.
Now go buy that tenth pair of shoes you don’t need.
