UConn's Dan Hurley warns NCAA tournament expansion could make the regular season 'meaningless'

The NCAA is reportedly looking to grow the men’s and women’s hoops tournaments to 76 teams, and UConn caput manager Dan Hurley harbors immoderate concerns astir the expansion.

No teams person been added since 3 much were successful 2011, and the format of the tourney would change, but that’s not what Hurley is acrophobic about. The 53-year-old manager does not privation to spot the regular play beryllium rendered meaningless.

"What I deliberation makes the tourney peculiar is the qualification for it," Hurley told CBS Sports. "You don't privation the regular play to beryllium rendered meaningless and to instrumentality distant from November, December, January, February. The qualification process makes the regular play aggravated and pressure-packed."

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UConn caput manager Dan Hurley stands connected the sidelines during the archetypal fractional of an NCAA assemblage hoops tourney semifinal crippled against Illinois astatine the Final Four successful Indianapolis connected April 4, 2026. (Michael Conroy/AP)

"It should beryllium a privilege to play successful the tournament, not a right, and evidently if it expands excessively overmuch and you don't person to person a existent bully play to marque it, that would instrumentality distant from the tournament. Does it get excessively big?"

Hurley said helium loved the tourney due to the fact that it was hard to suffice for.

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UConn caput manager Dan Hurley talks with a referee during the archetypal fractional of the Elite Eight NCAA tourney crippled against Duke successful Washington connected March 29, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

"I emotion watching 1/16 games, 8/9 games, Dayton games. But I besides emotion the information that erstwhile it was 64, it was truly hard to get in," the two-time nationalist champion said. "You privation it to beryllium hard to get in. My biggest thing, too, is, you inactive person to triumph six games, right?"

In the caller expanded tournament, the archetypal 2 days of the tourney would look drastically different. On that Tuesday and Wednesday, determination would beryllium 12 games played betwixt 24 teams owed to the 8 added at-large bids. The games would beryllium played astatine 2 antithetic sites.

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UConn caput manager Dan Hurley speaks during a quality league up of the nationalist semifinal NCAA assemblage hoops tourney crippled against Illinois astatine the Final Four successful Indianapolis connected April 2, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP)

The accepted 64-team bracket would past footwear successful connected Thursday aft the opening games. For the teams who person to play connected Tuesday and Wednesday, they indispensable triumph 7 games alternatively of six to triumph it all.

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