Adding regular-season interest in the sport with league tournaments and more games against SEC opponents was also discussed.
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Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti: ‘Positive Feelings’ Around NCAA Tournament Expansion
Adding regular-season interest in the sport with league tournaments and more games against SEC opponents was also discussed.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti dished on NCAA tournament expansion and new ways of driving interest in regular-season college basketball during the league’s men’s basketball media day Thursday.
Petitti said there’s “positive feelings towards [NCAA tournament] expansion” throughout his league, joining a chorus of college sports leaders who’ve urged growing the event beyond 68 teams. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has discussed expansion for more than two years, while fellow power-conference commissioners Jim Phillips of the ACC and Brett Yormark of the Big 12 have also floated adding to the field.
The Big Ten’s boss, midway through his second year with the league, was light on specifics for a plan, saying he’d want to see details on seeding and how the first two days of the tournament would look. But Petitti did say Thursday that the league has had “a lot of conversations” with NCAA staff, including president Charlie Baker and SVP for basketball Dan Gavitt.
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