There have been many firsts in sports over the past few months. We currently have the NBA playing on the DisneyWorld campus, the NFL season ready to start with almost no fans, high school football players taking sanitization breaks every four minutes, and more. So, how about we just throw every single team in the 2021 NCAA Tournament? No, seriously, the ACC wants to do this.
CBS college basketball insider Jon Rothstein confirmed this morning that every ACC program has agreed to have every single Division 1 team in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Source: All ACC programs agreed earlier today to have every single Division 1 team in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Several are expected to release official statements later today.
This is being done to "celebrate" college basketball. https://t.co/wuCMZ8QLtE
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 9, 2020
The initial reaction from a Wisconsin fan only concerned about the Badgers’ well-being should be a resounding no. This would hurt any true contender, as the Badgers are, by likely making them play more games. While we do not know the format of what this tournament would look like, it would be hard to see how 350 schools being included in the tourney would not lead to at least one or two more contests for Wisconsin and other national championship favorites.
On the other hand, there is a part of the wackiness of sports in 2020 that makes this feel like it needs to happen. It would be the maddest March (or likely extending into other months) we have ever experienced, and we could see some serious mid-major surprises. With one major conference already on board, this idea does seem to have some serious traction.