Overview

• President Charlie Baker said expanding the men’s and women’s Division I tournaments cannot be implemented for the 2025-26 season due to tight timelines and resource constraints
• Baker indicated a final vote on whether to expand the field will occur sometime this fall, making 2027 the earliest feasible target
• Separate meetings of the men’s and women’s basketball committees earlier this month produced no recommendation on adding four or eight teams
• The compressed window between conference championships, Selection Sunday and the need to conclude before The Masters creates major scheduling and travel hurdles
• With 32 automatic qualifiers occupying over half the field, at-large slots remain limited and quality teams like St. John’s and Indiana State have been left out under the current 68-team format