There’s probably no sporting event – not even the Super Bowl – that more Americans look forward to than the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, commonly known as “March Madness.” The Women’s tournament has a large and ever growing following as well.
You don’t have to be a fan of the sport…or even like basketball all that much to get caught up in following brackets and trying to win office pools. Office productivity all but vanishes for a few weekends every March…and no one complains.
But how much different would it be if the tourney was played in April? Would it be different at all?
March Madness is a major event all over the country, including places where college basketball isn’t big otherwise. For diehards, the start of the college hoops season every November, including numerous neutral-site tournaments and marquee matchups, is hoops nirvana. And while folks get all caught up in “The Road to the Final Four,” at the end of the season, the part in between – the road through the regular season – is not one that’s monitored all that intently.
College basketball’s regular season is pretty far down the list on sports fans viewing agenda. Unlike football, the regular season TV ratings aren’t that great, and have been in decline.
Here’s the rub: When hoops tip off their regular season in November, it’s right in the heart of College football’s stretch run. It’s Rivalry Week and all that goes with it. Unless you’re a diehard hoop head, you’re able to follow your favorite teams with one eye at best. Most fans simply aren’t paying attention until football is over in early January, and even more potential viewers don’t tune in until…March.
For the vast majority of sports fans college hoops before the turn of the calendar is…meh. Get back to me in March, they say.
And that’s a problem for the sport.
Former Sun Belt, WAC and MAC Commissioner Karl Benson says college basketball has, “The best postseason in all of sports…and the worst regular season. The postseason has been so popular, and so beneficial, that people forget about, and don’t care about November, December and January.”
Does it need to be fixed?
And if so, what can be done to fix it?
There’ve been internal discussions centered on the idea of pushing back the start of college basketball’s regular season in order to not compete in the college football’s finish. That would mean pushing the postseason back as well. The idea has a great deal of support. According to Tulane coach Ron Hunter, the vast majority of NCAA basketball coaches would love to see the season and the tournament pushed back a month, at least. But there’s a roadblock. And it’s the voice that matters the most.
During meetings with coaches and administrators, the idea got a lot of support, according to Hunter. “Maybe we should start the season later, move everything back, move the Final Four,” Hunter recalled, “and everyone in the room thought it was a great idea…until CBS spoke up and said, ‘Oh no, we can’t do that.’” It would mess with the network’s highly lucrative coverage of The Masters golf tournament.
Hunter shakes his head. “This is all controlled by money…by the TV deals,” he laments.
TV coverage of The Masters is most certainly a factor, but so is the start of the Major League Baseball season. Networks want programming that fits into nice windows. College hoops being done right as the MLB season is starting works out quite nicely for programming. So even when the CBS rights deal to televise the tournament expires with the end of the 2032 season, there will still be those roadblocks, regardless of which entity acquires the broadcast rights.
That may not matter to those who are fearful that the continued apathy towards the college basketball regular season may end up wounding the sport.
“I think they’re going to make another run at it,” Benson continued. “It’s being talked about more and more that we’re killing the sport during the regular season and at some point in time, the post season may no longer be able to bail it out.”
April Anarchy? Doesn’t have the same ring. Someone would have to come up with a new nickname.
Listen to Mark Knudson and former WAC, MAC and Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson talk about college athletics on the “Knudson and the Commish” Podcast, available on all major podcast platforms.
