John Calipari, Dan Hurley, Tom Izzo Sound Off on Potential NCAA Tournament Expansion

The NCAA is reportedly on the verge of expanding the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams, and some of the top coaches in the game are not convinced it's the best path forward.

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander spoke to multiple veteran men's basketball coaches who pushed back on the idea of NCAA tournament expansion.

"What I think makes the tournament special is the qualification for it," UConn head coach Dan Hurley told Norlander. "You don't want the regular season to be rendered meaningless and to take away from November, December, January, February. The qualification process makes the regular season intense and pressure-packed. It should be a privilege to play in the tournament, not a right, and obviously if it expands too much and you don't have to have a real good season to make it, that would take away from the tournament. Does it get too big?"

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that the NCAA is in the "final steps" of the expansion, and the process "could be completed as early as Thursday." The committee would expand both tournaments from 68 to 76 beginning in 2027.

Norlander reported on Thursday that a vote has further progressed the situation:

Arkansas head coach John Calipari is also not in favor of expansion, but he suggested that it could be a good idea if it benefits schools outside of the Power Four conferences.

"I am a big believer in the idea that if it's not broke, don't fix it, and I think that applies to the NCAA Tournament," Calipari told Norlander. "Having said that, if we are to expand, my hope is that at least half the spots are held for non-Power Four teams. If they do that, we are making the decision for the right reasons. As someone who has been both David, and won some, and Goliath, and lost some, that's what makes this tournament special. We can't afford to lose that special piece of our sport."

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo shared Calipari's sentiments, saying that he would prefer for the NCAA tournaments to stay in their current format, but he could see how expansion could help mid-major programs.

"I understand it from both sides," Izzo told Norlander. "I would rather it stay the same, but as you know, coaches weren't asked at all. I like the excitement of where it is. Could it get better? I don't know. … If I was leaning to why it would be good it's because of what's happened with these conferences. We have 18 in our conference (the Big Ten) and there's so many more teams. It's hard for everybody. It's hard to please everybody. I was a Division II guy. I feel for the lower, smaller programs. I hate to break something that isn't broken. And I know we went from 64 to 68. It's like NIL. You can get to $10 million, you still won't have enough. You can have $20 million and it's not enough. If we go to 76, 96, it's never going to be enough."

In addition to Hurley, Calipari and Izzo, coaches who have spoken publicly against expanding the NCAA tournaments include Gonzaga's Mark Few, Illinois' Brad Underwood, Duke's Jon Scheyer, Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg and Alabama's Nate Oats. Coaches who have expressed support for the expansion include St. John's Rick Pitino, Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Michigan's Dusty May and Virginia's Ryan Odom.

Calipari added that he feels the NCAA has much bigger things to worry about than expanding the men's and women's basketball tournaments.

"Our main focus should be on fixing the transfer rules, which would help not only all the teams and athletes in our sport but teams in every sport," he said. "And I'll say it again: That's where our energy should be focused."