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What could be better than the Big Dance? The #cbbcl

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There’s little debate that the NCAA tournament is the greatest sporting event in North America. The first week is madness and the next two weeks sort out the game’s champion through four neutral-site games against (usually) the best teams in the field.

But what if it could be even better?

No, I’m not talking about simply another tournament expansion (though that does seem inevitable). I’m talking about something even bigger – and better. So I’ll let John Infante explain:

The main problem with college basketball is that 345 schools are fighting for one crown. If the NCAA tournament continued without change for 100 years, the majority of those 345 would never come close to winning. This fact is used as justification to remove the vast majority of teams from Division I, cutting the division to 60–100 teams. But teams you might place in the 100–200 range can get hot and win a tournament, if given the opportunity.

To provide appropriate spoils for all 345 teams while holding a premier tournament that prevents a team from being crowned champion simply by going on a relatively short winning streak, we need multiple competitions. We need the College Basketball Champions League (CBBCL) and the NCAA Cup.


If it sounds vaguely like soccer, you’re right. If that sounds ominous, it’s not.

As John writes here at College Hoops Journal, it’d be an all-inclusive, exciting and – good news for the NCAA and TV networks – hugely profitable. He explains the reasons, breaks down the logistics and the payoffs for it in his post, none of which I disagree with. It’d be an event, to say the least.

Sure, some wouldn’t get it, some would hate it and some wouldn’t care. But if the initial reaction to the proposal is any indication, John’s onto something.

Now how to make it happen …

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.