I liked the way the NCAA conducted its national tournament when I was a kid. Only two conferences, the Southern and Atlantic Coast selected their champions with season-ending tournaments. All the others named their regular conference season champions and only their champions. There were some good independent teams like Notre Dame, Temple, and St. Bonaventure invited, but they would have to play teams like the Mid-American, Ivy League, and Ohio Valley champions to reach what we today call the Sweet Sixteen.

Now, there are advantages in having teams like Kansas State and Villanova in the same tournament with, say, Lehigh. At the same time, I would like to see Stony Brook (Go, Seawolves!), Weber State and Kent State in the tournament as well. The latter are regular-season conference champions who lost in their conference tournaments and got relegated to the NIT.

So, my solution is this: Expand the tournament to 96 teams. Invite all regular-season champs and also hold conference tournaments. Let the tournament winners into the tournament as well as the regular season winners. Regular season winners could either play in their conference tournaments or simply let the others in their conferences compete for a shot at a bid to the NCAA tournament.

That would mean inviting not only Montana, Vermont, and Ohio but also Stony Brook, Weber and Kent. And it would mean teams like Wofford, Sam Houston State and Oakland would not only go to the tournament but actually might get a shot at winning a game instead of going through the motions against the teams like Ohio State, Pittsburgh or West Virginia.

I like having such teams in the tournament and competing for the right to get there. I get that. I would get it even more if such teams had a shot against the likes of Minnesota, Ohio, Utah State or Houston.

Since I don’t make any money off an expanded NCAA field, my motivation for expansion is simply fairness to regular season champions.

The top 32 teams would not have to play another round. Besides, that’s where the next NCAA champion will come from, anyway.

Meanwhile, Coastal Carolina, Weber State, Jacksonville, Troy and Quinnpiac wouldn’t have to go to the NIT as sympathy dates. And their chances of winning a game wouldn’t be much worse than their chances in the NIT. That tournament might lose ten or twelve teams to the NCAA, but adding teams like Marshall, VCU, Louisiana Tech, Charlotte, St. Louis, Missouri State, Alabama, Arizona, Buffalo and Miami would make that tournament just as competitive.

I oppose simply inviting another 32 teams just to make money. But I do support adding 32 teams to reward regular season conference champions.