Why 61? Because D-III has a rule that one spot is made available for every 6.5 teams eligible for postseason play.
In case you’re wondering, D-I is letting in one in every 5.3 teams. Yes, you’re reading the correctly: the D-III tournament is tougher to enter than the D-I. And yet, there are those who still talk as if the expansion of 100 D-I teams in the past 12 years means The Tournament must be bloated as well.
In Division III women’s hoops, the number is already set at a perfect 64 because there are more eligible teams. Here’s the NCAA’s reason why the men went to an odd number of 61.
In the men’s tournament, 40 conferences receive automatic bids, with the Landmark Conference having completed its two-year waiting period. Two bids, known as Pool B bids, are set aside for teams that are not in one of those 40 conferences, such as independents, or members of the Great South, New England Collegiate and Upper Midwest Athletic Conferences. The remaining 19 bids are true at-large selections, known as Pool C bids. That’s an increase of one spot from last year.
Forty auto bids. Let’s hope D-I never gets to the point. But I have my doubts.
NCAA field increases to 61 for men {D3 Hoops}
