The NCAA tournament is getting bigger—but not everyone is sold on the idea. Rich Ensor, the retired MAAC commissioner who spent 35 years championing mid-major programs, has a front-row seat to the debate. And his take? It's complicated.

Ensor, now retired and living in Lacey, knows March Madness inside out. He was at the helm when Saint Peter's made that unforgettable Cinderella run to the Elite Eight in 2022. So when the NCAA announced it's expanding both the men's and women's tournaments from 68 to 76 teams, his reaction wasn't a simple thumbs up or down.

"As a fan, I don't like it," Ensor admits. "I think it dilutes the field to some extent." And from his mid-major perspective, he's worried the power conferences might be the ones truly benefiting. "I'm not convinced that major-majors aren't once again getting the short end of the stick on this," he says.

But put on his administrator hat—including a five-year stint on the NCAA Division I women's basketball committee—and the picture changes. "They're selling it the way you have to sell it," Ensor explains. "It provides more opportunities, and they've been able to increase revenue. So why wouldn't you expand and give more student-athletes a chance to compete?"

The real test, Ensor believes, will be public perception. The new format adds a "first round" featuring 24 teams: the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams and the 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers, all playing six games each before the traditional Thursday tip-off of the Round of 64. That's a lot of basketball crammed into one week.

"As much as they'll try to make the bracket look the same, with all these extra teams, it isn't," Ensor says. "Nobody in the general public is really paying attention until Thursday when the Round of 64 starts." He recalls how the "play-in" label always frustrated those in the First Four bracket—and worries history might repeat itself. "If public perception is it's going to be a play-in round, that's a phrase that always drove those people nuts."

For now, Ensor thinks it'll take time for fans to warm up to the new look. "It may take a while," he says. And as the bracket gets ready to expand, one thing's clear: March Madness is about to get a little more maddening—and a lot more interesting.