NCAA SVP of Basketball Dan Gavitt reveals the latest on possible NCAA Tournament expansion

Jon Rothstein sits down with NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball, Dan Gavitt, for a wide-ranging conversation on the state — and future — of college basketball. Gavitt reflects on his roots in the game, lessons learned from his father, and his journey from the Big East to leading March Madness operations. They dig into how the changing landscape — including NIL, the transfer portal, and potential five-year eligibility — is reshaping the sport. Gavitt also addresses some of the biggest questions in the game today: tournament expansion, seeding debates, the role of Championship Week, and what expanded access could mean for mid-majors and the regular season. The conversation closes with insights on the NIT’s future, the return of the Final Four to Indianapolis, and Gavitt’s most memorable NCAA Tournament moments. A must-listen for anyone who cares about where college basketball is headed next. 0:10 Opening Day 0:30 His role 1:40 Life in basketball 3:00 What he learned from his father 5:15 Old Big East 7:00 Leaving Big East for current job 8:15 Changing landscape of college basketball 9:45 Transfer portal and NIL guardrails 14:10 5 Years of Eligibility? 16:00 Seeding SEC teams last year 18:35 NCAA Tournament expansion 21:00 Championship week impact on NCAAT 22:45 Expansion number? 23:30 Tournament expansion impact on regular season 25:45 Tournament expansion impact mid majors 27:45 NCAA Tournament expansion logistics 28:55 Automatic qualifiers for every league? 30:00 Power conference vs. non power conference 31:00 First Four host possibilities 32:15 Minimizing the accomplishment by expanding the field? 35:00 Timeline 35:05 NIT impact 36:30 Final Four return to Indy 38:25 Most memorable games