NCAA tournament expansion

There has been considerable talk about the NCAA expanding the men's division I basketball tournament field to 96 teams (from its current 65). Who are some of the winners and losers if that happens (a very short list)?
Winners

1. Universities: The more schools that make the tournament, the more schools that have a chance to win a championship (or at least get some exposure for their programs).


2. Student-athletes: More S-As get the excitement of competing in the tournament.


3. Top programs: The top seeds play an even weaker team (which has already played an extra game) than the current #16 seed. This gives the top seeds a better chance of success.


4. TV broadcasters: More games --> More advertising time. More top teams --> More viewers. More viewers --> More expensive fees for advertising.


5. Nevada sportsbooks: There is more high-profile inventory on which to bet. Las Vegas doesn't get a cut of your office pool, so they don't care that you fall in the category below. They might lose some money from people filling out brackets in Vegas, but I think they'll more than make up for it.

Losers

1. Fans?: On the one hand, fans get more championship basketball. On the other hand, fans like the current format. It's big, but digestible, and the popularity of the tournament has been extremely high for several years. A change could result in people not becoming as interested until the later rounds of the tournament.


2. Office pools: How are you going to do your office pool? All 96 teams? Only once it reaches 64? And if the games are more predictable (i.e., if point #3 above is correct), that will really reward those who know the most about basketball, which reduces the fun for everyone else. Less fun --> less participation. [Hmm... if that's true, maybe I should put office productivity in the Winners section]

I fully recognize that this is far, far from an exhaustive list. However, in looking at these winners and losers, you'd have to ask, "Why hasn't the NCAA expanded already?" The 2010 tournament showed the potential for parity among schools, which suggests that expansion may not overly dilute the quality of play.

The NCAA is an organization that works on behalf of universities and their student-athletes. The schools are the NCAA's stakeholders--not fans. As long as fans stay happy enough to keep tuning in and funding the Association (rights fees account for 90% of the NCAA's total revenues), the NCAA and its members are happy. I would not be at all surprised to see an expanded field sooner rather than later.