The proposal to expand the NCAA men's basketball tournament to 96 teams from 65 would be nothing more than promoting mediocrity ("Why March Madness Needs 96 Teams," Sports, Dec. 15).
The answer to inviting more deserving "mid-major" teams is to reduce the number of invitations to marginal big conference teams. No team should be invited to the tournament if it has a losing record in its own conference. The marginal big-conference teams continue to receive invitations partially because big-name TV announcers and "analysts" have had an undue influence on the invitation process by being nothing more than shills for the big boys.
Bob Youngerman
Brevard, N.C.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 