March Madness could get a lot wilder in future years.

The NCAA is considering a raft of changes that would reshape how many schools qualify for top tournaments and how funds are distributed. The proposals were released in a 22-page report by the NCAA Division I transformation committee on Tuesday.

• The 21-member committee proposed allowing 25% of teams in sports sponsored by at least 200 schools to qualify for yearly championship events.
• March Madness could grow from 68 teams to 90.
• The group also recommended adjustments to standards for Division I schools creating attendance minimums for top-tier football schools, and accountability, training, and certification standards for coaches.

Athletes would see a boost in allowed benefits, with schools permitted to cover travel, training outside of school, and more cash for housing, meals, and certain educational costs.

Revenue Redistribution

Also on the table is how the NCAA metes out $638 million to Division I schools, $171 million of which is distributed based on performance in the men’s NCAA March Madness tournament.

The committee recommended altering the distribution system to reward success in women’s sports and other competitions.

The men’s tournament currently brings in more than 85% of the NCAA’s roughly $1 billion in annual revenue.

The Tampa Bay Rays will likely transform St. Petersburg. The question is how.

The city released proposals from four developers for a ballpark-centered development in St. Pete’s Gas Plant district. Residents were invited to provide feedback at a Wednesday evening forum.

• The Rays, working with development company Hines, proposed a 7 million-square-foot development that would include 5,700 multifamily units, 600 senior living residences, office and retail space, a music venue, and a hotel.
• Sugar Hill Community Partners offered a similar setup, with 5,200 housing units, office and retail space, two hotels, a transit hub, and urban farms — plus proposed grants for small and minority-owned businesses and a workforce development program.
• Restoration Associates suggested 2,800 to 3,800 affordable housing units, two acres of self-storage units, a convention center hotel, and a mixed-use technology center.
• 50 Plus 1 Sports proposed 6,748 housing units, retail, office, hotel, and cultural space, plus benefits for minority and women-owned businesses.

Proposals also addressed the neighboring Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, with some offering donations and the Rays planning to build a new Woodson museum.

No More Ybor?

At one point, the Rays favored a new stadium in Ybor City, but that proposal is unlikely to move forward due to issues with funding and MLB’s rejection of a proposal to play half their home games in Montreal. 

Tampa remains an alternative, but the team’s current focus is to stay in St. Petersburg.

A group of video game testers have formed Microsoft’s first U.S. labor union — and it’s now the largest in the video game industry.

A majority of around 300 quality-assurance workers at Microsoft subsidiary ZeniMax Studios voted to unionize, according to The Communications Workers of America.

• Microsoft purchased ZeniMax Studios for $7.5 billion in 2021.
• The acquisition gave Microsoft control of publishing division Bethesda Softworks and game franchises including “Fallout” and “Doom.”

The election ended Dec. 31 and was formally certified Tuesday.

The unionization campaign began before Microsoft’s acquisition, according to senior game tester Wayne Barry, but reportedly accelerated as Microsoft aims to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. 

To appeal to U.S. regulators’ concerns surrounding mergers, the Xbox maker agreed with the CWA in June to stay neutral if Activision Blizzard workers wanted to form a union. 

FTC Findings

The FTC asked a judge in early December to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, saying it would give Xbox exclusive access to Activision games. 

On Tuesday, an FTC attorney said there are no “substantive” settlement discussions between Microsoft and the Biden administration.

FTC administrative law judge Michael Chappell will rule on the deal — which also faces scrutiny in the European Union — after hearings scheduled for August 2023.