As one of four teams stamped with the dreaded “First Four Out” label in the most recent edition of the NCAA Tournament, few programs had a bigger gripe with the field than Baylor.

From afar, pundits clamoring for postseason expansion could point to the Bears’ conundrum to allow more quality teams in the existing 68-team field.

If only it were that simple.

In May, the Atlantic Coast Conference unveiled plans to propose a 72-team field, upping the ante by an additional four teams.

“We were right there, right? So we’re one of the one’s on the bubble. I know (Baylor coach) Scott (Drew) would love if we were at the 72. We’d get in,” Baylor Athletic Director Mack Rhoades told CNHI last month. “I’m probably pretty comfortable with it where it is right now. I like it.”

So far, the ACC’s pitch hasn’t been met with much promise, outside of coaches, in other conferences. The Big 12 last month briefly discussed the proposal at its annual league meetings.

While void of an official position, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he hadn’t heard a compelling case for expansion.

“Have 172 — you still have four on the outside looking in,” he said. “Sixty-eight has been pretty good. A few play-in games is a good place to be. Seventy-two changes the math a little bit and gives you compression in the first week of the tournament that is not entirely desirable.”

The NCAA Tournament last expanded in 2011 when a field of 65 with a single play-in game was bumped to 68 teams with the introduction of a two-night event known as the First Four — eight teams battle for the final four spots in Dayton, Ohio.

The ACC didn’t provide much creative reasoning for the proposal outside of starting another First Four at a site, possibly the West Coast, which could be more geographically friendly for some programs.

Expansion has been thrown around before, but a new TV deal with CBS/Turner complicated any possible changes and could throw water on any discussions until the current contract runs out in 2031-32.

Some Big 12 coaches even made headlines last March when throwing their support toward an even more radical expansion plan of 96 teams. Drew led the charge, and he had supporters, too. Texas Tech Coach Chris Beard and Kansas State Coach Bruce Weber were both in favor of expanding the field to 96 teams. That would prove more complicated than the ACC”s proposal, requiring an extra round of games to the current three-week, 63-game format.

It’s not surprising coaches would want more teams in the field, Weber said. Why? It’s simple: Job security. Coaches are ultimately judged by wins and losses, championships and NCAA Tournament success. A larger field could produce fewer headaches for those clutching to keep their gigs.

But a larger field could water down the product, an outcome implied by Rhoades.

“Going to the NCAA Tournament has to continue to feel special,” he said.

“It makes for great conversation. It’s just like the (College Football Playoff) and (the discussion of), ‘Do we keep it at four versus expanding?’ It keeps it in the national limelight, spotlight, just having that conversation.”

Other Big 12 administrators were perplexed by the decision. West Virginia Athletic Director Shane Lyons questioned the rationale behind the proposal, and Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard, who admitted he hadn’t thought twice about it, felt the timing was odd. Just in the past year, conferences have dealt with basketball corruption, transfer reform and now are navigating sports gambling.

“I got other things to worry about besides that,” Pollard told CNHI. “I was a little surprised they brought that up for the same reason. There are bigger challenges out there than that, to me, right now.”