Image – USA Today
Image – The Florida Times-Union
NCAA Tournaments officially expands to 76 teams
The brackets of the Division I men’s and women’s basketball championships will increase from 68 to 76 teams starting in March of 2027.
According to the NCAA’s official announcement, adding eight teams to the tournament fields “[creates] additional championship participation opportunities for student-athletes and more exciting matchups for fans.”
The NCAA will also prove additional financial support for all 76 teams that appear in each tournament, increasing the dollars available to both basketball programs and through revenue-sharing.
The expansion and financial increase were approved by the Division I men’s and women’s Basketball Committees, the Division I men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees, and the Division I Finance Committee, the Division I Board of Directors and the NCAA Board of Governors.
“Providing additional access to the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships for Division I programs will be incredibly meaningful, especially to the student-athletes of the eight additional men’s and women’s programs that receive these coveted bids,” said NCAA Board of Governors Chair Jim Phillips, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. ‘The leadership by President Charlie Baker as well as Dan Gavitt, Lynn Holzman and JoAn Scott has been outstanding. We also appreciate the support of our broadcast partners and corporate champions and partners in making this a reality.”
The eight extra bids mean 21% of teams have a spot in the NCAA’s basketball postseason. Before expansion, championship access for basketball teams was at 18%, the lowest among major team sports.
Image – ESPN
More championship opportunities for student-athletes
Expansion will create more opportunities for basketball student-athletes to compete in one of college sports’ premier postseason events, without affecting the regular season or conference championship schedules.
The growth in tournament participation reflects the steady rise in Division I programs. Since 1985, the number of Division I women’s basketball teams has increased from 277 to 359, while men’s programs have grown from 282 to 361.
The women’s championship began in 1982 with 32 teams. The field expanded by eight teams in both 1986 and 1989, then reached 64 teams in 1994. It remained at that size until 2022, when it grew to 68 teams. With the latest expansion, the women’s tournament has added 12 teams since 2022.
The men’s championship started in 1939 with just eight teams. The field doubled to 16 in 1951 and later expanded from 32 to 40 teams in 1979, from 40 to 48 in 1980, and from 53 to 64 in 1985. The tournament stayed at 64 teams until 2001, when it increased to 65, and then to 68 in 2011.
The NCAA will continue to cover transportation, lodging, meals, and other related expenses for teams competing under the expanded format.
Image – NCAA March Madness on X
How the Opening Round changes
As has been the case since 2011, the men’s championship will begin on the Tuesday following Selection Sunday, with the 2027 tournament tipping off on March 16. However, the Opening Round format will expand. Instead of two games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, there will now be three games each day in Dayton and three games on each of those days at a second site that has yet to be announced. In total, 12 games will make up what will now be known as the March Madness Opening Round.
The remainder of the men’s tournament schedule will stay the same, with the round of 64 played Thursday and Friday, the round of 32 on Saturday and Sunday, and no changes to regional rounds or the Men’s Final Four.
The women’s tournament calendar will also remain unchanged. Opening Round games in 2027 will take place Wednesday and Thursday, March 17–18, and will be conducted on the campuses of 12 of the top 16 seeds selected to host. The round of 64 will be played Friday and Saturday, while the round of 32 will take place Sunday and Monday. Regional competition will take place March 26 and 29 in Philadelphia and Las Vegas, while the Women’s Final Four will be played April 2 and 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
The 76-team brackets will include an automatic qualifier from each conference, along with the best at-large teams selected by the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees. The lowest-seeded 12 automatic qualifiers, as determined by the committees, will compete in half of the Opening Round games, while the other six games will feature the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams.
Teams will continue to be matched based on their position on the committees’ overall seed lists, which rank all 76 teams. For example, seed 75 may play seed 76 in one Opening Round game, while the lowest-seeded at-large team selected to the field may face the second-lowest-seeded at-large team. Adjustments may be made to avoid regular-season rematches or for geographic considerations. The committee will continue to use existing principles and procedures to avoid matching teams from the same conference in the Opening Round and the round of 64 when possible.
“The expanded Opening Round for the NCAA tournaments will now feature 12 automatic qualifiers and 12 total at-large teams, resulting in highly competitive matchups and greater access to the opportunity to compete for the championship for the eight new at-large bids,” Division I Men’s Basketball Committee Chair Keith Gill said, commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference. “During the last two years of the tournaments, men’s and women’s teams seeded 15 or 16 are winless in 32 first-round games. Moving forward nearly half of the 28 men’s and women’s teams seeded on the 15 and 16 lines will win at least one tournament game. March Madness is the best postseason in all of sports, and this new format will continue that legacy by producing even more compelling games for fans and student-athletes.”
“The growth of women’s basketball has been phenomenal in recent years, and we are pleased to be able to offer additional opportunities to the student-athletes and teams that earn them,” said Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Chair Amanda Braun, athletics director at Milwaukee. “The committees took our charge seriously, and we believe this is responsible stewardship of the championship.”
