yahoo - 5/7/2026 8:19:59 PM - GMT (+2 )
March Madness is expanding.
The men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments will grow to 76 teams starting next season, following a vote by the NCAA selection committees, Thursday, May 7.
CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported Thursday's vote was unanimous: "Not a single dissenting vote."
OPINION: Expanding the NCAA Tournament won't make it better
It’s the first time the NCAA tournament will expand on the men’s side since it went for 65 to 68 teams in 2011, and the women’s side followed suit in 2022. However, it’s the first major expansion since the men went from 53 to 64 in 1985, and the women’s jumped from 48 to 64 since 1994.
The move has been anticipated since conversations began in 2025 as NCAA president Charlie Baker has strongly vouched for expansion. Multiple college athletic directors and coaches confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on April 28 there’s an “expectation” for it to grow after ESPN reported it was in the final stages of being approved.
The proposal was accepted by the men's and women's basketball committees on May 7, and now the men's and women's basketball oversight committees, the Division I Cabinet and DI Board of Governors approval is all that's needed to finalize the move.
With eight more spots, the new NCAA tournament will have a First Four play-in that will go from eight teams in four games to 24 teams playing 12 games to advance to the first round of the tournament. It has yet to be determined where the games will be played, but it is expected to take place Tuesday and Wednesday prior to when the first round begins on Thursday.
The first round of 64 and ensuing rounds remain intact.
While the major bracket stays the same and keeps the excitement of it, the main issue with expansion is it waters down the potential field, allowing Power conference teams with subpar records in, while still keeping quality mid-major teams out.
For instance, under the new format, 17-16 Auburn and 18-14 Indiana would have qualified for the play-in games.
Another factor is the expanded field will require mid-major conference tournament champions that are high seeds to play their way into the first round. In the 68-team format, the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers (No. 16 seeds) played in the First Four to advance to the first round.
It was not announced if there will be any changes to the selection format. The 2027 men’s NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin on March 16 and the women’s on March 17.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA Tournament will expand to 76 teams, starting in 2027
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