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When word came down that the fields of the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships would increase from 68 teams to 76 starting in 2027, it was big news for teams on the bubble.
And accordingly, that was what NCAA focused on: the increased opportunities for championship participation. But in the world of travel sports, the reaction was very different, particularly from destinations, who want to know what’s in it for them.
Okay, that might be a bit crass. Realistically, the questions can be summed up two ways:
- What does the new structure mean for hosting opportunities?
- How will it affect bidding?
As of 2027 (and as has been the case since 2011), the men's championship begins on the Tuesday after Selection Sunday, meaning the 2027 tournament will begin March 16.
However, instead of two games Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, there will be three games each day in Dayton and three games each of the two days in a second city, as yet unnamed.
The 12 games will be branded the March Madness Opening Round. The round of 64 will continue to be played Thursday and Friday, while the round of 32 remains Saturday and Sunday. Regional and Men's Final Four competition dates are also unchanged.
The tournament calendar for the women's championship also remains the same. 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 feature 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 seeded by the committees will play 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 paired to face the closest opponent next to them on the committees' overall seed lists, which serves to seed all 76 tournament 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-to-lowest-seeded at-large team. Exceptions could be made, for example, to avoid a regular-season rematch or for geographic purposes. The committee will use existing principles and procedures to avoid teams from the same conference playing one another in the Opening Round and in the round of 64 where 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," said Division I Men's Basketball Committee Chair Keith Gill, 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,” Gill continued. “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."
The expanded bracket format will not impact regular season or conference championship schedules.
The additional 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.
Expansion will allow more basketball student-athletes to participate in the premier post-season events in college sports.
Beyond the Current Bid Schedule
The current NCAA championship schedule extends through 2030, so cities have some time to settle into the new rhythm for March Madness. But what about after that?
According to Michelle Brutlag Hosick, NCAA Director of Communications, “Any changes will be discussed by the committees when the bid specs are reviewed closer to the cycle.”
The Historic Growth of NCAA’s Basketball Championships
The number of men's and women's teams participating in the championships has increased significantly over the years as the number of Division I basketball teams has climbed. Since 1985, the number of Division I women's basketball teams has increased from 277 to 359, while the number of Division I men's teams has increased from 282 in 1985 to 361.
The women's basketball championship began in 1982 with 32 teams, before the field increased by eight teams in both 1986 and 1989. Five years later, the field grew to 64, where it remained until 2022 when it went to 68 teams. With this expansion, the women's tournament will have increased by 12 teams since 2022.
The men's basketball championship began in 1939 with eight teams. Since then, the field has expanded by at least eight teams on four previous occasions, going from eight teams to 16 in 1951, from 32 to 40 in 1979, 40 to 48 in 1980, and 53 to 64 in 1985. The field remained at 64 teams until 2001, when it increased to 65, before going up to 68 in 2011.
Since the men's championship field last expanded in 2011, the publicly revealed "First Four out" have included 60 teams over the course of those 15 tournaments, 35 of which came from the five autonomy conferences (including the old Pac-12).
The other 25 teams (42%) came from outside those leagues, representing 13 different conferences. The list includes four each from the Mountain West and American conferences, three each from the Big East and Atlantic 10 conferences, two each from the Horizon League and Missouri Valley Conference, and one each from the Colonial Athletic Association, Conference USA, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Southern Conference, Summit League and West Coast Conference.
Since the women's championship field last expanded in 2022, 13 of the 20 teams included in the "First Four out" have come from the autonomy conferences (including the old Pac-12). The other seven teams (35%) came from five different conferences, with two teams each from both the Atlantic 10 Conference and The Summit League, and one team each from the Big East Conference, Ivy League and Sun Belt Conference. In each of the five seasons since expansion, at least one team outside the autonomy conferences has been in the "First Four out."
Because of the new Opening Round format, six conference automatic qualifiers, most likely outside the autonomy conferences, will play at least two March Madness games — guaranteeing these conferences at least one additional basketball fund unit. Previously, only two teams got this opportunity.
Financial Support for Participating Schools
According to the NCAA, the governing body also will provide additional financial support to participating schools, increasing the dollars available to both basketball programs and, through revenue-sharing, basketball student-athletes.
The NCAA will be able to award more than $131 million in new revenue distributions to member schools participating in the basketball tournaments over the remaining six years of the NCAA's broadcast agreements.
After accounting for expenses, the projected surplus will primarily be used to continue investing in the basketball tournaments and enhancing the NCAA championship experience for all student-athletes. As part of the agreements the NCAA will open up new, previously restricted product categories for the NCAA Corporate Champions and Partners Program, including beer, wine, spirits and hard seltzer, and allows for expanded in-game advertising opportunities during the linear and streaming coverage of the tournaments. The value of the rights agreement will increase $50 million each year on average over the course of the six years.
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, the Division I Finance Committee, the Division I Board of Directors and the NCAA Board of Governors.
The NCAA also will continue to provide transportation and funding for lodging, meals and other incidentals for teams in the expanded format.
Broadcast and Corporate Champions and Partners Program
All 75 games of the men's basketball championship will air across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. Every game from the women's basketball championship will air on ESPN networks.
Additionally, the agreement was minimally modified beginning with the 2026-27 championship year to expand the territory in which the NCAA may sell local sponsorships that are materially differentiated from the NCAA Corporate Champions and Partners Program and limited to the designated market area where a championship is held.
It also permits the NCAA to pursue limited, sport-specific sponsorships with select equipment companies whose products are used in the applicable championship. Both opportunities would apply to all NCAA Championships other than the Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
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