The future of March Madness has been decided.
According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the NCAA is set to expand the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments from 68 to 76 teams. The expansion, which is “on track to be formalized in the upcoming weeks,” will take effect for the 2026-27 season.
A source indicated to Thamel that the steps needed to gain final approvals for expansion are mere “formalities.” NCAA officials reportedly met with media partners last week and the two sides are “in the final steps” of completing contracts.
The groundbreaking move shakes up the tournament in the most significant way in decades. The most recent big expansion on the men’s side was in 1985 when the tournament ballooned from 53 to 64 teams. The women moved to a 64-team field in 1994.
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In the new format, the men’s tournament will include eight additional at-large bids. The First Four, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, will expand from eight teams playing four games in Dayton to 24 teams playing 12 games at two different sites, one of which is expected to remain Dayton. The 24 teams will include the eight new at-large bids and eight teams that normally would have been in the traditional bracket.
According to Thamel, the major impetus for expansion was access to bids — not money — and the decision was driven by the power conferences. But Thamel did add that “there will be a profit” which will “cover the additional logistics cost for both the men’s and women’s tournaments, the additional units that will come into play and still deliver ‘a modest financial upside.’”
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