March Madness is going to get even more maddening next year.
The men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments are expected to expand to 76 teams beginning in 2027, according to published reports.
ESPN and CBS Sports, each quoting anonymous sources, said that the NCAA was on track to expand the tournament fields from 68 to 76. That would be the first expansion since the field was increased from 64 to 68 in 2011, ESPN reported.
Expansion has been discussed for more than a decade, but ESPN reported that it is on track to be formalized over the next few weeks. Sources told the sports news outlet that mid-May was the target date for an announcement.
Advocates of increasing the field include conference commissioners and NCAA President Charlie Baker, CBS Sports reported. They are in favor of more inclusion and access.
Sources: The NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams. The expansion is on track to be formalized in the upcoming weeks, with mid-May as the target. The 76-team tournaments begin next year. https://t.co/2ZGUjZR0uJ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 28, 2026
Opponents said expanding the field again would lessen the significance of the regular season and dilute the quality of teams competing in March Madness..
The NCAA, reacting to ESPN’s report, issued a statement late Tuesday.
“Expanding the basketball tournaments would require approval from multiple NCAA committees, including the men’s and women’s basketball committees, and no final recommendations or decisions have been made at this time,” the statement said.
The expanded format would include eight additional at-large bids, ESPN reported. The men’s First Four -- eight teams playing four games in Dayton, Ohio -- would now increase to 12 games at two sites. One of those sites is expected to be Dayton.
The mechanics of the expansion in the men’s tournament would include eight additional at-large bids. What’s known now as the First Four -- eight teams playing four games in Dayton, Ohio -- would expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two sites, one of which was expected to remain in Dayton. The other site would likely be west of the Eastern time zone, according to ESPN.
Those games would be played on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the main draw begins on Thursday.
A decision has not formally been voted on yet, one source told CBS Sports that it is a “very, very small chance” that any reversal would happen in the next week.
The men’s and women’s oversight committees, the men’s and women’s basketball selection committees, the Division I cabinet and the Board of Governors all need to approve the move, the sports news outlet reported.
All are expected to favor expansion.
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