What you need to know about the expanded 76-team NCAA Tournament format
March Madness is getting supersized
March Madness is getting supersized.
The men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament fields are growing to 76 teams this season, up from 68. This marks the first time the men’s draw has expanded since 2011, when it went from 64 teams to 68. The women’s draw didn’t go from 64 to 68 teams until 2022.
The idea of expanding the field has drawn mixed reviews from fans, but the overwhelming majority of coaches naturally favor it. Since there are more than 360 Division I programs in both the men’s and women’s divisions, the percentage of schools making the tournament remains relatively small, though that percentage goes up quite a bit if you limit it to power-conference schools.
“In a nutshell, more I feel is always better,” Wisconsin men’s coach Greg Gard said. “We have one of the lowest in terms of participation percentages of total teams of almost any college sport, and if you look at the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball, they all expanded in terms of playoff structure to include more.”
According to the NCAA, only 18% of Division I schools were earning bids before this expansion, which represented the lowest percentage among major team sports. That figure now goes up to 21%.
Under the previous 68-team format, the men’s draw had a First Four in Dayton, Ohio. That would include two games involving the last four teams to earn at-large berths, plus two games involving the four lowest-seeded tournament winners from small conferences competing for No. 16 seeds in the main draw. The four winners would advance to the round of 64.
The women’s draw also had a First Four, but it took place at different sites rather than one permanent location.
This new format includes an opening round featuring the 12 lowest-seeded conference tournament winners and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams. That opening round will determine which six conference tournament winners and which six at-large teams advance to the round of 64.
In the men’s draw, Wichita, Kansas, is joining Dayton as a host site for this event. In the women’s draw, 12 of the 16 schools selected as host sites for the rounds of 64 and 32 will also host one of these opening-round games.
The men’s tournament starts Tuesday, March 16, with three games each in Dayton and Wichita. Then there are three more games in each site March 17. The women’s draw holds its opening-round games March 17-18.
The men’s draw continues with round of 64 games on Thursday, March 18, and round of 32 games March 20 in Pittsburgh, Omaha, Nebraska; Fort Worth, Texas; and Spokane, Washington. There also will be round of 64 games March 19 and round of 32 games March 21 at Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis; Louisville, Kentucky; and Sacramento, California.
Regional rounds are March 25 and March 27 at San Antonio and Los Angeles, and March 26 and Marcy 28 at Kansas City, Missouri, and New York. The Final Four is April 3-5 at Detroit’s Ford Field.
The women’s tournament is sticking with its approach of having the top 16 seeds host round of 64 and round of 32 games. Those games will take place March 19-22.
Philadelphia and Las Vegas will each host two NCAA women’s regionals March 26-29. The women’s Final Four is April 2-4 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
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