The 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament begins March 17-18 with the First Four games in Dayton.
The selection show airs on CBS and starts at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15. But these 31 NCAA Tournament auto-bids are looking to secure their spot in the bracket ahead of time.
2026 NCAA Tournament Auto-Bids Tracker
| Conference | Auto-Bid |
| America East | UMBC |
| American | South Florida |
| Atlantic 10 | VCU |
| ACC | Duke |
| ASUN | Queens (NC) |
| Big 12 | Arizona |
| Big East | St. John’s |
| Big Sky | Idaho |
| Big South | High Point |
| Big Ten | Purdue |
| Big West | Hawaii |
| CAA | Hofstra |
| Conference USA | Kennesaw State |
| Horizon League | Wright State |
| Ivy League | Penn |
| MAAC | Siena |
| MAC | Akron |
| MEAC | Howard |
| Missouri Valley | UNI |
| Mountain West | Utah State |
| Northeast | LIU |
| Ohio Valley | Tennessee State |
| Patriot League | Lehigh |
| SEC | Arkansas |
| SoCon | Furman |
| Southland | McNeese |
| SWAC | Prairie View A&M |
| Summit League | North Dakota State |
| Sun Belt | Troy |
| West Coast | Gonzaga |
| WAC | Cal Baptist |
