The NCAA Tournaments in men’s and women’s basketball will expand after all.
The March Madness tournaments will go from 68 teams to 76 beginning in 2027 – next season.
The decision was approved by the Division I Board of Directors and Board of Governors, and it’s been formalized with television partners, per Yahoo Sports.
“Providing additional access to the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships for Division I programs will be incredibly meaningful, especially to the student-athletes of the eight additional men’s and women’s programs that receive these coveted bids,” NCAA Board of Governors Chair Jim Phillips, commissioner of the ACC, said in a press release. “The leadership by President Charlie Baker as well as Dan Gavitt, Lynn Holzman and JoAn Scott has been outstanding. We also appreciate the support of our broadcast partners and corporate champions and partners in making this a reality.”
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Why Is March Madness Expanding?
Power conference leaders wanted teams from their leagues to have more spots in the tournament, and thus expansion talks picked up. The power conference believed they have deeper leagues and thus should be rewarded with more berths in the tournaments.
Remember: not every team will be happy because there will always be bubble teams that just miss the cut. But now we’ll see more bubble teams given a chance to advance in the postseason.
It doesn’t appear like this will take bids away from mid-major conferences, which currently get at least one spot for their conference champions guaranteed. But it will affect how they have to navigate the tournament.
Some of those mid-majors will end up playing each other in the “Opening Round” for the right to play in the Round of 64, which isn’t dissimilar to First Four games which the tournament has had for more than a decade. But now you’ll likely have six teams – ones that would otherwise be 15 seeds playing No. 2 seeds in the first round – playing for the right to compete in the Round of 64 instead of just the two in the First Four.
The NCAA Tournament is one of the most valuable sports properties for TV. More games means more content for broadcasters and streaming platforms. And this will certainly increase revenue for schools and conferences.
How A 76-Team March Madness Format Could Work
Essentially, the 64-team bracket stays intact but basically with 12 play-in games.
There will be an at-large portion of the Opening Round that will feature six at-large games – two games featuring two 11 seeds each and four teams with two 12 seeds each – and six automatic qualifier games – two games with two 15 seeds each and four games with two 16 seeds each.
This means:
- More at-large bubble teams
- Additional games between lower-seeded AQ teams
- And thus, expanded television coverage during the opening week
Here’s a look at the new bracket:
How Much Revenue Will NCAA Tournament Expansion Generate?
March Madness expansion will create $300 million in revenue over the next six years, per Yahoo Sports. That six years is the last stretch of the NCAA Tournament’s media deal with Warner Bros., Discovery, and CBS.
The NCAA said it will “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.”
How Many Teams Will Play In March Madness Now?
There will be 76 teams in both the men’s and the women’s NCAA Tournaments.
This is the biggest change to March Madness since 2011 when they expanded from 64 teams to 68 teams in 2011. Those four teams played in what was called the “First Four.”
So while the play-in games featured just a couple of matchups, this new format could lead to a multi-day event.
March Madness Expansion Critics & What This Means For Mid-Majors
Plenty of fans won’t be happy with the expansion of the NCAA Tournament.
Some say this could even further devalue the regular season. This isn’t dissimilar to the arguments going on now about a potential 24-team College Football Playoff.
This also affects mid-majors. Some of the teams that would be 14 or 15 seeds if it was just 64 teams will now have to face off with other mid-major conference champions just for the right to compete in the Round of 64.
When Will NCAA Tournament Expansion Happen?
The NCAA Tournament expansion is going into effect next season in 2027, the next time the tournaments are played.
