The NCAA has taken the final steps toward expanding both the men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournaments from 68 to 76 teams. The change, which has been under discussion for more than a year, is expected to be formalized in the coming weeks, with a target of mid-May for official approval.
If finalized in time, the new format would take effect for the 2027 season.
The expansion adds eight at-large bids to each tournament. Under the new structure, 52 teams will receive direct entry into the main bracket, which begins on Thursday with the round of 64. The remaining 24 teams — comprising a mix of lower-seeded automatic qualifiers and at-large selections — will compete in an expanded opening round consisting of 12 games played over Tuesday and Wednesday at two sites.
The 12 winners from those games will advance to join the 52 directly seeded teams, which will then set up the usual 64-team single-elimination bracket.
If adopted, the new opening round would replace the current “first four” play-in games setup. One source familiar with the process told CBS Sports that the First Four tournament is already “dead.”
All No. 16 seeds and half of the No. 15 seeds are expected to participate in the opening round, along with additional games involving No. 11, No. 12, and possibly No. 13 seeds depending on team quality. The remaining eight games in the expanded round will pair new at-large selections against traditional qualifiers.
The current 68-team format, which has been in place since 2011, features 32 automatic qualifiers (one from each conference) and 36 at-large bids selected by the committees. Eight of those teams — typically the lowest four automatic qualifiers and the last four at-large teams — compete in the First Four, with four games hosted primarily in Dayton, Ohio.
The four winners then advance to face the top 60 seeded teams in the round of 64 on Thursday and Friday. The new 76-team version preserves all 32 automatic bids while increasing at-large opportunities, particularly for teams from major conferences that have frequently fallen just outside the current field.
NCAA officials met with media partners CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery last week to discuss related contract matters, though those agreements have not yet been signed. The expansion requires approvals from the men’s and women’s basketball committees, the oversight committees, the Division I cabinet, and the Division I board of governors.
Sources familiar with the process have indicated that these steps are merely formalities at this point, however. “They have what they need to move forward,” one unnamed source told ESPN.
