Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s Senior Vice President of Basketball, announced Monday that expansion of the men’s and women’s basketball tournament was not on the table for 2026.
Discussion have taken place regarding the possibility of expanding to either 72 or 76 teams from the current 68. Gavitt said that’s not happening immediately, but did not rule out the possibility in future years.
“Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships,” Gavitt said. “However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.”
The possibility of tournament expansion has gained momentum in recent months, though the topic remains divisive. Many believe that expansion would mean that those spots would go to middle-of-the-pack teams from power conferences, rather than additional mid- or low majors who might capture the country’s collective imagination as “Cinderella” stories.
The NCAA men’s tournament expanded from 53 teams to 64 in 1985, and again to the current 68 in 2011 (with the “First Four” games — essentially play-in games — taking place each year in Dayton, Ohio). The women’s tournament moved from 48 teams to 64 in 1994, and added the First Four in 2022.
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