Dan Gavitt, the NCAA\u2019s Senior Vice President of Basketball, announced Monday that expansion of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball tournament was not on the table for 2026.<\/p>\n
Discussion have taken place regarding the possibility of expanding to either 72 or 76 teams from the current 68. Gavitt said that\u2019s not happening immediately, but did not rule out the possibility in future years. <\/p>\n
\u201cExpanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball championships,\u201d Gavitt said. \u201cHowever, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s collective imagination as \u201cCinderella\u201d stories. <\/p>\n
The NCAA men\u2019s tournament expanded from 53 teams to 64 in 1985, and again to the current 68 in 2011 (with the \u201cFirst Four\u201d games \u2014 essentially play-in games \u2014 taking place each year in Dayton, Ohio). The women\u2019s tournament moved from 48 teams to 64 in 1994, and added the First Four in 2022.<\/p>\n
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