While the NCAA has yet to make a decision regarding the expansion of the NCAA Tournament, it left the door open for change in the near future. <\/p>\n
The tournament could keep its current 68-team format or move to a new outlook featuring 72 or 76 teams. <\/p>\n
“The topic of expanding the field for each championship was discussed at length but no decision or recommendation was made,” NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said in a statement, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander<\/a>. “The still viable outcomes include the tournaments remaining at 68 teams or expanding the fields to either 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2026 or 2027 championships.” <\/p>\n Norlander\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0last June that the NCAA presented models for 72 and 76-team tournaments to Division I conference commissioners, and Gavitt\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in February that a decision could be made in the “coming months.”<\/p>\n But with no decision yet made, expansion might have to wait until after the 2026 NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Norlander<\/a>, deciding on expanding the tournament as early as 2026 “felt like a necessary step to achieve this week.” Gavitt also previously\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Norlander that action to expand the tournament likely would have been required in the spring.<\/p>\n Considering no change has been made with the college basketball season just around the corner, it seems increasing the number of teams in the tournament could have to wait until at least 2027.<\/p>\n