NCAA to expand March Madness men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments to 76 teams in 2027

The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are expected to expand to 76 teams, starting next year, sources confirmed to CBS Sports on Tuesday.

An official announcement from the NCAA is expected in May.

Expansion has been discussed and debated at the NCAA level for four years. Supporters celebrated the idea of ​​greater access while opponents insisted it would shorten the regular season and be a net negative for the sport. In the end, the argument for a larger tournament that would generate additional revenue apparently won.

Although a decision has not yet been formally ratified, a source said there was “a very, very small chance” that a reversal of this situation would occur. Numerous committees, including the men’s and women’s oversight committees, the men’s and women’s basketball selection committees, the Division I cabinet and the Board of Governors, must all approve this decision in May.

“Expanding basketball tournaments would require approval from multiple NCAA committees, including the men’s and women’s basketball committees, and no final recommendations or decisions have been made at this time,” the NCAA said in a statement released Tuesday evening.

However, NCAA President Charlie Baker has been a longtime advocate for tournament expansion.

“I think there are very good reasons to expand the tournament, so I would like to see it expand,” Baker told reporters at the news conference. February NCAA Mock Tournament Selection Seminar “Right now, we’re still talking to the different players in this thing. You have to remember that some of the people we’re talking to are going through some pretty interesting business conversations themselves. And I think for us, we accept that and acknowledge that, but we’re still talking.”

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How would a group of 76 teams work?

This will be the first expansion of the NCAA Tournament since it expanded from 64 to 68 teams in 2011. The move will create eight additional at-large bids. What is known as the First Four — eight teams playing four games in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week of the NCAA Tournament — will now feature 12 games played by 24 teams in two different locations, one of which will remain Dayton. The location of the second opening round is not known but will be in the Pacific, Mountain or Central time zones.

The move to 76 would mean 52 teams would automatically insert into the main bracket and 12 games for 24 teams on Tuesday and Wednesday for a rebuilt opening round.

Farewell to the first four

All 12 games for the 24 teams in the expanded NCAA tournament will be referred to as the “opening round” when the tournament expands into 2027. The “First Four” is dead, a source told CBS Sports.

The expanded opening round will be split between at-large teams and teams that won automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. All of the No. 16 seeds and half of the No. 15 seeds will play matches Tuesday and Wednesday in the first round. The other half of the games will be a mix depending on the quality of the team consisting of the No. 11, No. 12 and maybe a No. 13 seed.

This breaking news will be updated soon.