NCAA Tournament set to expand to 76 teams: How new format would look

The March Madness logo is pictured during a second-round game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday March 21, 2026. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The NCAA appears to be closing in on a significant change to college basketball’s postseason.

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the NCAA is in the final stages of expanding both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to 76 teams, with a target start date of the 2026-27 season. A formal decision could be announced in the coming weeks, potentially landing in early May.

This isn’t a new idea. Tournament expansion has been discussed for more than a year, but it now feels like real momentum is building. Behind the scenes, NCAA leadership has reportedly met with media partners to work through the financial and logistical pieces of the deal. While contracts are not officially signed yet, there appears to be alignment on what an expanded tournament would look like moving forward.

So, what would actually change?

Under the proposed format, the biggest shift would come at the very beginning of the tournament. The current 68-team field includes the “First Four” play-in games early in the week. In a 76-team model, that opening round would grow substantially.

Instead of a small group of play-in matchups, the early round would expand to 24 teams competing in 12 games across two days. The winners would then advance into the traditional bracket, joining the remaining 52 teams that are already placed into the main field. From there, the tournament would continue in a format that feels familiar to fans.

As expected, this potential change is drawing mixed reactions.

From the NCAA’s perspective, the reasoning is clear. The tournament is the organization’s biggest revenue driver, and expanding the field opens the door for more games, more inventory, and ultimately more value in media rights deals. At a time when college athletics is navigating constant financial pressure and change, that added revenue is hard to ignore.

On the other side, many fans and analysts aren’t convinced. The NCAA Tournament has long been considered one of the best postseason formats in sports, largely because of its urgency and exclusivity. Expanding the field raises concerns about diluting what makes March Madness special in the first place.

And that’s really where this debate lands.

There is no question that the move makes sense financially. More teams means more games, and more games mean more television windows. But whether it actually improves the product on the floor is a completely different conversation.

Personally, I think this is a horrible mistake by the NCAA, but it ultimately moves them closer to what they are really after, which is more revenue driven by putting more games on TV.