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The NCAA is nearing the finalization of an expansion to 76 teams for both men's and women's tournaments, set to begin in the 2026-27 season. This decision follows recent meetings with media partners regarding contract agreements.
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Consider the bracket officially busted.
The almighty NCAA is reportedly in the âfinal stepsâ of expanding the NCAA Tournament to 76 teams on both the menâs and womenâs sides, according to ESPNâs Pete Thamel. The move is expected to be formalized in the coming weeks and the expanded tournaments will begin for the 2026-27 season.
Thamel reports, âNCAA officials met with the media partners for the menâs tournament last week,â and, âThe sides are in the final steps of the media contracts ⊠but they have not been signed.â ESPN owns exclusive rights to the womenâs tournament, while CBS Sports and TNT Sports share the menâs tournament.
Despite more games being added, âthe expansion isnât expected to be a financial windfall.â At the end of the day, the NCAA is adding eight play-in games on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the tournament begins on Thursday. Those play-in games are, naturally, among the least-valuable inventory of any NCAA Tournament games, meaning any additional revenue generated from them will be incremental at best.
Prior reports indicate that ESPN will not pay any additional rights fees for expansion to the womenâs tournament, while CBS Sports and TNT Sports are expected to pay a modest increase.
As such, the argument for expansion is not about money, but access, Thamel reports. Power conferences, which have grown in size amid years of realignment, want to ensure more of their teams get bids into the Big Dance.
The new format will see 24 teams compete in play-in games on the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the first round. That means each team on the 9, 10, and 11-seed lines will compete to get a spot in the traditional 64-team bracket. In total, eight teams that wouldâve been guaranteed a spot in the 64-team field under the old format will now need to play their way in.
Itâs unclear exactly how the television windows will be allocated for the additional games. As it stands, the âFirst Fourâ plays two games on Tuesday night and another two games on Wednesday night. To fit eight additional games in, television windows will likely creep into daytime working hours for most of the country.
Suffice it to say, most fans are not particularly thrilled with such a severe alteration to the most beloved postseason in sports. Whether that resentment will continue one, three, five, or ten years from now remains to be seen. But as it stands, this is a deeply unpopular decision by a deeply unpopular body in the NCAA.
The post NCAA Tournament taking âfinal stepsâ towards expansion to 76 teams appeared first on Awful Announcing.
The NCAA Tournament will expand to include 76 teams for both men's and women's competitions.
The expanded tournaments are expected to begin in the 2026-27 season.
ESPN holds exclusive rights to the women's tournament, while CBS Sports and TNT Sports share the men's tournament rights.
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