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NCAA Expands March Madness Tournaments to 76 Teams
The NCAA will increase both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments from 68 to 76 teams beginning next season. The change creates an expanded March Madness Opening Round with 12 games involving 24 teams, whose winners advance to the traditional 64-team bracket.
May 7, 3:57 PM·2m read3 sources
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The NCAA announced Thursday that both the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments will expand by eight teams each starting next season, increasing the field from 68 to 76 teams. The new format adds eight extra games for a total of 12 involving 24 teams in what will now be called the March Madness Opening Round.
Those 12 winners will advance into the main 64-team bracket, which begins on a Thursday for the men and Friday for the women as in previous years. This marks the first expansion of the tournaments in 15 years, when the field size was last increased to 68 teams.
Officials said the change will distribute more than $131 million in new revenue to schools that make the tournament, generated through expanded television advertising opportunities that were previously restricted, including for alcohol. The value of the rights agreement will increase by an average of $50 million each year over the next six years.
Most of the eight new tournament slots are expected to go to teams from the power conferences.
Separately, next year’s Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, in which St. John’s will participate, will expand to 24 teams and be televised by ESPN. The event will feature two brackets: one with eight teams and another with 16 teams. St. John’s will compete in the 16-team bracket, scheduled for Thanksgiving week.
Other teams in that bracket include Michigan, Gonzaga, Louisville, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, San Diego State, Kansas State, Creighton, Maryland, TCU and Oregon. The previous 18-team format gave teams two scheduled games plus a third based on record and scoring margin.
Under the new structure, a bracket will determine the three opponents for each team. Participating teams will receive $1 million and play a minimum of three games.
The tournament expansion comes amid significant conference realignment and revenue-sharing changes in college sports. Power conferences have grown substantially, with one league expanding from nine to 17 teams since 1996. Officials noted that while smaller programs help define the tournament’s appeal, larger conferences have increased their influence in decision-making.
