The NCAA is making final moves to expand the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams, sources tell ESPN.
Thursday’s NCAA committee meetings appear to be the final step expected to formalize the extension, sources said. The expansion process can be completed by Thursday.
ESPN reported last week That the NCAA has begun the final steps to expand both tournaments from 68 to 76, beginning with the 2027 tournament.
Expansion talks had been ongoing for more than a year, and the media deal for the men’s tournament was one of the final steps toward completion after meeting with NCAA officials in late April. There is not expected to be much response from the various NCAA committees, as sources have indicated that the move has been debated and discussed for months to help streamline the final stages.
The formal process includes approval from the men’s and women’s basketball committees, the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees, the Division I Cabinet, and the Division I Board of Governors.
The move would mark a significant change at one of the major American sporting events. The expansion of the men’s tournament will be the largest since it moved to 64 teams in 1985. One team was added in 2001, and three more teams were added in 2011.
Tuesday and Wednesday of the men’s tournament will be quite different, as it will expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two different sites thanks to eight additional at-large bids.
One of those sites is expected to be Dayton, Ohio, which has long hosted the current Tuesday/Wednesday games known as the First Four. The second site has not yet been determined but will be outside the Eastern Time Zone to help accommodate logistics.
Nearly one-third of the men’s field will now play on Tuesday or Wednesday, as 24 of the 76 teams participate in preliminary games. The traditional 64-team bracket begins early Thursday and is expected to look and feel much the same.
