Division I committee officially votes to expand NCAA Tournament to 76 teams
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The NCAA Tournament will officially expand to 76 teams starting in 2027.
According to a report from CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, the Division I men and women’s basketball committees voted to expand the tournament on Thursday. The expansion vote was unanimous.
The tournament originally expanded from 64 teams to 68 in 2011 and now will make an official jump to 76 teams starting next season. This addition is likely to add more mid-level power conference teams to the fray, lessening the impact of the regular season even more than it already has been.
In practice, not much will change to the NCAA Tournament’s schedule. Four additional games will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday before the 64-team first round kicks off on Thursday.
10 SEC teams made the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments last season, a number that would have likely expanded to 12 had these rules been implemented ahead of last season’s tournament. Auburn and Oklahoma, from the men’s side, just missed the Field of 68 and went on to compete in the NIT, which Auburn won.
Here’s a look at the latest odds to cut down the nets next season, per Kalshi:
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
