Wichita, Kansas, will be a new home for the opening round of the expanded Division I men’s basketball tournament in 2027 and 2028, the NCAA announced on Thursday.
With the men’s tournament expanding to 76 teams for the upcoming season, the “First Four” that previously featured four games in Dayton, Ohio, determining which four teams among the eight lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and lowest-seeded at-large programs would join the 64-team field is no more.
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Dayton will still get six opening-round games at UD Arena, while Wichita will now host the other six games at InTrust Bank Arena, with all 12 games comprised of the 24 lowest seeds among automatic qualifiers and at-large teams. Those matchups will be played on on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday.
“We were pleased but not surprised by the number of cities from around the country that very much wanted March Madness to begin in their market,” said Keith Gill, chair of the Division I men’s basketball committee and commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference.
“Like Dayton, Wichita is a basketball-crazed community that we expect will embrace the reimagined start of the tournament,” he added. “Having a city in Middle America will be advantageous for getting teams from various points around the country, many of which won’t be known until Selection Sunday, to the Opening Round and subsequently first-round sites.”
(The women’s NCAA tournament is also expanding to 76 teams, but opening-round games will be played on campus at the host sites designated for the first and second rounds.)
Wichita was chosen from seven other cities west of the Mississippi River, according to CBS Sports. Among those finalists were Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Des Moines, Iowa. Ultimately, Wichita’s central geographic location and history with hosting NCAA tournament games (InTrust Arena hosted first- and second-round games in 2018 and 2025) were determining factors.
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NCAA also adjusting “Wins Above Bubble” standard
The NCAA also announced that its Wins Above Bubble (WAB) benchmark is being adjusted with more at-large teams now being included in the tournament field.
For the past two seasons, the baseline for WAB was set at the team ranked 45th — or the average “bubble” team — according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), determined by game results, strength of schedule, location of games, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and quality of wins and losses. The new baseline for WAB will be set at the team ranked 55th.
However, the NET formula was not changed by the tournament selection committee.
