The NCAA is pushing through the final steps for expanding the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams, sources told ESPN.
NCAA committee calls scheduled for Thursday loom as expected final steps for the formalization of the expansion, sources said. The expansion process could be completed as early as Thursday.
ESPN had reported last week that the NCAA had initiated the final steps to expand both tournaments from 68 to 76 beginning with the 2027 tournaments.
Talks of expansion had taken place for well over a year, and the men’s tournament media deal was amid the final steps toward completion after meetings with NCAA officials in late April. With the various NCAA committees, there’s not expected to be much pushback, as sources have indicated the moves have been debated and discussed for months to help streamline the final steps.
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 will mark a significant shift in one of the hallmark American sporting events. The expansion of the men’s tournament would be the biggest since it moved to 64 teams in 1985. A single team was added in 2001, and three more in 2011.
The Tuesday and Wednesday of the men’s tournament will be significantly different, as it will now expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two different sites thanks to the 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 other site is yet to be determined but will be out of the Eastern Time zone to help accommodate logistics.
Nearly one-third of the men’s field will now play on either Tuesday or Wednesday, as the opening games will feature 24 of the 76 teams. The traditional 64-team bracket will begin early Thursday and is expected to look and feel much the same.
