NCAA Approves 76-Team Fields for Men's, Women's Basketball Tournaments
NCAA committee members voted Thursday to expand the men's and women's Division I basketball tournaments to 76 teams each. The decision follows discussions over the past year amid fan debate on enlarging the postseason fields. The change takes effect moving forward without altering regular-season or conference championship schedules.
The new format reconfigures the First Four into an opening round featuring 24 teams in 12 games over two days. Six games occur in Dayton, Ohio, with the other site to be announced. Participants include all 16-seeds, half the 15-seeds, and teams seeded 11, 12 or potentially 13, mixing at-large selections and automatic qualifiers; winners advance to the traditional Thursday-Friday first round.
Officials recently consulted media partners on revenue impacts from adding teams, granting Turner Sports more broadcast games annually. The NCAA projects $131 million in additional revenue distributions to participating member schools over the remaining six years of current broadcast agreements, plus $300 million more from media rights. New sponsorship opportunities will cover beer, wine, spirits and hard seltzer.
Virginia Tech President Tim Sands, Board of Directors chair, called the expansion right for student-athletes and programs gaining access to top college sports events. Athletic departments face rising costs, making extra revenue essential. Future television negotiations may address further field growth.
