ESPN: NCAA basketball tournaments set to expand to 76 teams

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments are set to expand next season, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Tuesday.

According to Thamel, the NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand the tournaments.

Sources: The NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams. The expansion is on track to be formalized in the upcoming weeks, with mid-May as the target. The 76-team tournaments begin next year. https://t.co/2ZGUjZR0uJ

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 28, 2026

Thamel said the expansion, which has been discussed in the basketball world for some time, is on track to be official in the coming weeks and will begin next season.

An announcement of the final decision is slated for release in mid-May, Thamel said.

According to Thamel, the expansion will include eight additional at-large bids. What’s known now as the First Four will expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two sites, one in Dayton, Ohio, where the First Four games are held now.

“The expansion would lead to an additional eight men’s games, meaning the Tuesday and Wednesday of the NCAA tournament will feature 24 of the 76 men’s teams,” Thamel said. “That number now includes eight teams who would have qualified for the traditional bracket that will square off against the eight at-large additions.”