The NCAA Tournament is staying at 68 teams. For now.
After months of debate, the NCAA men’s and women’s Division-I basketball committees announced Monday they will not recommend expansion in advance of the 2026 postseason.
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“Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships,” Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement. “However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.”
While many power-conference commissioners — and high-major coaches — have advocated for growing the current 68-team fields, public opinion has been markedly against expansion. A vote on expansion was initially expected earlier in July, when the men’s and women’s basketball committees met for summer meetings in Savannah, Ga., and Philadelphia, respectively, but no count materialized. That signified that expansion momentum had slowed, while widespread backlash from fans and prominent media members grew louder.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Men’s College Basketball, Sports Business, Women’s College Basketball
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