NCAA Just Voted to Blow Up March Madness, and the Field Is About to Get Way Bigger

The Division I committees for both men's and women's basketball voted unanimously Thursday to expand both NCAA Tournaments from 68 to 76 teams. Yeah, you read that right. March Madness is getting eight more teams, and it happened during what was called an emergency joint meeting of the committees.

Before you get too excited though, this still needs to clear a few more hurdles. The expansion still needs approval from the men's and women's basketball oversight committees, the Division I cabinet, and then the NCAA Board of Governors. But ESPN reported Wednesday that with media partner contracts near completion in late April, the final steps are expected to be smooth sailing.

Here's How the Expanded Bracket Actually Works

The plan is straightforward: 52 teams slot into the main bracket, and the other 24 teams face off in 12 games on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday. The winners fill out the Round of 64. And yeah, the terminology is changing too. Those play-in games will be called the "opening round" now, not the "First Four," and the Round of 64 becomes the "first round."

The 12 opening round games are expected to happen in Dayton, Ohio, current site of the First Four, plus a second site to be determined. For the women's tournament, the First Four contests have traditionally been single games at on-campus sites.

First Expansion Since 2011 Changes Everything

This is massive because the tournament has basically looked the same since 1985, when it was either 64 or 65 teams. The last time anything changed was 2011 when they added the First Four games and moved to 68 teams. The Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference were the leading voices pushing for expansion, Yahoo Sports reported in April. NCAA president Charlie Baker got behind it too, telling ESPN back in February: "I said all along that I think there are some very good reasons to expand the tournament. So, I would like to see it expand."

It's a seismic shift for college hoops. More teams in the field means more Cinderella stories, more mid-major programs getting shots at glory, and frankly, more basketball in March. The committees voted unanimously, so clearly this thing has real momentum. Now we just wait for the final rubber stamps to come through.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.