The NCAA announced that it will not expand the field for the 2026 men's and women's Division I basketball tournaments, keeping the number of teams invited to the Big Dance at 68.
Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president, hinted that the tournament could expand in future years.
"The committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships," he said.
An expanded field could help generate more television revenue, as universities in the NCAA are now permitted to pay players directly under new rules.
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The current 68-team format has been in place for the men's tournament since 2011 and for the women's tournament since 2022. Under current rules, four opening-round games are played. Two of the games involve the four lowest-ranked conference champions, while the other two games feature four of the last non-conference champions to earn what are described as "at-large" bids.
Aside from additional revenue, one argument for expanding the field is that the number of teams in Division I men's and women's basketball has grown in recent decades. There are now more than 360 universities that field Division I men's and women's basketball teams.
However, changes to the field could disrupt how the NCAA places teams into brackets. An estimated $3.1 billion was wagered on the 2025 men's and women's basketball tournaments.
