NCAA Makes Decision on March Madness Expansion

The NCAA Tournament will stay at 68 teams.

For now, at least.

The NCAA announced Monday the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will not be expanded for the 2025-26 season, though senior vice president of basketball operations Dan Gavitt did not rule out changes after that.

From Dan Gavitt
“Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships. However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.”

— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock) August 4, 2025

“Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships,” Gavitt said in a statement from the organization. “However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.”

The men’s tournament has had 68 teams since 2011, when it expanded from 65, while the women’s tournament grew to 68 from 64 in 2022 in the name of equity.

NCAA president Charlie Baker told the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., he supports adding four or eight teams to the fields, but he admitted there are logistical hurdles.

“The tournament has to start after conference championships are over and the selection (show) happens like two hours after the last championship ends, and (the tournament) has to finish by the Tuesday before the Masters,” . “There’s not a lot of room there.”

Although Baker and other college sports leaders have been talking up the idea of expanding the tournament for more than a year, they have not produced much evidence the public is anxious for more teams.

Baker also admitted to Yahoo Sports is not “a big moneymaker” for the NCAA and its members.

Under the current format, the men’s tournament begins with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, two days after the tournament field is announced while the women’s First Four is held at sites also hosting first- and second-round games.

One possibility if the tournament expands would be adding a second First Four at another site.

The men’s tournament was first held in 1939 with eight teams. It expanded multiple times before landing at 64 in 1985.

The women’s tournament was first held in 1982 with 32 teams and reached 64 tams in 1994.