NCAA tournament expanding to 76 teams 'will happen.' Here's why that's the case despite the outcries against it
In the most financially stressful time in college athletics history, the power leagues see NCAA tournament expansion as a key path to increasing access and revenue. (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) An expanded NCAA tournament is on the horizon — that much we’ve known for some time. The end of the event’s television contract is a mere five years away; and the gap between the haves and have-nots — attributed mostly to conference realignment, athlete compensation and transfer movement — has never existed in such a significant way as it does today.
In the most financially stressful time in college athletics history and considering their success in these events in general, the power leagues are aggressively seeking more access and revenue in NCAA championships. NCAA expansion: 'It will happen' NCAA leadership and members of the association’s basketball committees — both the selection and oversight groups — are expected to finalize an expansion of the men’s and women’s tournaments to 76 teams. Barring something unforeseen, “it will happen,” says one high-placed source.
The NCAA remains in process of finalizing expansion of the basketball tournaments. No deal is signed and the basketball committees have not approved - or even seen - the agreement. As reported April 3, the NCAA and media partners are expected to eventually reach a finalized deal https://t.
co/AIaMJ5cIL6 — Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) April 28, 2026 According to a proposal socialized with members last year, eight games would be added to the current “First Four” played over Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week of the event. This new “opening round” — the verbiage used to describe it — would feature 24 teams playing in 12 games over the two days at two sites (Dayton and another). Those involved in the negotiations caution that plenty of this could change through the course of continuing talks with TV partners Warner Bros.
Discovery and CBS. The 12 winners of the opening-round games — likely six games pitting lower-seeded automatic qualifiers and six pitting at-large teams — advance to an awaiting 52 teams in the original bracket. Under this concept, eight teams are extracted from the main bracket, plus the eight new at-large selections from expansion.
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