March Madness tournaments to expand to 76 teams from next season
Summary
The NCAA will expand its men's and women's March Madness basketball tournaments from 68 to 76 teams next season. This means adding more games in the tournament’s first week while keeping the main bracket the same size.Key Facts
- The tournaments will increase by eight teams each.
- The early round games will grow from four to twelve and be called the “March Madness Opening Round.”
- Winners of these games will join the main 64-team bracket starting Thursday (men) and Friday (women).
- This is the first expansion since 2006, when the tournaments grew from 65 to 68 teams.
- Schools in the tournament will receive over $131 million in new revenue from more TV ads, including alcohol ads.
- Most new teams are expected to come from powerful conferences like the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC.
- The current TV rights deal for the men’s tournament is worth $8.8 billion and lasts through 2032.
- Expanding beyond 76 teams was not chosen because it would require adding another week to the tournament.
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