NCAA makes March Madness expansion decision for 2026
The NCAA announced Monday that it will not look to expand the current NCAA Tournament fields from 68 teams for the 2026 championships, but discussions will continue about potential expansion beyond next year.
'Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men's and women's basketball championships,' Dan Gavitt, the NCAA's senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement. 'However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.'
Advertisement
4 General view of the court before the Final Four Game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Alamodome on April 05, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.
NCAA Photos via Getty Images
NCAA president Charlie Baker had previously said that his goal was to expand the tournament by 2026, but this solidifies that the NCAA will fall short of that goal.
March Madness began in 1939 with an eight-team field, doubling to 16 teams in 1951.
Advertisement
The tournament expanded to 22 teams in 1953 and then grew again to 32 teams in 1975 before eventually moving on to 64 teams in 1985.
4 A general view of the court during the first half of the game between the Omaha Mavericks and the St. John's Red Storm in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amica Mutual Pavillion on March 20, 2025.
Getty Images
The 'First Four' grew the field to 68 teams in 2011, although that's technically a play-in tournament to get into the 64-team bracket.
The women's tournament did not expand to 68 teams until 2022.
Advertisement
4 The NCAA March Madness Tournament has been heralded as the best sporting event.
NCAA Photos via Getty Images
4 Lauren Betts #51 of the UCLA Bruins looks for an open shot against the UConn Huskies during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Amalie Arena on April 4, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.
NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The NCAA has viewed expansion as a positive despite some outcry from sports fans who think the tournament would be watered down.
'It has been brought up before, but there was never the kind of consensus interest as there is now,' Gavitt told The Post in February. 'Doesn't mean it is going to happen, but there's a lot more interest than there's even been in the last decade.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Cathedral grad Cole Hocker wins 5,000 meters at USATF Outdoor Championships
Cole Hocker celebrates after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images Gold medalist Cole Hocker poses with his medal after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Patrick Smith, Getty Images Christian Petersen, Getty Images Cole Hocker celebrates after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Patrick Smith, Getty Images Cole Hocker celebrates after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Christian Petersen, Getty Images Cole Hocker crosses the finish line in front of Grant Fisher to win the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Patrick Smith, Getty Images Cole Hocker races in front of Cooper Teare and Grant Fisher during the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images Cole Hocker celebrates after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images Gold medalist Cole Hocker poses with his medal after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Patrick Smith, Getty Images Patrick Smith, Getty Images Gold medalist Cole Hocker poses with his medal after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Patrick Smith, Getty Images Cole Hocker races in front of Cooper Teare during the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Christian Petersen, Getty Images Cole Hocker races in front of Cooper Teare and Grant Fisher during the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images Cole Hocker celebrates after winning the Orlando Health Men's 5000m final during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on August 03, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. Patrick Smith, Getty Images
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
How Erin Andrews, Charissa Thompson balance work and real-life relationships with NFL's biggest stars
Fox Sports personalities Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson lifted the lid on their close bond with the NFL's biggest stars following their offseason vacation with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his girlfriend, Taylor Swift. During a fan Q&A on the latest installment of their 'Calm Down' podcast, Andrews and Thompson didn't hold back when asked how they balance being professional and having 'fan energy' while interviewing the league's megastars. 'I don't,' said Andrews, 47, who is Fox's lead sideline reporter and covered Super Bowl 2025 in February. 'I'm a huge fan of all the guys I cover and I get so excited to talk to them.' 7 Charissa Thompson and Erin Andrews covering Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, as the 2025 game was aired on Fox on February 9. Instagram/Charissa Thompson Thompson, who hosts the 'Fox NFL Kickoff' show and 'Thursday Night Football' on Prime Video, agreed with Andrews. 'I still get really excited for whoever it is,' Thompson, 43, said. 'I remember [Buccaneers quarterback] Baker Mayfield has this crazy, crazy comeback and I totally turned into a fan and that was probably not professional, but I didn't care, that was f–king awesome. I'm a sports fan and dramatic finishes, and no matter who it is — next week, it could be the opposite in terms of who I'm rooting for. 'I like to watch good football and if something good happens for guys we root for and care about, then yeah, I don't care… There is a time and a place, but then you also still need to have the balance of professional cadence.' 7 CeeDee Lamb #88 of the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys are interviewed by Erin Andrews after the game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on November 12, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. Getty Images 7 Amazon Prime Video Thursday Night Football host Charissa Thompson on set during halftime between the Chiefs and the Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on November 29, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Getty Images Andrews, who joined Fox in 2012 after a stint with ESPN, went on to explain that building relationships with the players comes with experience. 'Listen, it's taken us a minute to get where we are,' said Andrews, who is married to retired two-time Stanley Cup champion Jarret Stoll. 'You have to build up credibility… with not only with viewers at home, your bosses and also, the players and the coaches. You can't go into things when you first start with any job like, 'Oh my god!' People will look at you and be like,' You're an a–hole.' 7 (L-R) Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth, Richard Sherman on set of the TNF on Prime postgame show after a Seahawks-Bears game at Soldier Field on December 26, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images 7 Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes alongside Fox Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews following a game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. AP 'But I think of certain times that I've interviewed Patrick [Mahomes] or I've interviewed Aaron [Rodgers] after big games or anybody really… I love this about Fox so much, I remember when I first got to Fox, somebody said, 'They want to see you having a good time and smiling.' And it's so true. '… There is nothing wrong with sitting on the [show] desk with Baker after an amazing game or any of these guys and be like, 'Can we just talk about this last play?' It's awesome.' Front Office Sports reported last month that Andrews and Thompson, whose respective contracts expired after the 2024-25 season, will receive lucrative extensions before the start of the next NFL campaign. 7 (L-R) Kylie Kelce, Erin Andrews, Charissa Thompson ,Travis kelce, Jarret Stoll and Steven Cundari at Taylor Swift's concert at Wembley Stadium in London in June 2024. Instagram Andrews and Thompson are open about their friendships with athletes, including Rodgers, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in June, as well as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly Stafford. Last month, Kelce posted Instagram photos from his and Swift's offseason getaway with Andrews, Stoll, Thompson and her longtime boyfriend, Steven Cundari. 7 Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Charissa Thompson, Steven Cundari, Jarret Stoll and Erina Andrews during an offseason getaway before the 2025 NFL campaign. Instagram/Travis Kelce Page Six reported in March that Kelce and Swift dined with Andrews during a secret getaway to Montana. Andrews and Thompson shipped a romance between Kelce and Swift, both 35, before the couple got together in the summer of 2023. During a previous episode of their 'Calm Down podcast, Andrews and Thompson publicly encouraged Swift to give the three-time Super Bowl winner a chance after he failed to pass along a friendship bracelet at a July 2023 Eras Tour show with his telephone number on it. Swift attended her first Chiefs game in September 2023 before stepping out publicly with Kelce a month later.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
PGA Tour veteran ‘very concerned' after Rory McIlroy skips first playoff event
It's not the greatest look for the PGA Tour and its playoff format that Rory McIlroy is blowing off the first leg of the three-tournament bonanza. And one influential Tour veteran is not pleased about the reigning Masters champion's absence. 'Very concerned,' Peter Malnati, one of the player directors on the PGA Tour Policy Board, told Golfweek. There's currently no deterrent for such a move for someone in McIlroy's position. The 36-year-old Grand Slam champion is in second place in the FedEx Cup standings with 3,444 points, well behind Scottie Scheffler, who had 4,806 points after winning two majors this year, and well ahead of third-place Sepp Straka (2,595). 3 Rory McIlroy celebrates his Masters win with wife, Erica Stoll, and daughter, Poppy, on April 13, 2025. Getty Images The top 50 finishers at this week's St. Jude Championship in Memphis move on to the second leg, next week's BMW Championship, where the top 30 finishers then qualify for the Tour Championship. This year's Tour Championship will begin with all 30 participants starting at even par, so even if McIlroy also skips the BMW Championship, he'll have as good of a chance as the rest of the field at winning the playoffs. 3 Peter Malnati during the Charles Schwab Challenge in May 2025. Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images Will the PGA Tour institute changes that would penalize golfers for skipping playoff events in the future? 'I think there is stuff in the works and I'll leave it at that,' Malnati told Golfweek. Webb Simpson, who's also on the Policy Board, sounded skeptical such measures would be taken. 'I think it's too hard of a thing to make guys have to play. We're still a sport where you can play when you want to play,' Simpson told the outlet. McIlroy finished second-to-last in last year's St. Jude Championship and told the Telegraph in November he was likely skipping the event this year. 3 Rory McIlroy acknowledges the crowd at Royal Portrush during the final round of the British Open on July 20, 2025. Getty Images 'I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year, and only moved down one spot in the playoff standings,' he said at the time. McIlroy already earned $10 million in bonus money for regular-season performance. The winners of the St. Jude and BMW get $3.6 million, while the Tour Championship winner gets $10 million.
