NCAA approves increase to 32 game regular-season schedule for college basketball
On Wednesday, June 25, the NCAA Division I Council approved a rule allowing schools to play a maximum of 32 games before the postseason starting with the 2026-27 season. Teams are currently allowed a maximum of 31 regular-season games.
In the new approval, the committee's new legislation also removes the current legislated requirements that teams are held to for participating in multiple-team events (MTE). The adoption of the 32-game maximum model was proposed by the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Oversight Committees back in March.
REQUIRED READING: NCAA commissioners pledge to follow NIL rules governing college athletics after settlement
Though the 32-game model was approved, the NCAA's news release on June 25 noted teams can play fewer games. The change also "does not limit the opportunity for multiple team events to operate or exist," the release said.
The adoption of the 32-game regular-season model is the first change to the regular season schedule format in college basketball since the 2006-07 season.
Under the current structure, teams were able to schedule 28 or 29 regular-season games with either an additional two-game or three-game multiple-team event for a maximum of 31 games. Teams also had the option of scheduling 29 regular-season games without a multiple-team event part of their schedule.
"I greatly appreciate the significant amount of work that the MBOC and WBOC conducted, and the strong collaboration that took place, to put forth this legislation and look toward the future of regular-season scheduling. This proposed legislation does not require anyone to change their regular-season schedule and provides simplicity and greater flexibility as teams review their team and scheduling needs each season," Dan Butterly, chair of the Men's Basketball Oversight Committee and commissioner of the Big West Conference, said in a statement in March.
"The opportunity very much exists for teams to continue to play in multiple-team or bracketed events to prepare them for postseason play."
The NCAA noted that oversight committees determined that the rule change provided greater scheduling flexibility for Division I programs. Teams can now play an additional game at a multi-team event or schedule a late-season marquee non-conference game — perhaps at a neutral site — to help boost their NET ranking and Quad 1 record for the NCAA Tournament.
In a time of college basketball (and college athletics) where more neutral-site non-conference games are taking place and the first NIL-driven multi-team event, The Players' Era Festival, is now up to 18 teams, the allowance of having that additional regular-season game can be financially beneficial for teams and players.
The 32-game regular season schedule adoption comes a month after the NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved changes to the pace and flow of the game in men's basketball. These adoptions included a coach's challenge at any point in a game to review out-of-bounds calls, basket interference/goaltending and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted-area arc.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Arizona looking for bounce back in second season under coach Brent Brennan
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona's first season under coach Brent Brennan did not go as planned. Plagued by key injuries on defense and an offense that sputtered at times, the Wildcats took a step back last year after building momentum under previous coach Jedd Fisch. 'When you have a tough season like we did a year ago, you've got to fix what is broken and then you have to put those pieces together," Brennan said. Arizona appeared to have the pieces in place to continue the success it had under Fisch before he left to coach at Washington. It didn't pan out. Injuries to three of their best defensive players and an inconsistent offense — despite having All-American receiver Tetairoa McMillan — led to a 4-8 finish after winning 10 games the year before. The Wildcats retooled for their second season under Brennan, adding speed and skill at receiver and running back to complement quarterback Noah Fifita. Arizona also brought in offensive coordinator Seth Doege, a Mike Leach disciple who had success at Marshall, and promoted Danny Gonzales — the former New Mexico head coach — to stabilize a defense that struggled last season, particularly against the run. 'The expectation around here, 'God, you guys have been bludgeoned, so no one thinks we're going to be worth a darn,'' Gonzales said. 'That's outstanding to me because all we get to do is talk about the end." Finding Fifita Fifita had a breakout 2023 after starting the season as a backup, throwing for more than 2,800 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. He wasn't quite as productive last season, throwing for 2,958 yards, but with 12 interceptions to 18 touchdowns while completing 60% of his passes. 'I think that the step back for Noah Fifita is my fault, not his,' Brennan said. 'We didn't do a good enough job running the football. We didn't do a good enough job protecting him, which I think we've done. We've made some moves in the direction of making that better right now.' Replacing McMillan Arizona has a big hole to fill after the departure of McMillan, one of the best receivers in program history. The Wildcats will try to make up for the loss of his production by spreading the ball around to what could be five speedy receivers in the regular rotation. Four of those are transfers, including Javin Whatley, who caught 108 passes for 1,810 yards and 12 touchdowns in four seasons at Chattanooga. 'I felt like we were missing some people on the other side of T-Mac, like we needed to have more, we needed more speed,' Brennan said. 'I think we've added that in the offseason.' Dialing up the D Arizona took a step back defensively last season after making inroads under Fisch. The Wildcats were one of the worst defensive teams in the Big 12, exacerbated by injuries to linebacker Jacob Manu, defensive back Treydan Stukes and safety Gunner Maldonado. Arizona has most of its secondary back, including Stukes and Genesis Smith, but multiple new players up front. Schedule Arizona has a chance to get its 2025 season off to a good start with five of its first six games at home. The Wildcats open against Hawaii on Aug. 30, with home games against Weber State, No. 17 Kansas State, Oklahoma State and BYU after that. Arizona has road games against Iowa State, Houston, Colorado and Cincinnati before closing out the regular season at rival Arizona State. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Fox Sports
3 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
2025 College Football Odds: Can Big Ten Powers Go Undefeated?
College Football 2025 College Football Odds: Can Big Ten Powers Go Undefeated? Published Aug. 18, 2025 2:37 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Going undefeated in college football is a rare achievement. Only a handful of teams have finished with a perfect record over the last 30 years. And while t he preseason poll was released last week, and the Texas Longhorns are ranked No. 1, oddsmakers aren't convinced they are the team most likely to complete an unbeaten season. So, if not Texas, then who? Let's take a look ahead at the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of Aug. 18. To finish the 2025 regular season undefeated Penn State: +410 (bet $10 to win $51 total) Ohio State: +410 (bet $10 to win $51 total) Notre Dame: +420 (bet $10 to win $52 total) Clemson: +430 (bet $10 to win $53 total) Georgia: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total) Liberty: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total) Oregon: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total) Texas: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total) Alabama: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total) Boise State: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total) Miami (FL): +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total) Since 1994, a handful of FBS programs have gone without a loss. Nebraska boasts the most undefeated seasons with three, all coming from 1994 to 1997. Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State, Utah, Auburn and Alabama each have two over the last three decades. Since the AP first released its Top 25 list in 1936, however, there have been 64 NCAA-recognized undefeated champions, including co-title holders, according to ESPN. Notre Dame has the most undefeated, championship-winning campaigns with six, followed by Nebraska and Alabama, each with five. ADVERTISEMENT The most recent squad to go undefeated was Michigan in 2023, finishing 15-0 and capturing the CFP title. Georgia accomplished the same the year prior. The longest streak of perfection over the last 30 years spanned from 1997 to 2002, during which at least one program went undefeated in six consecutive seasons. Clemson, Ohio State in Joel Klatt's preseason CFP bracket After winning their first national championship under Ryan Day and posting a 14-2 record last year, the Ohio State Buckeyes sit atop the oddsboard to go undefeated in 2025. But they share that top spot with Penn State, which finished 13-3 in 2024 and enters this season at No. 2 in the AP Poll, one spot ahead of OSU. Meanwhile, Texas — despite its No. 1 AP preseason ranking — is tied at seventh on the oddsboard. The Longhorns went 13-3 last season, with their first loss coming in Week 7 to Georgia. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! What did you think of this story? share
Associated Press
4 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Arizona looking for bounce back in second season under coach Brent Brennan
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona's first season under coach Brent Brennan did not go as planned. Plagued by key injuries on defense and an offense that sputtered at times, the Wildcats took a step back last year after building momentum under previous coach Jedd Fisch. 'When you have a tough season like we did a year ago, you've got to fix what is broken and then you have to put those pieces together,' Brennan said. Arizona appeared to have the pieces in place to continue the success it had under Fisch before he left to coach at Washington. It didn't pan out. Injuries to three of their best defensive players and an inconsistent offense — despite having All-American receiver Tetairoa McMillan — led to a 4-8 finish after winning 10 games the year before. The Wildcats retooled for their second season under Brennan, adding speed and skill at receiver and running back to complement quarterback Noah Fifita. Arizona also brought in offensive coordinator Seth Doege, a Mike Leach disciple who had success at Marshall, and promoted Danny Gonzales — the former New Mexico head coach — to stabilize a defense that struggled last season, particularly against the run. 'The expectation around here, 'God, you guys have been bludgeoned, so no one thinks we're going to be worth a darn,'' Gonzales said. 'That's outstanding to me because all we get to do is talk about the end.' Finding Fifita Fifita had a breakout 2023 after starting the season as a backup, throwing for more than 2,800 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. He wasn't quite as productive last season, throwing for 2,958 yards, but with 12 interceptions to 18 touchdowns while completing 60% of his passes. 'I think that the step back for Noah Fifita is my fault, not his,' Brennan said. 'We didn't do a good enough job running the football. We didn't do a good enough job protecting him, which I think we've done. We've made some moves in the direction of making that better right now.' Replacing McMillan Arizona has a big hole to fill after the departure of McMillan, one of the best receivers in program history. The Wildcats will try to make up for the loss of his production by spreading the ball around to what could be five speedy receivers in the regular rotation. Four of those are transfers, including Javin Whatley, who caught 108 passes for 1,810 yards and 12 touchdowns in four seasons at Chattanooga. 'I felt like we were missing some people on the other side of T-Mac, like we needed to have more, we needed more speed,' Brennan said. 'I think we've added that in the offseason.' Dialing up the D Arizona took a step back defensively last season after making inroads under Fisch. The Wildcats were one of the worst defensive teams in the Big 12, exacerbated by injuries to linebacker Jacob Manu, defensive back Treydan Stukes and safety Gunner Maldonado. Arizona has most of its secondary back, including Stukes and Genesis Smith, but multiple new players up front. Schedule Arizona has a chance to get its 2025 season off to a good start with five of its first six games at home. The Wildcats open against Hawaii on Aug. 30, with home games against Weber State, No. 17 Kansas State, Oklahoma State and BYU after that. Arizona has road games against Iowa State, Houston, Colorado and Cincinnati before closing out the regular season at rival Arizona State. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
