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The NCAA will not expand the men's and women's tournaments in 2026 and will stay at 68 teams making the field, the organization's senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt announced Monday.
Conversations are still ongoing within the NCAA about adding more teams to the prestigious postseason tournament field.
The tournaments staying at 68 teams brings a sigh of relief to most college basketball fans, who want March Madness to stay exclusive.
If the NCAA tournaments were to expand the field, it would create more at-large spots for teams, as more conferences are not on the way.
Some in sports have wanted more teams to participate in March Madness, as currently under 20 percent of teams get to The Big Dance.
More games will equal more revenue, even if the quality of teams as a whole will drop by lowering the standards to make the bubble.
The NCAA will not expand the men's and women's tournaments in 2026 and stay at 68 teams
Conversations are still ongoing about adding teams to the postseason tournament field
The NCAA men's tournament last expanded in 2011 from 65 teams to 68 teams, expanding from one play-in game the Tuesday before the Round of 64 gets underway to four.
The play-in game was first introduced in 2001, as the tournament expanded from 64 of 65 teams.
Before that, the last expansion to the tournament happened in 1985, when the selection committee chose 64 teams instead of 53.
A popular model for adding teams has seen only six more teams join the field, giving every No 11 and 12 seed a play-in game instead of only half of them.
Any changes will have to wait until the 2027 season, as the tournament field will stay at 68 for now.
