The NCAA is still considering expanding March Madness as soon as next year, after leaders met this week and discussed the idea.
“The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees met this week. The topic of expanding the field for each championship was discussed at length but no decision or recommendation was made,” NCAA SVP of basketball Dan Gavitt said in a statement released late Thursday. “The still viable outcomes include the tournaments remaining at 68 teams or expanding the fields to either 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2026 or 2027 championships.”
The update follows comments in May from NCAA president Charlie Baker, who said there had been “good conversations” with men’s March Madness media-rights holders CBS Sports and TNT Sports about adding more games to the tournament.
However, several veteran sports-media executives previously told Front Office Sports they didn’t believe CBS and TNT would be willing to increase their March Madness rights fees—which combined are already worth roughly $1 billion annually—if the NCAA green-lit expansion.
The terms of the NCAA’s media contract with Disney for the women’s tournament stipulate that ESPN is not required to pay extra if women’s March Madness expands, sources have told FOS. The network has, however, committed to broadcasting any extra games on its platforms. ESPN’s deal pays an average of $115 million annually for more than 40 NCAA championships, valuing women’s March Madness at $65 million annually.
In May, Baker said that the goal was to “try to either get to yes or no sometime in the next few months.” It would seem likely a decision to expand the 2026 March Madness tournaments would need to be made by the end of summer, before colleges begin their fall semesters.
