NCAA March Madness tournaments could expand to 76 teams in 2027

The NCAA is still deliberating expanding March Madness on both the men’s and women’s sides to 76 teams for next season — a much-expected development that’s been in the works for years.

The NCAA released a brief statement Tuesday in the wake of an ESPN report that cited unnamed sources saying a decision to add eight teams to the bracket is a mere formality that’s expected in May.

Sources also later confirmed the possible expansion to CBS Sports. One source told CBS Sports that there is a “very, very small chance” that the expansion plan could be reversed.

“Expanding the basketball tournaments would require approval from multiple NCAA committees, including the men’s and women’s basketball committees, and no final recommendations or decisions have been made at this time,” the NCAA said in a statement provided to CBS News Tuesday.

Those committees include the men’s and women’s oversight committees, the men’s and women’s basketball selection committees, the Division I cabinet and the NCAA’s Board of Governors, according to CBS Sports.

Earlier this month at the Final Four, NCAA President Charlie Baker said the committees would, in fact, return to discussing the expansion once this year’s tournament was over.

The tournaments have been at 68 teams since 2011, when four play-in games, known as the First Four, were added to the beginning of the first week of play. The new format would add eight more at-large teams and take eight more teams out of the main bracket for play-in games.

The expansion would involve a revamped opening round to replace the First Four, CBS Sports learned. Fifty-two teams would get automatic slots into the main bracket, and the other 24 would play 12 games on a Tuesday and Wednesday in the opening round with the opportunity to advance to the main bracket.

The expansion isn’t expected to generate a lot more income because it will only add games early in the first week. The current TV deal runs through 2032 and could be tweaked slightly.

Regardless of finances, the expansion would give power conferences more chances to place teams in the bracket — a growing concern as those conferences seek more power and control over college sports in the era of name, image and likeness compensation and the transfer portal.