“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.”

The fields for the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments will not be expanding this season, NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt announced.

The NCAA is sticking with 68 teams for this upcoming season for the field size of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments – though the discussion of future expansion is still on the table. “Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships,