The NCAA is in the final stages of approving the men’s and women’s March Madness Basketball Tournament of expanding to 76 teams starting in 2027.
The current format for both the men’s and women’s tournament is 68 teams with the “First Four” opening-round games of eight total teams being played on the Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio prior to the traditional “First Round” of 64 that begins on Thursday and Friday.
So if the proposed format is adopted, the “Opening Round” games will now have a total of 24 teams competing or 12 games being played for 12 slots to play in Thursday and Friday’s “First Round” action.
Dayton, Ohio will still be a host in the “Opening Round” and has secured the rights of the “Opening Round” through 2028, maintaining the city’s long-standing tradition, however, with the imminent expansion about ready to be approved next month, a second yet-to-be-determined site of the “Opening Round,” which will likely be out West, will host the other games.
So there will probably be six games played in Dayton and six games at a Western-site to make up the 2027 “Opening Round.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Not only does this mean that more teams will need to play on Tuesday or Wednesday, but now more higher-seeded teams will need to lace up prior to the “First Round.”
The 2026 “First Four” had four No. 16 seeds playing (Prairie View A&M, Lehigh, UMBC, Howard) and four No. 11 seeds (Texas, NC State, Miami (OH), SMU) in Dayton, Ohio.
Texas, even though they played an “extra game” during March Madness compared to most of the other field, the Longhorns still made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Traditionally, winning three March Madness games would put a team into the “Elite Eight.”
Overall, some teams could easily view these “Opening Round” games as a detriment or annoyance due the risk of player injury and having less rest and time to prepare for their next opponent, whereas other programs can view these games as an increased opportunity to earn an at-large bid, allow them to gain rhythm and confidence before facing a higher-seeded opponent and to gain tournament revenue.
