cnn
—
Here's a look at the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. The single-elimination tournament is nicknamed “March Madness” or “The Big Dance.”
2024 NCAA Men's and Women's Finals
April 8, 2024 – Men's Finals: The national championship game is scheduled to be played in Glendale, Arizona.
April 7, 2024 – Women's Finals: The national title game is scheduled to take place in Cleveland.
2023 NCAA Men's and Women's Finals
April 3, 2023 – Men's Finals: The University of Connecticut Huskies win their fifth national men's basketball title with a 76-59 victory over the San Diego State University Aztecs in Houston.
April 2, 2023 – Women's Finals: The Louisiana State University Tigers defeat the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 in Dallas, to win the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship.
68 teams are invited to compete.
– 32 teams receive automatic bids upon winning their conference tournaments.
– 36 teams receive an at-large bid from the NCAA Selection Committee.
The 12-member selection committee, made up of athletic directors and conference commissioners, is responsible for selecting the 36 at-large teams, ranking (or qualifying) the 68 teams and placing them in one of four regions within the group. The committee's 68-player field is revealed on Sunday before the four first-round games, appropriately named “Selection Sunday.”
The selection committee primarily uses NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which are comprised of the Team Value Index (TVI), or wins against quality opponents, and adjusted net efficiency across all games. The NET replaces the Grade Percentage Index.
68 teams are invited to compete.
– 32 teams receive automatic bids upon winning their conference tournaments.
– 36 teams receive an at-large bid from the NCAA Selection Committee.
Similar to the men's selection process, a 12-member selection committee primarily uses NET rankings to choose the 36 at-large teams, rank (or classify) the 68 teams, and place them in one of four regions within the group.
The committee's 68-player field is revealed Sunday ahead of the four first-round games.
The “First Four” are the four matches in the first round of the men's tournament. Two games pit the No. 16 seeds against each other, and the other two games feature the final four overall teams selected for the tournament. The winners advance to the next round, the round of 16.
For both the men's and women's tournaments, each of the four regions consists of 16 teams ranked 1 through 16. In the first round, teams are paired based on qualifying place. The No. 1 spot faces No. 16, No. 2 faces No. 15, No. 3 faces No. 14, and so on. The winning teams advance to the second round.
The 16 teams that advance beyond their first and second round games are known as the “Sweet Sixteen.” The remaining eight teams are called the “Elite Eight” and the final four teams are the “Final Four.”
An underdog or lower-ranked team that advances through the tournament is often called a “Cinderella” team.
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins have the most NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament titles with 11.
The University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies have the most NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament titles with 11.
1939 – The first men's tournament takes place and eight teams compete. Oregon defeats Ohio State 46-33.
1954 – The final of the tournament will be broadcast live for the first time nationwide.
1982 – The first women's tournament takes place and 32 teams compete. Louisiana Tech beats Cheyney State 76-62.
1991 – CBS begins broadcasting all games live.
1999 – CBS gets an 11-year deal through 2013 worth $6 billion to broadcast the tournament.
2005 – College Sports Television enters into two-year agreement with CBS Sportsline.com and the NCAA to obtain exclusive video streaming rights on CSTV.com for out-of-market game coverage. CSTV pays CBS $3 million for the rights and expects to be profitable in the first year.
April 22, 2010 – In addition to expanding the men's basketball tournament field from 65 to 68 teams, the NCAA announces a 14-year, $10.8 billion television rights deal with CBS and Turner Sports. The agreement, which will take effect in 2011, marks the first time that each game will be televised nationally.
April 12, 2016 – The NCAA announces an eight-year extension of its television agreement with Turner Broadcasting and CBS Sports. The extension of the current deal – for a total combined rights fee of $8.8 billion – will keep the big game on Turner and CBS through 2032.
February 20, 2018 – The NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee announces it will maintain sanctions against the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team for its serious violations of NCAA rules. The Committee panel concluded that they “acted unethically…by hosting strip dances and sexual acts for prospects, student-athletes, and others, and did not cooperate with the investigation.” The sanctions void all wins from 2011 to 2015, including the 2013 national championship and 2012 Final Four appearance.
August 22, 2018 – The NCAA announces a new ranking tool, the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool). It replaces the RPI, or Ranking Performance Index, as the method that will be used to choose which teams will be selected to participate in the tournament.
March 12, 2020 – NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors cancel the Division I men's and women's basketball tournament, and other NCAA winter and spring championships, due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic. The Division I championships have been played every year since the men's championships were created in 1939 and the women's championships in 1982.
January 4, 2021 – The NCAA announces that the entire 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament will be played in the state of Indiana, with the majority of the 67 scheduled games played in Indianapolis.
February 5, 2021 – The NCAA announces that the entire 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament will be played in Texas, with the majority of the 63 scheduled games played in San Antonio.
September 29, 2021 – After a “comprehensive external review of gender equity issues,” the NCAA announces that beginning in 2022, the “March Madness” branding that has historically been used for the Division I men's basketball tournament will also be used for the women's basketball tournament.
November 17, 2021 – The expansion of the women's tournament table is approved. In the 2022 championship, 68 teams will participate, compared to 64.
