NCAA March Madness Facts

"March Madness" refers to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, held every year in March to determine the national champion. Of more than 300 Division I college teams, 65 compete in the three-weekend tournament historically known for its surprises and dramatic finishes.

  1. Automatic Bids

    • All 31 Division I conferences send one school to the tournament. The Ivy League sends its first-place team to the tournament. All others have a postseason conference tournament where the winner gets the automatic bid.

    At-Large Bids

    • The remaining 34 schools for the tournament are chosen by a selection committee. This is a subjective process that involves several factors, including win-loss records, strength of schedule and how well a team performed late in the season.

    Placement

    • The 65 teams are placed into four regional brackets of 16 teams, pairing the top seeds against the lower ones (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14 and so forth). In one region, the 64th and 65th teams face off in an earlier game to determine who gets the 16th seed in that region.

    Elimination

    • All tournament games are single elimination, and there are two elimination rounds per weekend. After the first weekend, the 65 teams are reduced to 16 (four in each regional). Those teams move on to the "Sweet 16" weekend, which determines the champions of each region.

    Final Four

    • The four regional champions move on to the Final Four, which takes place on the third and final weekend of the tournament. The four are reduced to two on Saturday, then the championship game is played two days later.