Overview

• Multiple outlets citing On3’s Ross Dellenger report executives are inching toward a 76-team field beginning in 2026–27.
• The concept adds 24 teams in a Tuesday–Wednesday opening round of 12 games at two sites, with winners advancing into the 64-team bracket that starts Thursday.
• Dayton would host half of the new opening-round games, with a second, likely western, site expected to share the slate.
• Reporting indicates those games would match 12 lower-seeded automatic qualifiers against 12 of the last at-large selections.
• No agreement is finalized as the NCAA, CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery negotiate revenue and logistics, and some leaders question whether expansion brings new money.