Of the 68 teams that will compete in the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament, 31 of those will qualify automatically through conference tournaments. All eligible teams that win their conference tournaments receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
LIU earned the first automatic bid of the 2026 NCAA tournament after defeating Wagner in the Northeast Conference semifinals. LIU still must play Mercyhurst in the NEC finals on March 10, but Mercyhurst is not eligible for the NCAA tournament, giving the Sharks the NEC auto-bid in this rare March Madness circumstance.
Below, find a table listing all 31 DI men's basketball conferences, tournament dates, locations and bracket information. The other 37 spots in March Madness will be filled up by at-large teams as chosen by the selection committee. Find all 31 automatic qualifiers below.
BRACKET: Print out the 2026 March Madness bracket now
2026 NCAA conference tournament schedules, bracket, scores, automatic bids
| CONFERENCE | SCHEDULE/RESULTS/TV SCHEDULE | Automatic bid | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Quarterfinals: March 7 |
Higher seed hosts | ||
|
First Round: March 11 |
Birmingham, Ala. | ||
|
First Round: March 11 |
Pittsburgh, Pa. | ||
|
First Round: March 10 |
Charlotte, N.C. | ||
| First Round: March 4 Quarterfinals: March 6 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 2 p.m. March 8 on ESPN2 |
Jacksonville, Fla. | ||
| First Round: March 10 Second Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 6 p.m. March 14 on ESPN |
Kansas City, Mo. | ||
|
First round: March 11 |
New York City | ||
| First Round: March 7 Second Round: March 8 Quarterfinals: March 9 Semifinals: March 10 Championship: 11:30 p.m. March 11 on ESPN2 |
Boise, Idaho | ||
|
First Round: March 4 |
Johnson City, Tenn. | ||
| First Round: March 10 Second Round: March 11 Third Round: March 12 Quarterfinals: March 13 Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 3:30 p.m. March 15 on CBS |
Chicago | ||
| First Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: March 14 |
Henderson, Nev. | ||
| First Round: March 6 Second Round: March 7 Quarterfinals: March 8 Semifinals: March 9 Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on CBSSN |
Washington, D.C. | ||
| First Round: March 10 Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 8:30 p.m. March 14 on CBSSN |
Huntsville, Ala. | ||
| Play-in: March 2 First Round: March 4 Second Round: March 8 Semifinals: March 9 Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on ESPN |
Higher seed hosts first three rounds, Indianapolis for last two rounds | ||
| Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 12 p.m. March 15 on ESPN2 |
Ithaca, N.Y. | ||
| First Round: March 5 Quarterfinals: March 6 and 7 Semifinals: March 8 Championship: March 10 on ESPN/ESPN2 |
Atlantic City, N.J. | ||
| Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 8 p.m. March 14 on ESPN2 |
Cleveland, Ohio | ||
| Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: March 14 |
Norfolk, Va. | ||
| First Round: March 5 Quarterfinals: March 6 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 12 p.m. March 8 on CBS Sports |
St. Louis | ||
| First Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 6 p.m. March 14 on CBS |
Las Vegas | ||
| Quarterfinals: March 4 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on ESPN2/ESPN+ |
LIU | Higher seed hosts | |
| First Round: March 4 Quarterfinals: March 5 Semifinals: March 6 Championship: 9 p.m. March 7 on ESPN2 |
Tennessee State | Evansville, Ind. | |
| First Round: March 3 Quarterfinals: March 5 Semifinals: March 8 Championship: March 11 |
Higher seed hosts | ||
| First Round: March 11 Second Round: March 12 Quarterfinals: March 13 Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 1 p.m. March 15 on ESPN |
Nashville, Tenn. | ||
|
First Round: March 6 |
Asheville, N.C. | ||
| First Round: March 8 Quarterfinals: March 9 Semifinals: March 10 Championship: 5 p.m. March 11 on ESPN2 |
Lake Charles, La. | ||
| First Round: March 9 Second Round: March 10 Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 7:30 p.m. March 14 |
Atlanta | ||
| Opening Round: March 4 Quarterfinals: March 5 and 6 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 9 p.m. March 8 on CBSSN |
Sioux Falls, S.D. | ||
|
First Round: March 3 |
Pensacola, Fla. | ||
| First Round: March 5 Second Round: March 6 Third Round: March 7 Quarterfinals: March 8 Semifinals: March 9 Championship: 9 p.m. March 10 |
Las Vegas | ||
| First Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: March 14 |
Las Vegas |
