March is upon us.
NCAA tournament: Tracking automatic bids for 2026 men’s March Madness
Keeping tabs on each men’s team that has clinched a spot in 2026 March Madness.
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Selection Sunday is fast approaching, but before bubble teams start sweating out the announcement of the brackets, they have one last chance to clinch a spot in the field.
Conference tournaments are underway, and 31 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament field are up for grabs. For those 31 teams, they can rest assured on Selection Sunday that they will hear their school called as the brackets are unveiled.
For the rest of the teams, they will be left to sweat it out as the other 36 teams are announced.
First Four games take place on March 17 and 18 in Dayton, Ohio. The First Round of the men’s NCAA tournament begins on March 19.
For a look at teams with some work to do in their respective conference tournaments, we have you covered here. We also have this great piece on why we need March Madness more than ever.
Now, here are the teams that have secured an automatic bid to the men’s NCAA tournament. This will be updated as teams clinch spots in the field. Long Island University clinched the first automatic bid on Saturday, when they advanced to the NEC Championship Game against Mercyhurst. While that title game will not take place until Monday, Mercyhurst is ineligible for the NCAA tournament, as they are still transitioning from Division II status to Division I status. The Lakers cannot receive the automatic bid even if they defeat LIU in the NEC Championship Game.
Auto bids for the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament
Here are the teams that have clinched spots in the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament:
Conference | Schedule | Automatic Bid | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| America East | Quarterfinals: March 7Semifinals: March 10Championship: 11 a.m. ET March 14 on ESPN2 | UMBC | Higher seed hosts |
| American | First Round: March 11Second Round: March 12Quarterfinals: March 13Semifinals: March 14Championship: 3:15 p.m. March 15 on ESPN | Birmingham, Ala. | |
| Atlantic 10 | First Round: March 11Second Round: March 12Quarterfinals: March 13Semifinals: March 14Championship: 1 p.m. March 15 on CBS | Pittsburgh, Pa. | |
| ACC | First Round: March 10Second Round: March 11Quarterfinals: March 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: 8:30 p.m. March 14 on ESPN | Duke | Charlotte, N.C. |
| ASUN | First Round: March 4Quarterfinals: March 6Semifinals: March 7Championship: 2 p.m. March 8 on ESPN2 | Queens (NC) | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Big 12 | First Round: March 10Second Round: March 11Quarterfinals: March 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: 6 p.m. March 14 on ESPN | Arizona | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Big East | First round: March 11Quarterfinals: March 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: 6:30 p.m. March 14 on FOX | St. John’s | New York City |
| Big Sky | First Round: March 7Second Round: March 8Quarterfinals: March 9Semifinals: March 10Championship: 11:30 p.m. March 11 on ESPN2 | Idaho | Boise, Idaho |
| Big South | First Round: March 4Quarterfinals: March 6Semifinals: March 7Championship: 12 p.m. March 8 on ESPN2 | High Point | Johnson City, Tenn. |
| Big Ten | First Round: March 10Second Round: March 11Third Round: March 12Quarterfinals: March 13Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 3:30 p.m. March 15 on CBS | Chicago | |
| Big West | First Round: March 11Quarterfinals: March 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: March 14 | Henderson, Nev. | |
| CAA | First Round: March 6Second Round: March 7Quarterfinals: March 8Semifinals: March 9Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on CBSSN | Hofstra | Washington, D.C. |
| Conference USA | First Round: March 10Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: 8:30 p.m. March 14 on CBSSN | Huntsville, Ala. | |
| Horizon League | Play-in: March 2First Round: March 4Second Round: March 8Semifinals: March 9Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on ESPN | Wright State | Higher seed hosts first three rounds, Indianapolis for last two rounds |
| Ivy League | Semifinals: March 14Championship: 12 p.m. March 15 on ESPN2 | Ithaca, N.Y. | |
| MAAC | First Round: March 5Quarterfinals: March 6 and 7Semifinals: March 8Championship: March 10 on ESPN/ESPN2 | Siena | Atlantic City, N.J. |
| MAC | Quarterfinals: March 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: 8 p.m. March 14 on ESPN2 | Akron | Cleveland, Ohio |
| MEAC | Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: March 14 | Howard | Norfolk, Va. |
| Missouri Valley | First Round: March 5Quarterfinals: March 6Semifinals: March 7Championship: 12 p.m. March 8 on CBS Sports | UNI | St. Louis |
| Mountain West | First Round: March 11Quarterfinals: March 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: 6 p.m. March 14 on CBS | Utah State | Las Vegas |
| Northeast | Quarterfinals: March 4Semifinals: March 7Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on ESPN2/ESPN+ | LIU | Higher seed hosts |
| Ohio Valley | First Round: March 4Quarterfinals: March 5Semifinals: March 6Championship: 9 p.m. March 7 on ESPN2 | Tennessee State | Evansville, Ind. |
| Patriot League | First Round: March 3Quarterfinals: March 5Semifinals: March 8Championship: March 11 | Lehigh | Higher seed hosts |
| SEC | First Round: March 11Second Round: March 12Quarterfinals: March 13Semifinals: March 14Championship: 1 p.m. March 15 on ESPN | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| SoCon | First Round: March 6Quarterfinals: March 7Semifinals: March 8Championship: 7 p.m. March 9 | Furman | Asheville, N.C. |
| Southland | First Round: March 8Quarterfinals: March 9Semifinals: March 10Championship: 5 p.m. March 11 on ESPN2 | McNeese | Lake Charles, La. |
| SWAC | First Round: March 9Second Round: March 10Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: 7:30 p.m. March 14 | Prairie View A&M | Atlanta |
| Summit League | Opening Round: March 4Quarterfinals: March 5 and 6 Semifinals: March 7Championship: 9 p.m. March 8 on CBSSN | North Dakota State | Sioux Falls, S.D. |
| Sun Belt | First Round: March 3Second Round: March 4Third Round: March 5Fourth Round: March 6Quarterfinals: March 7Semifinals: March 8Championship: 6 p.m. March 9 on ESPN/ESPN | Troy | Pensacola, Fla. |
| West Coast | First Round: March 5Second Round: March 6Third Round: March 7Quarterfinals: March 8Semifinals: March 9Championship: 9 p.m. March 10 | Gonzaga | Las Vegas |
| WAC | First Round: March 11Quarterfinals: March 12Semifinals: March 13Championship: March 14 | Las Vegas |
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