2026 NCAA Tournament Berth Tracker: Automatic Bids, Championship Game Times, and Defending Champs

Conference tournaments are underway and March Madness has officially arrived. Teams that win their conference tournaments clinch automatic bids into the 2026 NCAA Tournament, which begins with the First Four on Tuesday, March 17. 

Bookmark this page — OutKick will update as automatic berths are locked up through Selection Sunday.

Last updated: March 15, 2026 (5:45 p.m. ET).

Selection Sunday

The 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed Sunday, March 15 at 6 p.m. on CBS.

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Automatic Bids Clinched

Atlantic Sun: Queens
Big South: High Point
Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa
Northeast: Long Island
Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
Summit: North Dakota State
Sun Belt: Troy
Southern: Furman
Coastal: Hofstra
Horizon: Wright State
Metro Atlantic: Siena
West Coast: Gonzaga
Big Sky: Idaho
Patriot: Lehigh
Southland: McNeese 
America East: UMBC
Mid-Eastern: Howard
Big 12: Arizona
Mountain West: Utah State
Big East: St. John's
Southwestern: Prairie View A&M
Mid-American: Akron
Conference USA: Kennesaw State
Atlantic Coast: Duke
Big West: Hawaii
Western: Cal Baptist
Ivy: Penn 
Atlantic 10: VCU
SEC: Arkansas
American: South Florida
Big Ten: Purdue

University of Northern Iowa Panthers guard Geon Hutchins kisses the MVC Tournament trophy.

(Ron Johnson/Imagn Images)

Completed Conference Tournaments

Ohio Valley Conference (OVC)
Championship: Saturday, March 7
No 1. Tennessee State def. No. 2 Morehead State, 93-67
Tennessee State – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994 

Big South Conference (Big South)
Championship: Sunday, March 8
No. 1 High Point def. No. 2 Winthrop, 91-76
High Point – Back-to-back Big South championships & NCAA Tournament appearances

Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)
Championship: Sunday, March 8
No. 6 Northern Iowa def. No. 5 UIC, 84-69
UNI – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016

Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN)
Championship: Sunday, March 8
No. 3 Queens def. No. 1 Central Arkansas, 98-93 (OT)
Queens – First NCAA Tournament berth in school history (first year eligible) 

Summit League (Summit)
Championship: Sunday, March 8
No. 1 North Dakota State def. No. 3 North Dakota, 70-62
NDSU – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019

Sun Belt Conference (Sun Belt)
Championship: Monday, March 9
No. 1 Troy def. No. 10 Georgia Southern, 77-61
Troy – Back-to-back Sun Belt championships & NCAA Tournament appearances

Southern Conference (SoCon)
Championship: Monday, March 9
No. 6 Furman def. No. 1 East Tennessee State, 76-61
Furman – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2023

Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10
No. 3 Hofstra def. No. 4 Monmouth, 75-69
Hofstra – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001

Horizon League (Horizon)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10
No. 1 Wright State def. No. 3 Detroit Mercy, 66-63
Wright State – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022

Northeast Conference (NEC)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10
No. 1 LIU def. No. 3 Mercyhurst, 79-70
LIU – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10
No. 3 Siena def. No. 1 Merrimack, 64-54
Siena – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010

West Coast Conference (WCC)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10
No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 3 Santa Clara, 79-68
Gonzaga – Back-to-back WCC championships & 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance

Southland Conference (Southland)
Championship: Wednesday, March 11
No. 2 McNeese def. No. 1 Stephen F. Austin, 76-59
McNeese – Third straight Southland championship and NCAA Tournament appearance

Patriot League (Patriot)
Championship: Wednesday, March 11
No. 2 Lehigh def. No. 4 Boston University, 74-60
Lehigh – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012

Big Sky Conference (Big Sky)
Championship: Wednesday, March 11
 No. 7 Idaho def. No. 4 Montana, 77-66
Idaho – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990

America East Conference (America East)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 1 UMBC def. No. 2 Vermont, 74-59 
UMBC — First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 1 Howard def. No. 3 N.C. Central 70-63
Howard – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2024

Big 12 Conference (Big 12)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 1 Arizona def. No. 2 Houston, 79-74
Arizona – Fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance 

Mountain West Conference (MWC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m.
No. 1 Utah State def. No. 2 San Diego State, 73-62
Utah State – Fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance 

Big East Conference (Big East)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 1 St. John's def. No. 2 UConn, 72-52
St. John’s – Back-to-back Big East championships and NCAA Tournament appearances 

Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 8 Prairie View A&M def. No. 3 Southern 72-66
Prairie View A&M – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019

Mid-American Conference (MAC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 2 Akron def. No. 4 Toledo, 79-76
Akron – Third straight MAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance 

Conference USA (C-USA)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 6 Kennesaw State def. No. 4 Louisiana Tech, 71-60
Kennesaw State – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2023

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 1 Duke def. No. 2 Virginia, 74-70
Duke – Back-to-back ACC championships and fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance

Big West Conference (Big West)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
No. 2 Hawaii def. No. 1 UC Irvine, 71-64
Hawaii – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016

Western Athletic Conference (WAC)
Championship: Sunday, March 15, 12 a.m. (ESPN2) — Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
No. 2 Cal Baptist def. No. 1 Utah Valley, 63-61
Cal Baptist – First NCAA Tournament appearance in school history 

Ivy League (Ivy)
Championship: Sunday, March 15
No. 3 Penn def. No. 1 Yale, 88-84 (OT)
Penn – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018

Atlantic 10 Conference (A10)
Championship: Sunday, March 15
No. 2 VCU def. No. 4 Dayton, 70-62
VCU – Back-to-back A-10 championships and NCAA Tournament appearances

Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Championship: Sunday, March 15
No. 3 Arkansas def. No. 4 Vanderbilt, 86-75
Arkansas – Second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance 

American Athletic Conference (AAC)
Championship: Sunday, March 15
No. 1 South Florida def. No. 2 Wichita State, 70-55
South Florida – First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012

Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)
Championship: Sunday, March 15
No. 7 Purdue def. No. 1 Michigan, 80-72
Purdue – 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance