2026 NCAA Tournament Spot Tracker: Automatic Bidding, Championship Game Schedules and Defending Champions

The conference tournaments are underway and March Madness is officially here. Teams that win their conference tournaments earn automatic bids to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, which begins with the First Four on Tuesday, March 17.

Bookmark this page – OutKick will be updated as auto berths are locked in through Selection Sunday.

Last updated: Sunday, March 8, 2026 (5:30 p.m. ET). All times ET.

Selection Sunday

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

Automatic deals concluded (5)

ASUN: Queens
Great South: Highlight
Missouri Valley (MVC): Northern Iowa
North East (NEC): Long Island (LIU)
Ohio Valley (OVC): State of Tennessee

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
The State of Tennessee def. Morehead State, 93-67

Great South Conference (Great South)
Championship: Sunday March 8
Climax def. Winthrop, 91-76

Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)
Championship: Sunday March 8
Northern Iowa def. UIC, 84-69

Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN)
Championship: Sunday March 8
The queens def. Central Arkansas, 98-93 (OT)

Schedule of upcoming championship matches

*All times ET

Summit League (Summit)
Championship: Sunday, March 8, 9 p.m. (CBSSN) — Denny Sanford PREMIER Center (Sioux Falls, SD)
No. 1 North Dakota St. Bison vs. No. 3 North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Sun Belt Conference (Sun Belt)
Championship: Monday, March 9, 6 p.m. (ESPN2) — Pensacola Bay Center (Pensacola, FL)
2025 Champion: Troy

Southern Conference (SoCon)
Championship: Monday, March 9, 7 p.m. (ESPN) — Harrah’s Cherokee Center (Asheville, North Carolina)
2025 champion: Wofford

Coastal Sports Association (CAA)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (CBSSN) — CareFirst Arena (Washington, DC)
2025 champion: UNC Wilmington

Horizon League (Horizon)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (ESPN) — Corteva Coliseum (Indianapolis, IN)
2025 Champion: Robert Morris

Northeast Conference (NEC)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. (ESPN2) — Steinberg Wellness Center (LIU Campus)
No. 1 LIU vs. No. 3 Mercyhurst
*NOTE: LIU gets an automatic bid regardless of the outcome (Mercyhurst is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament)

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
Championship: Tuesday, March 10, 9 p.m. (ESPN2) — Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City, NJ)
2025 Champion: Mount St. Mary’s

West Coast Conference (COE)
Championship: Tuesday March 10, 9 p.m. (ESPN) — Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
2025 champion: Gonzaga

Southland Conference (Southland)
Championship: Wednesday, March 11, 5 p.m. (ESPN2) — The Legacy Center (Lake Charles, LA)
2025 champion: McNeese

Patriot League (Patriot)
Championship: Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m. (CBSSN) — campus site (top seed hosts)
#2 Lehigh Mountain Hawks vs. #4 Boston University Terriers

Big Sky Conference (Big Sky)
Championship: Wednesday, March 11, 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2) — Idaho Central Arena (Boise, ID)
2025 champion: Montana

Western Athletic Conference (WAC)
Championship: Sunday March 15, 12 p.m. (ESPN2) — Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
2025 Champion: Grand Canyon

America East Conference (America East)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 11 a.m. (ESPN2) — campus site (top seed hosts)
2025 champion: Bryant

Middle East Athletic Conference (MEAC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 1 p.m. (ESPN2) — Norfolk Scope Arena (Norfolk, VA)
2025 Champion: Norfolk State

Big 12 Conference (Big 12)
Championship: Saturday March 14, 6 p.m. (ESPN) — T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, MO)
2025 champion: Houston

Mountain West Conference (MWC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m. (CBS) — Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)
2025 champion: Colorado State

Big East Conference (Big East)
Championship: Saturday March 14, 6:30 p.m. (FOX) — Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
2025 Champion: St. John’s

Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU) — Gateway Center Arena (Atlanta, GA)
2025 Champion: Alabama State

Mid-American Conference (MAC)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 8 p.m. (ESPN2) — Rocket Arena (Cleveland, OH)
2025 champion: Akron

Conference USA (C-USA)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 8:30 p.m. (CBSSN) — Propst Arena (Huntsville, AL)
Champion 2025: Freedom

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Championship: Saturday March 14, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN) — Spectrum Center (Charlotte, North Carolina)
2025 Champion: Duke

Big West Conference (Big West)
Championship: Saturday, March 14, 10 p.m. (ESPN2) — Lee’s Family Forum (Henderson, NV)
2025 Champion: UC San Diego

Ivy League (ivy)
Championship: Sunday, March 15, 12 p.m. (ESPN2) — Newman Arena at Bartels Hall (Ithaca, NY)
2025 champion: Yale

Atlantic 10 Conference (A10)
Championship: Sunday, March 15, 1 p.m. (CBS) — PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, PA)
2025 Champion: VCU

Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Championship: Sunday, March 15, 1 p.m. (ESPN) — Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN)
2025 Champion: Florida

American Athletic Conference (AAC)
Championship: Sunday, March 15, 3:15 p.m. (ESPN) — Legacy Arena at BJCC (Birmingham, AL)
2025 champion: Memphis

Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)
Championship: Sunday, March 15, 3:30 p.m. (CBS) — United Center (Chicago, IL)
2025 champion: Michigan

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