March Madness Heats Up: Conference Tournaments Begin the Road to Selection Sunday
The race to Selection Sunday is picking up speed. In just about four weeks, Champ Week begins, pitting teams against each other for a conference trophy – and the right to represent their league as the automatic qualifier in the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament.
Things tip off March 2 with the Horizon League tournament. The first conference to set its automatic qualifier will be the Ohio Valley Conference on Saturday, March 7 (noon ET, ESPN2).
Champ Week ends with the Big Ten tournament on Sunday, March 15, mere hours before the full 68-team field for March Madness is revealed.
Below is a schedule of all 31 conference tournaments, listed in order of when each automatic bid will be secured. Brackets for each Champ Week tournament will be added as they become available.
The men’s NCAA tournament bracket will be unveiled on March 15.
Ohio Valley Conference
March 4-7
Ford Center (Evansville, Indiana)
Standings
Big South Conference
March 4, 6-8
Freedom Hall Civic Center (Johnson City, Tennessee)
Standings
Missouri Valley Conference
March 5-8
Enterprise Center (St. Louis)
Standings
ASUN Conference
March 4, 6-8
Campus sites; VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (Jacksonville, Florida)
Standings
Summit League
March 4-8
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Standings
Sun Belt Conference
March 3-9
Pensacola Bay Center (Pensacola, Florida)
Standings
Southern Conference
March 6-9
Harrah’s Cherokee Center (Asheville, North Carolina)
Standings
Horizon League
March 2, 4, 8-10
Campus sites; Corteva Coliseum (Indianapolis)
Standings
Northeast Conference
March 4, 7, 10
Campus sites
Standings
Coastal Athletic Association
March 6-10
CareFirst Arena (Washington, D.C.)
Standings
West Coast Conference
March 5-10
Orleans Arena (Las Vegas)
Standings
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
March 5-10
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Standings
Southland Conference
March 8-11
The Legacy Center (Lake Charles, Louisiana)
Standings
Big Sky Conference
March 7-11
Idaho Central Arena (Boise, Idaho)
Standings
Patriot League
March 3, 5, 8, 11
Campus sites
Standings
America East Conference
March 7, 10, 14
Campus sites
Standings
Big 12 Conference
March 10-14
T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Missouri)
Standings
Mountain West Conference
March 11-14
Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas)
Standings
Big East Conference
March 11-14
Madison Square Garden (New York)
Standings
Southwestern Athletic Conference
March 9-14
Gateway Center Arena (Atlanta)
Standings
Conference USA
March 10-14
Propst Arena (Huntsville, Alabama)
Standings
Western Athletic Conference
March 11-14
Orleans Arena (Las Vegas)
Standings
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
March 11-14
Norfolk Scope Arena (Norfolk, Virginia)
Standings
Mid-American Conference
March 12-14
Rocket Arena (Cleveland)
Standings
Atlantic Coast Conference
March 10-14
Spectrum Center (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Standings
Big West Conference
March 11-14
Lee’s Family Forum (Henderson, Nevada)
Standings
Ivy League
March 14-15
Newman Arena at Bartels Hall (Ithaca, New York)
Standings
Atlantic 10 Conference
March 11-15
PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh)
Standings
Southeastern Conference
March 11-15
Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tennessee)
Standings
American Conference
March 11-15
Legacy Arena at the BJCC (Birmingham, Alabama)
Standings
Big Ten Conference
March 10-15
United Center (Chicago)
Standings
