The NCAA Tournament expanded from 64 to 68 teams in 2011. The change introduced the First Four round, a set of pre-tournament games in which the four lowest-seeded at-large teams and four lowest-seeded conference champions compete for spots in the traditional 64-team bracket.

NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt announced in a statement that various NCAA committees would continue discussions around expanding to 72 or 76 teams for future tournaments beyond next season.

Thanks to the NCAA's decision, this conversation isn't going anywhere. While the 2026 tournament is sticking to 68 teams, that's far from a permanent feature of college basketball's postseason.