How is the March Madness bracket created?

March Madness is the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championships, which are played in March and April every year. The men's category began in 1939, and the women's championship in 1982. Both categories are a single-game elimination tournament with 68 teams competing. The men's tournament is divided into four regions, seeded 1 through 16, with the highest-seeded teams playing the lowest-seeded teams in the first round. The tournament continues through rounds called the First Four, Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and the National Championship. The women's tournament is structured similarly, with the teams increasing to 68 teams in 2022.

The NCAA tournament has also had several format revisions since its introduction, with the initial eight teams gradually increasing to 64 in 1985 and 68 teams in 2011. UCLA leads all schools with the most men's titles with 11 championships, and UConn tops the women's tournament with 11 titles. The March Madness tournament collects significant television revenue, with CBS and Turner Sports retaining the broadcasting rights for the men's tournament while ESPN covers the women's tournament.

March Madness bracket creation

The March Madness bracket is created through a structured three-phase process and is managed by the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee, as per the NCAA.

Selection of At-Large Teams

31 teams earn automatic bids by winning their conference championship, the committee selects the remaining 37 teams from the at-large bid to make a total of 68 teams.

Seeding the Teams

The chosen teams are seeded 1 through 68 based on their overall performance and strength. Seeding is carried out to have a balanced number of teams in the tournament.

Bracketing

Teams are assigned to the tournament bracket according to principles that seek competitive balance and also take geographic location into consideration to reduce travel for the fans.