When are March Madness brackets due? 2025 NCAA Tournament dates, schedule, and more

It's March Madness time, and everyone can join in on the fun. Roughly 80 million people make brackets each season as they eagerly wait to see if their favorite team will will an NCAA Tournament title. Here's everything you need to know about making your own bracket this season.

What is the official deadline for submitting March Madness Brackets in 2025?

Although First Four matchups begin on Tuesday, brackets aren't due until tip-off of the first official game of the NCAA Tournament, which is scheduled for noon on Thursday for the men's teams. Any bracket created after that time will not be accepted, as March Madness will be underway.

When can you enter in second-chance March Madness brackets in 2025?

Second-chance brackets give fans two opportunities to get matchups right. Everyone can benefit from this, as there has never been a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket.

ESPN's Sweet 16 challenge is a popular second-chance bracket. It allows fans to make new predictions beginning with the Sweet 16 matchups. When people create bracket groups, they sometimes opt to let everyone make two brackets.

These brackets must still be completed before the first game, so time is ticking for fans who want to make multiple brackets.

Men’s March Madness brackets

Several places offer men's March Madness brackets, including ESPN, CBS, Yahoo! and NCAA. In recent years, the ESPN men's tournament challenge has become very popular, allowing fans to create brackets through their ESPN account and join groups to compete with friends and family.

ESPN offers bracket options for those who might feel stuck when looking at the NCAA Tournament teams. These options include a chalk bracket that selects the higher seed in every matchup, a smart bracket powered by ESPN Analytics, and a popular bracket that compiles popular picks.

There's a variety of places to make a bracket and a variety of automated brackets offered by ESPN. Fans can pick whatever website and bracket type works best for them.

Women's March Madness brackets

ESPN, CBS, Yahoo! and NCAA offer women's brackets as well. ESPN also has a women's tournament challenge, which is set up very similarly to the men's version. Women's hoops fans can create brackets or get aid from automated ones and compete against others using ESPN's site.

More Important dates to follow 2025 March Madness

Both the men's and women's March Madness begin on Thursday, but fans who are eager to see postseason basketball action earlier can tune in to First Four games beginning Tuesday.

The women's first round will last until Saturday, while the men's will conclude on Friday before second-round action begins Saturday. The men will wrap up the Round of 32 play on Sunday, while the women will play through Monday.

From there, games will resume for both the men and women on Thursday, Mar. 27. Things will really heat up the following weekend, with the women set to play their Final Four on Apr. 4 and the men on Apr. 5. The women will compete for the national title on Apr. 6, and the men will follow on Apr. 7.

It's going to be an action-packed few weeks, so fans need to fill out their brackets and mark their calendars.