​The NCAA tournament is expanding to 76 teams, and Dayton may need a hand when it comes to hosting the opening-round games. That help will come from Wichita, as announced by the NCAA. Wichita and Dayton will serve as co-hosts for opening-round tripleheaders on the Tuesday and Wednesday immediately after Selection Sunday, marking a broader and more dynamic start to the men’s tournament.
Keith Gill, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference and the chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, commented on the decision: “We were pleased but not surprised by the number of cities from around the country that very much wanted March Madness to begin in their market. Like Dayton, Wichita is a basketball-crazed community that we expect will embrace the reimagined start of the tournament. Having a city in Middle America will be advantageous for getting teams from various points around the country, many of which won’t be known until Selection Sunday, to the Opening Round and subsequently first-round sites.”
Under the new format, the opening-round games in Wichita and Dayton will feature the 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams. This approach aims to accommodate the expanded field while maintaining the integrity and excitement of the early rounds. The inclusion of Wichita as a co-host alongside Dayton continues a pattern of leveraging strong basketball markets to launch the tournament, with Dayton serving as a traditional hub for opening-round action.
Dayton has a long-standing role as the opening-round host since 2001, and UD Arena has earned a notable distinction by hosting more NCAA tournament games than any other venue. The combination of Dayton’s established hosting history and Wichita’s enthusiastic basketball culture is expected to create an inviting atmosphere for players, coaches, and fans alike as the tournament begins its new 76-team format.
As the season progresses and Selection Sunday approaches, the national college basketball community will be watching to see how the expanded field and new hosting dynamics unfold. The collaboration between Wichita and Dayton signals a balanced and geographically diverse start to March Madness, with Middle America playing a pivotal role in connecting teams from across the country to the opening rounds and beyond. For ongoing updates and coverage of college sports news, follow College Sports Wire on X and Threads, and stay connected with their social platforms for the latest notes and analysis. This report originally appeared on College Sports Wire in coverage highlighting Wichita’s role in co-hosting expanded opening-round games to better align with the evolving NCAA tournament format.