March Madness is synonymous with the NCAA Tournament, but we've got to acknowledge that the madness actually begins the week before during conference tournaments. That's when teams officially grab their automatic bids, ensuring Selection Sunday won't be a stressful affair.
There have been 12 automatic bids secured so far. The rest will be decided as Selection Sunday nears.
2026 NCAA Tournament Autobids
- Teams that have clinched an autobid for March Madness
- Upcoming conference championship games
- NCAA Tournament Bid Thief Watch
- Bubble Impact
- How automatic bids work
Last updated: March 15 – 4:00 p.m. ET
Teams that have clinched an autobid for March Madness
Conference | Favorite | Autobid |
|---|---|---|
ACC | Duke | Duke |
Big 12 | Arizona | Arizona |
Big East | UConn | St. John's |
Big Ten | Michigan | |
SEC | Florida | Arkansas |
American | South Florida | |
American East | UMBC | UMBC |
Atlantic 10 | Saint Louis | VCU |
ASUN | Central Arkansas | Queens University |
Big Sky | Portland State | Idaho |
Big South | High Point | High Point |
Big West | Hawaii | Hawaii |
Coastal | NC-Wilmington | Hofstra |
Conference USA | Liberty | Kennesaw State |
Horizon League | Wright State | Wright State |
Ivy League | Yale | Pennsylvania |
MAAC | Merrimack | Siena |
MAC | Miami (Ohio) | Akron |
MEAC | Howard | Howard |
Missouri Valley | Belmont | Northern Iowa |
Mountain West | Utah State | Utah State |
Northeast | Long Island | Long Island |
Ohio Valley | Tennessee State | Tennessee State |
Patriot League | Navy | Lehigh |
Southern | East Tennessee State | Furman |
Southland | Stephen F. Austin | McNeese |
SWAC | Bethune-Cookman | Prairie View A&M |
Summit League | North Dakota State | North Dakota State |
Sun Belt | Troy | Troy |
West Coast | Gonzaga | Gonzaga |
WAC | Utah Valley | California Baptist |
Upcoming conference championship games
- American: March 15 at 3:15 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Big Ten: March 15 at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS
NCAA Tournament Bid Thief Watch
These are all the non-favorites who have earned an autobid. Unseating the expected tournament champion doesn't automatically make them bid thieves. Many of these leagues were going to get just one bid no matter what. However, some will have a real impact on the bubble.
So who is a bid thief?
- Akron (MAC)
There's only one actual bid thief on the table, and that's Akron. However, that's only if Miami (OH) gets in. The RedHawks are 31-1 and were expected to claim the MAC's lone bid. However, Akron knocked them out in a shocker ad claimed it for themselves. No 31-win team has ever been left out of the tournament, but Miami's resume isn't a sure thing.
Bubble Impact
On a clean slate there are 37 at-large bids available in the tournament. Every bid thief reduces that number. For now, all 36 are likely on the board.
Teams on the bubble who need to keep an eye on bid thieves:
- Arizona State
- Auburn
- Boise State
- Cal
- Cincinnati
- Indiana
- Missouri
- NC State
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- San Diego State
- Santa Clara
- Seton Hall
- SMU
- Stanford
- Texas
- UCF
- VCU
- Virginia Tech
The bubble includes a slew of teams who need to perform well in their conference tournaments or risk staying home for the rest of March.
How automatic bids work
There are 31 automatic bids in the NCAA Tournament, one for each conference from the ACC to the WAC. The winner of each conference tournament snags the auto bid, regardless of record or pre-tournament bracketology. So the last-place team in a league can make it to March Madness if they go on a run. It's not likely, but it's possible. Conversely, a dominant team who rolled through their conference can get left out of the postseason if they don't take care of business in their tournament. That's not a worry for the Power conferences, who expect multiple bids anyways, but for the others, it's a huge deal.