The newly expanded 76-team men's NCAA Tournament will feature an additional site for the next two years: Wichita, Kansas. The men's selection committee convened this week in San Diego and voted on Wednesday to designate Wichita as the sister host with Dayton for the opening round beginning in 2027 and extending into 2028, the NCAA announced on Thursday.
Wichita beat out seven other finalists, sources told CBS Sports, including Albuquerque, N.M., Des Moines, Iowa, and other cities west of the Mississippi.
Wichita's central location was a major selling point for the committee as it prepares for a major change with the expanded 76-team field. Next year's men's and women's tournament will feature 12 opening-round games split between two sites on the men's side, with traditional host Dayton hosting six and Wichita hosting the other six.
The two sites will switch between hosting automatic qualifiers (No. 16 and No. 15 seeds) and at-large candidates (the final eight at-large teams selected to the field).
The NCAA approved expansion of the men's and women's tournament from 68 to 76 teams in early May; the men's tournament had been at 68 teams since the 2010-11 season, and expansion had been extensively explored over the last four years.
The bid process was competitive, sources said, with several finalists putting on a big push in recent weeks for the chance to host the NCAA Tournament. But Wichita's proximity proved to be the trump card. The games are expected to be held at InTrust Arena, which can house up to 15,004.
We will update this story with more details shortly.
