Ayrton Oneill
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, commonly known as March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament held in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion. The tournament, which consists of 68 teams, usually begins in mid-March and concludes in early April. The First Four is considered the official start of March Madness, with the full brackets revealed on Selection Sunday, which falls on the Sunday before the First Four games. The 2023 tournament, for example, began on March 14, with the First Four games taking place on March 13 and 14.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of tournament | 2025 |
| Date of Selection Sunday | March 16 |
| Date of First Four games | March 18 and 19 (men's); March 19 and 20 (women's) |
| Date of first round | March 20 and 21 (men's); March 21 and 22 (women's) |
| Number of teams | 68 |
| Number of rounds | 7 |
| Format | Single-elimination |
| Host cities | Dayton, Ohio; Lexington, Kentucky; Providence, Rhode Island; Seattle; Wichita, Kansas; Cleveland; Denver; Milwaukee; Raleigh, North Carolina; Newark, New Jersey (East); Atlanta (South); Indianapolis (Midwest); San Francisco (West); San Antonio; Tampa Bay |
| Venues | Alamodome (San Antonio); Amalie Arena (Tampa Bay) |
| Date of Final Four | April 4 and 5 |
| Date of national championship game | April 6 |
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What You'll Learn
The 2025 tournament began on March 16, ending on April 5 and 7
The 2025 March Madness tournament, also known as the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, began on March 16, with Selection Sunday and the men's bracket reveal. The women's bracket was unveiled later that evening. The men's First Four games took place on March 18 and 19, with the first round occurring on March 20 and 21. The women's tournament began a day later, with the First Four on March 19 and 20, and the first round on March 21 and 22.
The tournament commenced with 68 teams, selected by a committee, competing in a single-elimination format over seven rounds until a national champion was determined. The showcase event began with the semifinal round, known as the Final Four, which took place on April 4 and 5, with the second semifinal starting 30 minutes after the first game ended. The national championship game was held on April 6, hosted at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The 2025 tournament featured a variety of host cities, including Dayton, Ohio, the sole host of the First Four games. Other host cities for the initial rounds included Lexington, Kentucky; Providence, Rhode Island; Seattle; Wichita, Kansas; Cleveland; Denver; Milwaukee; and Raleigh, North Carolina. The regional semifinals (Sweet 16) and finals (Elite Eight) were played in Newark, New Jersey (East); Atlanta (South); Indianapolis (Midwest); and San Francisco (West). The Final Four and national championship games were held in San Antonio and Tampa, Florida, respectively.
March Madness is one of the most popular annual sporting events in the United States, captivating the country with its excitement and the possibility of upsets. The tournament has become part of American popular culture, with bracket contests awarding prizes for correctly predicting game outcomes.
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The tournament has 68 teams and 7 rounds
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, commonly known as March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament held in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion. The tournament has been played annually since 1939, with the exception of 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
March Madness has become one of the most popular annual sporting events in the US, with a current format of 68 teams competing over seven rounds. The tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, having previously featured 64 teams since 1985. The addition of four teams created the current First Four round.
The 68 teams are selected by a committee, with each team seeded and assigned to one of four regions for the first-round games. The selection committee meets on Selection Sunday, after all regular-season and conference tournament games have been played, to choose the remaining 37 teams based on performance and track record.
The tournament begins with the semifinal round, known as the Final Four, and concludes with the national championship game. The 2025 edition of March Madness, for example, started with Selection Sunday on March 16 and ended with the Final Four and national championship game on April 5 and 7.
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The first men's tournament was in 1939
The tournament was held annually until the 2019-20 season, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 tournament was also cancelled for the same reason, though there was talk of holding a shortened version with only 16 teams in the Final Four host city of Atlanta. The tournament returned to its regular format in 2022, with both the men's and women's tournaments being branded as "NCAA March Madness" for the first time.
The 2025 tournament began with Selection Sunday on March 16, with the men's bracket reveal broadcast on CBS at 6 pm ET, and the women's bracket revealed on ESPN at 8 pm ET. The men's First Four games took place on March 18 and 19, with the first round on March 20 and 21. The tournament will end with the Final Four and the national championship game on April 5 and 7.
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The tournament is branded as 'NCAA March Madness'
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance. The tournament is played mostly during March and was first conducted in 1939. It is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The tournament consists of 68 teams selected by a committee, which compete in a single-elimination format over seven rounds until a national champion is determined. The showcase event begins with the semifinal round, known as the Final Four. The tournament has become part of American popular culture through bracket contests that award money and other prizes for correctly predicting the game outcomes. In 2023, Sports Illustrated reported that an estimated 60 to 100 million brackets are filled out each year.
In 2016, the NCAA introduced a new "NCAA March Madness" logo for tournament-wide branding, which included bespoke tourney-exclusive courts at each of the tournament venues from the same manufacturer with the same floor composition across each round. The name "March Madness" was first used by an Illinois high school official, Henry V. Porter, in 1939, but the term was popularized by CBS announcer Brent Musburger during his coverage of the 1982 tournament.
Beginning in 2022, in response to protests from players in the 2021 women's tournament about the differing facility quality and branding, both the men's and women's tournaments were branded as "NCAA March Madness" with variations of the same tournament-wide logo used by the men's tournament.
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The women's tournament differs — games occur on campus until the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, commonly known as March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion. The tournament, which was first held in 1939, is played mostly during March and consists of 68 teams.
March Madness 2025 began with Selection Sunday on March 16 and ended with the Final Four and the national championship game on April 5 and 7. The men's First Four games took place on March 18 and 19, with the first round taking place on March 20 and 21.
The women's tournament differs from the men's tournament in that the games all take place on campus until the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds. The women's tournament began with the First Four on March 19 and 20, followed by the first round on March 21 and 22. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds were played in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington. The Final Four games were hosted by Tampa Bay's Amalie Arena, with the championship game taking place on Sunday, April 6.
The term "March Madness" was first used by an Illinois high school official, Henry V. Porter, in 1939, but it was popularized by CBS announcer Brent Musburger during the 1982 tournament. The tournament has become a significant part of American popular culture, with bracket contests awarding money and other prizes for correctly predicting game outcomes.
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Frequently asked questions
The 2025 March Madness tournament started on March 16 with Selection Sunday, where the full brackets are revealed. The men’s First Four games began on March 18, with the first round taking place on March 20 and 21.
The first men's basketball tournament was held in 1939, with Oregon defeating Ohio State 46-33 to win the title. The name March Madness was first used by an Illinois high school official, Henry V. Porter, in 1939.
The tournament is designed so that 68 teams selected by a committee compete in a single-elimination format over seven rounds until a national champion is determined. The showcase event begins with the semifinal round, known as the Final Four.
The tournament is held annually and has been conducted every year since 1939, except for in 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
