Road to the Championship

National Participation
There are 345 NCAA member institutions that sponsor Division I Women’s Basketball teams and are eligible to compete in the National Championship. All 345 programs support approximately 7,000 Women’s Basketball student-athletes across the country.

Selection Process
The 2019 Division I Women’s Basketball championship provides for a field of 64 teams to compete in a single elimination tournament. Of the 64 teams, 32 teams will receive automatic qualification with the remaining best 32 teams selected on an at-large basis by the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee.

Selection Show | Monday, March 18, 2019
The 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship bracket will be announced Monday, March 18.

First & Second Rounds | March 22 - 25, 2019
First- and second-round competition for the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship will be held on 16 non-predetermined campus sites. At each campus site, four teams will compete in single-elimination first-round competition. The two winning teams will then compete against each other in single-elimination second-round competition at the same campus site. The winning team from each of the 16 second-round games will advance to the regional rounds of play.

Regionals | March 29 - April 1, 2019
Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship will be held March 29 - April 1 at four locations. At each site, four teams will compete in regional semifinal competition. The two winning teams will then compete against each other in the regional final competition at the same site. The winning team from each of the four regionals will advance to the 2019 Women’s Final Four.

National Championship | April 5 and 7, 2019
The 2019 Women’s Final Four will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. National semifinals will be held on Friday, April 5, time to be announced, with the national championship game taking place on Sunday, April 7, time to be announced.