Road to the Championship

National Participation

There are 351 NCAA member institutions that sponsor Division I Women's Basketball teams, with 348 teams and approximately 5,000 women's basketball student-athletes eligible to compete for the national championship.

Selection Process

The 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.

Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Announcements:

The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee will provide two top-16 reveals during the season. Each reveal will include the top-16 in seed order, with potential regional assignments for all 16 teams provided as if the season ended on that respective date. The two top-16 reveals will have no bearing on the final 64-team field for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship that will be announced during the ESPN Selection Show.

Selection Show

The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship bracket will be announced during the Selection Show on ESPN.

First & Second Rounds

First- and second-round competition for the 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

Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will be help at four predetermined sites. At each site, four teams will compete in regional semifinal competition. The two wining 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 Women’s Final Four.

National Championship

The Women’s Final Four will be held at a predetermined site. National semifinals will be held at the same site.