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The road to the modern college basketball NCAA Tournament has been anything but static. Since its inception in 1939, the tournament has undergone multiple expansions, eventually landing at 68 teams with the introduction of the First Four in 2011. This evolution has not only altered the format but also reshaped the dynamics of March Madness, offering more teams a shot at history.
The NCAA Tournament began humbly in 1939, featuring just eight teams. Oregon emerged as the first national champion, defeating Ohio State in the title game. Over the next several decades, the tournament steadily expanded to accommodate the growing popularity of college basketball.
In 1951, the field doubled to 16 teams, with Kentucky defeating Kansas State in the first 16-team tournament. This expansion reflected the increasing talent pool across the country and the need to include more teams in the hunt for a championship. By 1975, the field had doubled again to 32 teams, a move that allowed more at-large bids and increased competitive balance. The first 32-team tournament saw UCLA, led by the legendary John Wooden, defeat Kentucky in the title game, which would be Wooden’s final game.
The most significant expansion came in 1985 when the NCAA expanded the tournament to 64 teams, creating the modern bracket format that fans recognize today. This allowed for a perfect six-game path to the championship and eliminated byes, ensuring every team had an equal number of games to win the title. That year, Villanova delivered one of the most memorable championship upsets, defeating heavily favored Georgetown, led by Patrick Ewing, as an #8 seed.
For decades, the 64-team format thrived, balancing accessibility for lower seeds with an elite competitive structure. However, as college basketball continued to grow and analytics measuring teams gained more traction, calls for further expansion emerged.
In 2001, the NCAA introduced a single opening-round game, often referred to as a “play-in game,” to accommodate the addition of a 65th team. This game determined which team would earn the final spot in the official 64-team bracket. However, the true expansion came in 2011 when the NCAA added three more play-in games, creating the First Four and bringing the total field to 68 teams.
The First Four, played annually on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, features two matchups between the lowest-seeded at-large teams and two between the lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers. The goal is to trim the field from 68 to 64 before the traditional first round begins on Thursday.
The introduction of the First Four immediately added a new layer of intrigue to the tournament. While some viewed it as an unnecessary addition, history has proven that these early games matter. One of the best examples came in 2011, the very first year of the expanded format. Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) defeated USC in a First Four game and proceeded to embark on a magical Final Four run, knocking off Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and #1 seed Kansas before falling in the national semifinals.
Since then, some other First Four teams have made deep runs, including:
In addition to deep Cinderella runs, the First Four sparked an unforgettable two-game stretch with 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson’s historic upset of Purdue in 2023, making them the second-ever 16-seed winner and first-ever 16-seed play-in winner to advance past the first round.
With the success of the First Four, and with the College Football Playoff debuting its 12-team format this year, some have speculated that further expansion could be on the horizon. The idea of a 72- or even 96-team field has been floated, but expansion beyond 68 remains unlikely at the moment. Critics worry expansion would dilute the regular season and the high-stakes drama of Selection Sunday.
The First Four has cemented itself as an integral part of March Madness. As history has shown, no matter how the bracket evolves, the NCAA Tournament will continue to deliver unforgettable moments, Cinderella stories and championship glory.
Zach has been a published sports writer since 2018 specializing in college football & basketball, MLB and NFL content for multiple publications.