Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing.
March Madness is almost here. But before the madness commences, teams need to be invited to the Big Dance. That’s where the conference tournaments come into play, where a total of 31 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament were up for grabs in both women’s and men’s college basketball. The action tipped off in the women’s tournaments with the Horizon League, and ran all the way up to Selection Sunday on March 15. Here’s a look at the full schedule for the women’s conference tournaments.
A complete list of the 31 auto bids for the men’s tournament can be found here. As for the women’s conference tournament, every team that secures an auto bid will be tracked below.
With 31 teams set for the field of 68, those without automatic bids will have to wait as the selection committee decides their fate.
NCAA women’s tournament automatic bids tracker
| Conference | Winner | First tournament appearance since … |
|---|---|---|
| CAA | Charleston | First in program history |
| MVC | Murray State | 2025 |
| NEC | Fairleigh Dickinson | 2025 |
| Patriot League | Holy Cross | 2024 |
| American | UTSA | 2009 |
| Big West | UC San Diego | 2025 |
| CUSA | Missouri State | 2022 |
| Ivy | Princeton | 2025 |
| MEAC | Howard | 2022 |
| WAC | California Baptist | 2024 |
| SWAC | Southern | 2025 |
| MAC | Miami (Ohio) | 2008 |
| America East | Vermont | 2025 |
| Southland | Stephen F. Austin | 2025 |
| Big Sky | Idaho | 2016 |
| MWC | Colorado State | 2016 |
| WCC | Gonzaga | 2024 |
| Horizon | Green Bay | 2025 |
| Big East | UConn | 2025 |
| MAAC | Fairfield | 2025 |
| ASUN | Jacksonville | 2016 |
| Sun Belt | James Madison | 2023 |
| Big South | High Point | 2025 |
| Big 12 | West Virginia | 2025 |
| Summit | South Dakota State | 2025 |
| A-10 | Rhode Island | 1996 |
| SEC | Texas | 2025 |
| Big Ten | UCLA | 2025 |
| ACC | Duke | 2025 |
| SoCon | Samford | 2012* |
| Ohio Valley | Western Illinois | 2017 |
Editor’s note: Samford won the SoCon tournament in 2020 and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More College Basketball from Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
- Printable 2026 Men’s NIT Bracket, Schedule and Score Updates
- Women’s March Madness 2026: Game Times, TV Channels and Full NCAA Tournament Schedule
- March Madness: Four Teams With the Clearest Path to the Men’s Final Four
- March Madness 2026: Game Times, TV Channels and Full NCAA Tournament Schedule
- Men’s March Madness Snubs: San Diego State, Auburn Left Out of NCAA Tournament Field
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NCAA Women’s Tournament Automatic Bid Tracker: All 31 Teams That Have Punched Their Ticket to March Madness.
