When does March Madness start? NCAA bracket announcement, date, time, what to know
With the regular seasons coming to a close in men's and women's college basketball, the greatest postseason tournaments are not too far in the distance.
Welcome to March Madness – well, not exactly. There still remain eight days in February before the calendar rolls over to March.
A tournament format that is like no other, conference champions and at-large teams will compete in a single-elimination format over four weeks in hopes of hoisting a national championship trophy at the Alamodome and Amalie Arena.
Who will it be on the men's side? Will Liam McNeeley and Solo Ball help lead UConn to becoming the first team to win three consecutive national championships since John Wooden's UCLA Bruins? Or will one of the SEC's top-ranked teams – Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama – win the conference's first national championship title in more than a decade.
Who will it be on the women's side? Will South Carolina and Dawn Staley be the first team to go back-to-back since UConn from 2014-2016? Or will Lauren Betts lead UCLA to their first national championship title in program history? Or could an evolving UConn team led by Paige Bueckers get over the hump and win its first national title since 2016?
Here's what you need to know regarding the 2025 March Madness tournaments, including where the men's and women's basketball tournaments will be held and more:
When does March Madness start?
- Men's March Madness start date: Sunday, March 16
- Women's March Madness start date: Sunday, March 16
March Madness unofficially begins on Sunday, March 16 for both the men's and women's tournaments this season with Selection Sunday.
When is the NCAA men's tournament bracket announced?
As tradition holds, the full field of 68 for the 2025 NCAA Men's Tournament will be unveiled on Sunday, March 16 following the conclusion of the Big Ten basketball tournament on CBS.
Full men's March madness schedule 2025
- Start date: Tuesday, March 18 (First Four)
- End date: Monday, April 7 (national championship)
The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 18 in Dayton, Ohio at UD Arena with the First Four. The first day of first-round games is two days later on Thursday, March 20.
The national championship game will take place on Monday, April 7 inside the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Here is the full schedule breakdown for the men's NCAA tournament:
- First Four: Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19
- Round of 64: Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21
- Round of 32: Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23
- Sweet 16: Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28
- Elite Eight: Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30
- Final Four: Saturday, April 5
- National Championship: Monday, April 7
Men's March Madness site locations
With the field of 68, the men's March Madness tournament will once again take place at 14 different arenas and stadiums from start to finish.
The Final Four this year will be in San Antonio at the Alamodome, the first time the Final Four is returning to San Antonio since 2018 when Villanova won its second national championship title in three years.
Here is a full breakdown of which sites and locations will host the men's NCAA Tournament this year:
- First Four:
- UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
- Rounds 1-2:
- Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky)
- Amica Mutual Pavilion (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)
- Intrust Bank Arena (Wichita, Kansas)
- Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (Cleveland)
- Ball Arena (Denver)
- Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee)
- PNC Arena (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Sweet 16 and Elite 8:
- East Regional: Prudential Center (Newark, New Jersey)
- South Regional: State Farm Arena (Atlanta)
- Midwest Regional: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
- West Regional: Chase Center (San Francisco)
- Final Four:
- Alamodome (San Antonio)
When is the NCAA women's tournament bracket announced?
The full 2025 NCAA Women's Tournament bracket will be unveiled on Sunday, March 16.
Full women's March madness schedule
- Start date: Wednesday, March 19
- End date: Sunday, April 6
The 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 19 with the first set of First Four games. First-round games begin two days later on Friday, March 21.
The Final Four this year will be in Tampa, Florida at Amalie Arena, the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The national championship game will take place on Sunday, April 6.
Here is the full schedule breakdown for the women's NCAA tournament:
- First Four: Wednesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 20
- Round of 64: Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22
- Round of 32: Sunday, March 23 and Monday, March 24
- Sweet 16: Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29
- Elite Eight: Sunday, March 30 and Monday, March 31
- Final Four: Friday, April 4
- National Championship: Sunday, April 6
Women's March Madness site locations
Here's a full breakdown of which sites and locations will host the women's NCAA tournament this year:
- First Four:
- Later determined first/second round on-campus sites
- Rounds 1-2:
- Later determined first/second round on-campus sites
- Sweet 16 and Elite 8:
- Birmingham Regional: Legacy Arena (Birmingham, Alabama)
- Spokane Regional: Spokane Arena (Spokane, Washington)
- Final Four:
- Amalie Arena (Tampa, Florida)