NCAA Tournament Automatic Bids

Guide Note: Each year, college basketball holds a single-elimination tournament to determine its national champion. The process of selecting the 65 teams that will make up the tournament field is a two-pronged process. Teams can automatically gain entry into the tournament by winning their respective conference championship. This accounts for 31 teams in the field. The remaining 34 slots are filled in an 'at-large' process based upon subjective choices made by the NCAA Selection Committee, which meets during the final weekend of conference tournament play.

Fast Facts:

1. Each conference is guaranteed at least one team into the tournament
2. The majority of the remaining 'at-large' bids go to teams from the 6 'major' conferences: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC