In the nine frantic days before the selection committee releases the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament bracket, 31 teams will punch their tickets into the field by winning their conference tournament. For many March Madness fans, championship week offers the first long look at the teams most likely to become this year’s beloved Cinderella teams once the tournament gets underway.
We’ll track the automatic bids as they are claimed, complete with an early guide to each conference champ. Listed are the conferences and their championship times, along with the broadcast lineup (all times are EST). Check back through the conference tournaments to see who earns the bids to the NCAA field:
Missouri Valley: Drake
Drake is headed to the NCAA for the third straight year, the second time the Bulldogs have accomplished that feat (1969-1971). Drake (30-3) beat Bradley 63-48 on Sunday in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship to earn the eighth NCAA berth in program history. Coach Ben McCollum is in his first season with the program after coaching Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State from 2009-24. The Bulldogs are led by Bennett Stirtz and Daniel Abreu.
Upcoming championship games
Sunday: Summit League
Monday: Sun Belt, Southern
Tuesday: CAA, Northeast, Horizon League, West Coast
Wednesday: Patriot League, Southland, Big Sky
Saturday: America East, MEAC, Mountain West, Big 12, Big East, MAC, MAAC, Conference USA, ACC, SWAC, Big West, WAC
March 16: Ivy League, SEC, Atlantic 10, American Athletic, Big Ten
Champions (time, day, broadcast)
America East: 11 a.m., Saturday (ESPN2)
American Athletic: 3:15 p.m., March 16 (ESPN)
Atlantic 10: 1 p.m., March 16 (CBS)
ACC: 8:30 p.m., Saturday (TBA)
ASUN: Lipscomb
Lipscomb will make its second NCAA appearance after beating North Alabama 76-65 in the ASUN tournament championship game on Sunday. The Bisons, who are coached by Lennie Acuff, will enter March Madness with a 25-9 record. They have five players who are scoring in double figures: Jacob Ognacevic, Will Pruitt, Joe Anderson, Gyasi Powell and Dylan Faulkner. Lipscomb’s first NCAA appearance came in 2018.
Big 12: 6 p.m., Saturday (TBA)
Big East: 6:30 p.m., Saturday (Fox)
Big Sky: 11:30 p.m., Wednesday (ESPN2)
Big South: High Point
High Point rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Winthrop for the Big South Conference tournament title on Sunday, pulling out an 81-69 victory. The Panthers, coached by Alan Huss in his second season, are led by Kezza Giffa, D’Maurian Williams and Kimani Hamilton, who all average in double figures in points. The Panthers (29-5) will be making their first March Madness appearance.
Big Ten: 3:30 p.m., March 16 (CBS)
Big West: 9:40 p.m., Saturday (ESPN2)
CAA: 7 p.m., Tuesday (CBSSN)
Conference USA: 8:30 p.m., Saturday (CBSSN)
Horizon League: 7 p.m., Tuesday (ESPN/ESPN2)
Ivy League: Noon, March 16 (ESPN2)
MAAC: 7:30 p.m., Saturday (ESPNU)
MAC: 7:40 p.m., Saturday (ESPN2)
MEAC: 1 p.m., Saturday (ESPN2)
Missouri Valley: Drake
Mountain West: 6 p.m., Saturday (CBS)
Ohio Valley: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
The Cougars, coached by Brian Barone, will make the program’s first trip to March Madness after beating Southeast Missouri 69-48 on Saturday night in the Ohio Valley (OVC) tournament championship game. Southeast Missouri was the top seed in the conference tournament, while SIUE (22-11) was the second seed and lost to Southeast Missouri twice during the regular season. Ray’Sean Taylor, the conference player of the year, is SIUE’s leading scorer this season, averaging more than 19 points per game, and he is the program’s all-time leading scorer. Brian Taylor II and Ring Malith also average in double figures.
Northeast: 7 p.m., Tuesday (ESPN2)
Patriot League: TBA, Wednesday (TBA)
SEC: 1 p.m., March 16 (ESPN)
Southern: 7 p.m., Monday (ESPN)
Southland: 5 p.m., Wednesday (ESPN2)
SWAC: 9:30 p.m., Saturday (ESPN-plus)
Summit League: 9 p.m., Sunday (CBSSN)
Sun Belt: 7 p.m., Monday (ESPN2)
West Coast: 9 p.m., Tuesday (ESPN)
WAC: 11:40 p.m., Saturday (ESPN2)
(Photo of Jacob Ognacevic: Jordan Prather / Imagn Images)
