Men's College Basketball Conference Tournaments: A Comprehensive Schedule

Here’s a short roundup of every prelude to March Madness.

Florida toppled Tennessee in 2025 to claim the SEC men’s basketball crown. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the first day of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, many Americans rediscover college basketball for the first time in a year. Unfortunately, these poor souls just barely miss out one of the sport’s special treats.

That is conference tournament week—or, more accurately, the zany two-week run-up to the NCAA tournament in which the field’s 31 automatic bids are decided. From here some of the sport’s most memorable moments have sprung, like UConn guard Kemba Walker’s game-winning shot in 2011, or Michigan’s 2017 Big Ten tournament title after a near-catastrophe.

The conference tournaments tip off on Monday, March 2 with a Horizon League play-in game between Cleveland State and IU Indianapolis.

Here is a brief guide to all of the conference tournament fun 2026 has to offer, sorted chronologically from the first conference final to the last.

Ohio Valley

Dates: March 4 to 7

Final Date/Time/TV: March 7, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Evansville, Ind.

2025 Champion: SIU Edwardsville

Big South

Dates: March 4, 6 to 8

Final Date/Time/TV: March 8, Noon ET, ESPN2

Site: Johnson City, Tenn.

2025 Champion: High Point

Missouri Valley

Dates: March 5 to 8

Final Date/Time/TV: March 8, Noon ET, CBS

Site: St. Louis

2025 Champion: Drake

Atlantic Sun

Dates: March 4, 6 to 8

Final Date/Time/TV: March 8, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Jacksonville

2025 Champion: Lipscomb

Summit League

Dates: March 4 to 8

Final Date/Time/TV: March 8, 9 p.m. ET, CBS Sports

Site: Sioux Falls, S.D.

2025 Champion: Omaha

Southern

Dates: March 6 to 9

Final Date/Time/TV: March 9, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Asheville, N.C.

2025 Champion: Wofford

Sun Belt

Dates: March 3 to 9

Final Date/Time/TV: March 9, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Pensacola, Fla.

2025 Champion: Troy

CAA

Dates: March 6 to 10

Final Date/Time/TV: March 10, 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports

Site: Washington, D.C.

2025 Champion: UNC Wilmington

Horizon League

Dates: March 2, 4, 8 to 10

Final Date/Time/TV: March 10, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

2025 Champion: Robert Morris

Northeast

Dates: March 4, 7, 10

Final Date/Time/TV: March 10, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Campus sites

2025 Champion: Saint Francis

MAAC

Dates: March 5 to 8, 10

Final Date/Time/TV: March 10, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Atlantic City, N.J.

2025 Champion: Mount St. Mary’s

West Coast

Dates: March 5 to 10

Final Date/Time/TV: March 10, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Paradise, Nev.

2025 Champion: Gonzaga

Gonzaga celebrated West Coast tournament title No. 22 in 2025. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Southland

Dates: March 8 to 11

Final Date/Time/TV: March 11, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Lake Charles, La.

2025 Champion: McNeese

Patriot League

Dates: March 3, 5, 8, 11

Final Date/Time/TV: March 11, 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports

Site: Campus sites

2025 Champion: American

Big Sky

Dates: March 7 to 11

Final Date/Time/TV: March 11, 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Boise, Idaho

2025 Champion: Montana

America East

Dates: March 7, 10, 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 11 a.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Campus sites

2025 Champion: Bryant

MEAC

Dates: March 11 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Norfolk, Va.

2025 Champion: Norfolk State

Big 12

Dates: March 10 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Kansas City

2025 Champion: Houston

Mountain West

Dates: March 11 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 6 p.m. ET, CBS

Site: Paradise, Nev.

2025 Champion: Colorado State

Big East

Dates: March 11 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 6:30 p.m. ET, Fox

Site: New York

2025 Champion: St. John’s

SWAC

Dates: March 9 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Site: College Park, Ga.

2025 Champion: Alabama State

MAC

Dates: March 12 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Cleveland

2025 Champion: Akron

ACC

Dates: March 10 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Charlotte

2025 Champion: Duke

The ACC men’s tournament, won by Duke in 2025, may be the most revered of all conference tournaments. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Conference USA

Dates: March 10 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Huntsville, Ala.

2025 Champion: Liberty

Big West

Dates: March 11 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Henderson, Nev.

2025 Champion: UC San Diego

WAC

Dates: March 11 to 14

Final Date/Time/TV: March 14, 11:59 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Site: Paradise, Nev.

2025 Champion: Grand Canyon

Ivy League

Dates: March 14 to 15

Final Date/Time/TV: March 15, Noon ET, ESPN2

Site: Ithaca, N.Y.

2025 Champion: Yale

Atlantic 10

Dates: March 11 to 15

Final Date/Time/TV: March 15, 1 p.m. ET, CBS

Site: Pittsburgh

2025 Champion: VCU

SEC

Dates: March 11 to 15

Final Date/Time/TV: March 15, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Nashville

2025 Champion: Florida

American

Dates: March 11 to 15

Final Date/Time/TV: March 15, 3:15 p.m. ET, ESPN

Site: Birmingham

2025 Champion: Memphis

Big Ten

Dates: March 10 to 15

Final Date/Time/TV: March 15, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Site: Chicago

2025 Champion: Michigan

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