NCAA Men's Tournament Automatic Bid Tracker: Long Island First Team to Qualify for Big Dance

The Sharks have punched their ticket to the festivities.

Long Island has punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

It’s that time of the year in college basketball.

The snow is melting. The days are lengthening. Games involving Maine and Idaho are gaining importance outside the Pine Tree and Gem States, respectively.

Yes, it’s conference tournament week throughout the land. Play began on Monday and through Sunday, March 15, 31 Division I men’s college basketball tournaments will be staged, and 31 conference tournament champions will be crowned. Each will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, a prestigious honor for any program as well as traditionally the only way into the tournament for members of conferences in the distant past. The full men’s conference tournament schedule can be found here, from the Ohio Valley’s event in Evansville, Ind., to the Big Ten’s in Chicago.

Long Island became the first men's team to punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament by winning the NEC semifinal against Wagner. The Sharks have earned the NEC autobid becuase they'll face Mercyhurst in the conference final. Mercyhurst is ineligible for this year's NCAA tournament as the program continues its reclassification process to Division I.

Here, in tabular form, is a look at every team that has clinched a bid to the Big Dance thus far—as well as when each team last made the tournament.

NCAA men’s tournament automatic bids won so far

CONFERENCE	WINNER	FIRST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE SINCE...
Northeast	Long Island*	2018

*Long Island earns autobid regardless of NEC title game result with Mercyhurst ineligible.

---