NCAA Women's Tournament Automatic Bid Tracker: Western Illinois First to Punch March Madness Ticket

Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing.

March Madness is around the corner. But before the madness commences, teams need to be invited to the Big Dance. That’s where the conference tournaments come into play, where a total of 31 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament are up for grabs in both men's and women's college basketball. The action tipped off in the women’s tournaments on Monday with the Horizon League, and will take place all the way up to Selection Sunday on March 15. Here's a look at the full schedule for the women's conference tournaments.

A complete list of the 31 auto bids for the men's tournament can be found here. As for the women's conference tournament, every team that secures an auto bid will be tracked below. Western Illinois became the first team on the women’s side to punch its ticket to the Big Dance off a big performance from senior forward Mia Nicastro in Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference championship game. Check back here throughout conference tournament week to check in on the rest of the tickets booked.

NCAA women's tournament automatic bids tracker

CONFERENCE	WINNER	FIRST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE SINCE
Ohio Valley	Western Illinois	2017

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