NCAA Women’s Tournament Automatic Bid Tracker: High Point Is March Madness Bound for Second Straight Year

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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 women’s and men’s college basketball. The action tipped off in the women’s tournaments 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.
The High Point women's basketball team is going dancing. For just the third time in program history—and for the second straight year—the Panthers are March Madness-bound after the program defeated Radford in the final of the Big South tournament. Chelsea Banbury's Panthers squad was powered by 21 points from senior guard Aaliyah Collins and another 18 points from her backcourt mate Anna Hager.
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 … |
|---|---|---|
Big South | High Point | 2025 |
Big 12 | West Virginia | 2025 |
Summit | South Dakota State | 2025 |
A-10 | Rhode Island | 1996 |
SEC | Texas | 2025 |
Big Ten | UCLA | 2025 |
ACC | Duke | 2025 |
SoCon | Samford | 2012* |
Ohio Valley | Western Illinois | 2017 |
Editor’s note: Samford won the SoCon tournament in 2020 and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.
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