Women’s March Madness 2026 Schedule and Key NCAA Tournament Dates

Tickets to the NCAA tournament are being punched and Selection Sunday is just days away, which means March Madness is right around the corner in women's basketball. With that in mind, it’s time to brush up on all of the important dates for the NCAA tournament.

Below is a round-by-round schedule of the women's NCAA tounament, including where the games will be taking place. We don't yet know who's playing who—starting Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN we'll begin to find out—but this will serve as a baseline for when the madness is taking place, and where you can watch the games.

Women's NCAA tournament full schedule

First Four: March 18-19
First Round: March 20-21
Second Round: March 22-23

Sweet Sixteen

In last year's Sweet Sixteen, only one lower-ranked seed defeated a higher-ranked seed—No. 3 LSU over No. 2 NC State—while all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Elite Eight.

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Location
March 27	2:30 p.m.	ESPN	Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Tx.
March 27	5:00 p.m.	ESPN	Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Tx.
March 27	7:30 p.m.	ESPN	Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Ca.
March 27	10:00 p.m.	ESPN	Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Ca.
March 28	12:30 p.m.	ABC	Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Tx.
March 28	3:00 p.m.	ABC	Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Tx.
March 28	5:00 p.m.	ESPN	Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Ca.
March 28	7:30 p.m.	ESPN	Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Ca.

Elite Eight

In last year's Elite Eight, only one No. 1 seed—USC—failed to advance. The Trojans unfortunately ran into the eventual national champions, the UConn Huskies.

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Location
March 29	1:00 p.m.	ABC	Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Tx.
March 29	3:00 p.m.	ABC	Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Ca.
March 30	7:00 p.m.	ESPN	Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Tx.
March 30	9:00 p.m.	ESPN	Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Ca.

Final Four

In last year's Final Four, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated fellow No. 1 seed Texas to advance to its second straight national championship game. Meanwhile, the mighty Huskies routed No. 1 seed UCLA 85-51 to set up a highly-anticipated showdown between the defending-champion Gamecocks and a historically-dominant UConn team. Last year's Final Four took place in Tampa, Fla.

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Location
April 3	7:00 p.m.	ESPN	Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Ariz.
April 3	9:30 p.m.*	ESPN	Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Ariz.

*The second women's semifinal game will begin 30 minutes after the first semifinal game ends.

Before we get to the national championship game schedule, here is a quick look at where the future women's Final Four contests will be held.

2026: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Ariz.
2027: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
2028: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.
2029: Alomodome, San Antonio, Tx.
2030: Moda Center, Portlard, Ore.
2031: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Tx.

National Championship

In last year's title game, UConn overwhelmed South Carolina to win its 12th championshiop and first since 2016.

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Location
April 5	3:30 p.m.	ABC	Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Ariz.

Who are the favorites to win the 2026 women's NCAA tournament?

It all starts with the defending-champion Huskies, who haven't lost a game since December of last year. The Huskies lost 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers, but the Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd-led '26 squad might be even better—a scary thought for the rest of the country.

The UCLA Bruins, led by Big Ten Player of the Year and star center Lauren Betts, have to be next on the list. Cori Close's squad has made three straight runs to the Final Four and hasn't lost a game this season since Nov. 26.

The Texas Longhorns, who routed South Carolina in the SEC Championship final and were the only team to beat UCLA this season in a neutral site game, could be poised to win the program's first national title since the 1984-85 season. Do-it-all forward Madison Booker is one of the best players in the country.

Rouding out the group of favorites is the Gamecocks. Winners of two of the last five national championships, Dawn Staley's squad might not be this year's outright favorite, but the program remains a women's basketball powerhouse and a deep squad, with five players averaging in double figures.

The LSU Tigers, led by four-time champion and coach Kim Mulkey, and Shea Ralph's Vanderbilt Commodores, are two SEC powers who could conceivably also contend for the title.