NCAA allowing college basketball schedule to expand starting 2026-27 season

NCAA will allow teams to schedule up to 32 games starting with the 2026-27 season

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga's midseason showdown with Kentucky during the heat of the 2023-24 campaign was a rare instance of two college basketball heavyweights setting aside their conference obligations to deliver a thrilling nonleague matchup in the weeks leading up to the postseason.

Up until that point, marquee nonconference games were mostly reserved for November and December, when the college basketball calendar is at its most flexible. But in light of a recent proposal that, if approved, would extend the sport's regular season by one game, more high-profile contests like the one between the Bulldogs and Wildcats in February 2024 could become more commonplace in the future.

According to a report from CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, the NCAA Division I Council will approve an increase from 31 to 32 games beginning with the 2026-27 season. Teams will be allowed to schedule up to one more game, barring any last-minute vetoes, but won't be forced to play out a full 32-game schedule if they choose not to. Contests against non-Division I opponents will also count toward the total.

An expanded schedule would mean that teams that advance to the National Championship game could play up to 41 games during that season. No team has ever crossed the 40-game threshold to this point.

Per Norlander, the driving factor behind the push for 32 games is tied to multi-team events and their increasingly restrictive guidelines stemming from conference expansion, which has led to schools in the same league competing against each other in some events. That was previously not allowed but has since been changed through a waiver process. It's also worth noting that lengthening the schedule will allow MTEs like the NIL-driven Players Era Festival to schedule three- or four-game tournaments.

Players Era is set for a second run this November with 20 participants, including Gonzaga, and is hoping to grow to 32 teams by 2026.

Of course, money is also at the forefront. In addition to freeing up more opportunities for lucrative neutral site contests, moving to 32 games will allow programs to host one more home game. With the House settlement ushering in revenue sharing for college athletes, teams will certainly be looking for more ways to create revenue.

The maximum games a team can play in a season was set at 31 in 2006-07. The format was 28 or 29 predetermined games with room for three-game or two-game multi-team events if applicable, making it a 31-game cap.

The switch to 32 games would align with Gonzaga's move to the Pac-12 conference, which is to be made official on July 1, 2026. Only time will tell how the league arranges its conference schedule for men's basketball, as the Pac-12's current priorities are to find another football-playing school to join as a full-time member.