2026 WBIT field and pairings announced

INDIANAPOLIS — Brigham Young, North Dakota State, Utah and Texas A&M highlight the 32-team field for the 2026 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), released today by the WBIT selection committee.

First-round play is scheduled for Thursday, March 19, with second-round games taking place March 22 and quarterfinals set for March 26. The city of Wichita, Kansas, will host the semifinals and championship games for the first time, as four teams will advance to play at Charles Koch Arena. The semifinals are scheduled for Monday, March 30, with the WBIT concluding with the championship game Wednesday, April 1.

This marks the third annual WBIT. Minnesota defeated Belmont, 75-63, to win the 2025 WBIT Championship, while Illinois defeated Villanova, 71-57, to capture the inaugural title in 2024. The first two editions were hosted by Butler University at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

FOLLOW THE WBIT: Schedule, game times, TV channels for the women's basketball tournament

This year’s WBIT features 23 schools making their first-ever appearance. Overall, 20 different conferences will have one or more teams participating in the 2026 tournament. Additionally, nine teams that participated in the 2025 WBIT were selected to the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, highlighted by defending WBIT champion Minnesota.

First-round action will take place at campus sites and feature the tournament’s top four seeded teams — the last four teams not selected for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship — Brigham Young, North Dakota State, Utah and Texas A&M, facing Alabama A&M, Chattanooga, Eastern Kentucky and McNeese, respectively.

Other first-round games include Quinnipiac at George Mason, Loyola Marymount at Stanford, McNeese at Texas A&M, Louisiana Tech at Rice, Troy at Kansas, St. John’s (New York) at Columbia, Santa Clara at California, Georgia Tech at Kansas State, Navy at Harvard and Georgia Southern at Miami (Florida). 

Due to facility conflicts, higher-seeded Missouri will travel to Seton Hall, Utah will travel to Eastern Kentucky and Wisconsin will play at Oregon State. Additionally, San Diego State will host its games at the University of San Diego.

The WBIT selection committee seeded only the top half of the 32-team field. The remaining 16 teams were placed in the bracket by the committee as close to their area of natural interest as possible.

“The WBIT selection committee is excited to announce this year’s tournament following the success of the previous two editions,” said Barbara Burke, former deputy director of athletics at the University of Iowa and chair of the WBIT committee. “The committee did an excellent job identifying and selecting an incredibly competitive 32-team field. With 100 NCAA teams experiencing postseason competition through the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship and the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, it speaks to the growth and excitement surrounding women’s basketball. The WBIT selection committee congratulates all 32 teams, and we look forward to a great tournament.”

Preliminary-round WBIT games will be televised on ESPN+, while the semifinals will air on ESPNU and the championship game will be broadcast on ESPN2. Additional WBIT information can be found at krikya888s.com/WBIT.

** An institution automatically qualifies for the WBIT if it wins its league’s regular season championship and is not selected into the NCAA Championship.