Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
MW unveils basketball bracket format
7/23/2026 3:23:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
Each conference tourney includes all 10 members; regular season's top 6 earn byes
Grand Canyon's March Madness will start with 10-team tournaments at the next Mountain West Basketball Championships.
The Mountain West announced the format and dates of its 2027 men's and women's basketball tournaments, with each bracket including all 10 members and awarding the top six regular-season finishers byes into each tourney's quarterfinal round. The Mountain West Basketball Championships will be staged at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the 21st consecutive year.
The tournaments will include one day of overlapping action with the women's tourney running from March 7 to the championship game on March 10, when two men's first-round tourney games also will be played. The men's tourney will conclude with a March 13 championship game.
Games will be broadcast on CBS, CBS Sports Network and the MW+ streaming platform. Tipoff times will be announced later.
"We look forward to two premier championships at the Thomas & Mack Center in 2027," MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a conference release. "In evaluating our men's and women's championship formats, we considered the NCAA Tournament's expanded field in addition to maximizing postseason opportunities for Mountain West teams and providing our student-athletes with meaningful postseason competition. This format enhances the championship experience by creating additional opportunities to compete, extend seasons, and be part of the excitement and visibility that comes with postseason basketball in Las Vegas. As we do every year, we will continue to study the behavior of both the men's and women's NCAA basketball selection committees to ensure that our championship format gives the Mountain West the best opportunity to secure multiple NCAA bids at the highest seeds possible."
GCU, Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San José State, UNLV and Wyoming return to the Mountain West with Hawai'i, UC Davis and UTEP joining the conference this year.
The Mountain West announced the format and dates of its 2027 men's and women's basketball tournaments, with each bracket including all 10 members and awarding the top six regular-season finishers byes into each tourney's quarterfinal round. The Mountain West Basketball Championships will be staged at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the 21st consecutive year.
The tournaments will include one day of overlapping action with the women's tourney running from March 7 to the championship game on March 10, when two men's first-round tourney games also will be played. The men's tourney will conclude with a March 13 championship game.
Games will be broadcast on CBS, CBS Sports Network and the MW+ streaming platform. Tipoff times will be announced later.
"We look forward to two premier championships at the Thomas & Mack Center in 2027," MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a conference release. "In evaluating our men's and women's championship formats, we considered the NCAA Tournament's expanded field in addition to maximizing postseason opportunities for Mountain West teams and providing our student-athletes with meaningful postseason competition. This format enhances the championship experience by creating additional opportunities to compete, extend seasons, and be part of the excitement and visibility that comes with postseason basketball in Las Vegas. As we do every year, we will continue to study the behavior of both the men's and women's NCAA basketball selection committees to ensure that our championship format gives the Mountain West the best opportunity to secure multiple NCAA bids at the highest seeds possible."
GCU, Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San José State, UNLV and Wyoming return to the Mountain West with Hawai'i, UC Davis and UTEP joining the conference this year.
Saturday, July 18
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