EVENT INFO
2026 Dates
The field will be announced late Sunday evening, March 15, 2026, after the NCAA Tournament is released. The full bracket will be announced on Monday, March 16, 2026. The first round will tip off Thursday, March 19.
- Selection - Sunday, March 15, 2026.
- Bracket Announced - Monday, March 16, 2026
- Round 1 - March 19-21, 2026
- Round 2 - March 22-24, 2026
- Super 16 - March 25-27, 2026
- Great 8 - March 28-30, 2026
- Fab 4 - March 31 - April 1, 2026
- Championship - Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 3 p.m. ET
The Field
The field will consist of a 48-team bracket which includes teams that receive automatic berths and at-large selections. The WNIT committee reserves the right to adjust the number of teams in the field based on the resume of the teams considered, teams accepting AQ’s, and distribution of At-Large berths. All teams at the Division I level will be considered for at-large berths, including those who are independent and/or are in the transition process of reaching full NCAA Division I status.
Automatic Berths - one berth from each of the nation's 31 conferences
A team that is offered an automatic berth by the WNIT shall be the team that is:
a.) the highest-finishing team in the conference's regular-season standings – and
b.) is not selected for the NCAA Tournament or the WBIT.
Should a conference's automatic qualifier team decline the WNIT invitation, the spot will then be awarded to
either the next highest-finishing team in the designated conference or reallocated to the At-Large berth consideration per the WNIT committee's discretion.
At-large Berths
The remaining team slots will be filled by the top teams available at the discretion of the WNIT committee. Any team from Division I will be considered. Teams that are considered for at-large berths MUST have:
a.) an overall record of .500 or better.
1. Teams who are under .500 are eligible to submit a waiver to be considered for an At-large spot and the following criteria points will be taken into high consideration.
- Minimum 13 wins, excluding non-DI or exhibition games.
- 1-120 NET ranking
b.) When evaluating teams for at-large berths, the WNIT committee utilizes at least six statistical ranking systems, such as NCAA NET, RealTime RPI, Massey, Massey BCS, Her Hoop Stats, LRMC, Bennett, and Moore. The committee also looks at the strength of schedule, common opponents, games against other potential invitees, record at home and away, how well a team is currently playing, and key injuries, among other factors. The selection committee strives to choose the next best teams for the at-large spots, based solely on team merit.