The 2026 Arch Madness schedule is out. The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Men’s Basketball Tournament, known as “Arch Madness,” returns to the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, from March 5-8, 2026. This marks the 36th consecutive year in the Gateway City and the 50th overall postseason championship for the conference. With 11 teams competing in a single-elimination format, the event crowns the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
Arch Madness delivers high-energy basketball, potential upsets, and championship drama every March. The tournament features an 11-team bracket, with the top seeds earning byes into the quarterfinals.
Tournament Format and Bracket
The 2026 Arch Madness tournament follows a standard single-elimination structure for an 11-team field for the MVC Men’s basketball tournament:
- The top three seeds receive byes to the quarterfinals.
- Seeds 4 and 5 advance directly to the quarterfinals.
- Seeds 6-11 play in three opening-round games to determine the remaining quarterfinal spots.
Bracket structure (team matchups finalized after the regular season ends):
- Opening Round (Thursday, March 5): No. 8 vs. No. 9, No. 7 vs. No. 10, No. 6 vs. No. 11.
- Quarterfinals (Friday, March 6): No. 1 vs. Winner of 8/9, No. 4 vs. No. 5, No. 2 vs. Winner of 7/10, No. 3 vs. Winner of 6/11.
- Semifinals (Saturday, March 7): Winners advance to two semifinal matchups.
- Championship (Sunday, March 8): Semifinal winners face off for the title.
2026 Arch Madness Schedule (MVC Tournament)
While the seeds aren’t determined until the 2025-26 college basketball regular season is over, we have the 2026 Arch Madness schedule for you. All games take place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Times are in Central Time (CT). Broadcast details (MVC Network and potential national coverage) will be confirmed closer to the event.
| Date | Game | Time (CT) | Matchup |
| Thursday, March 5 | Game 1 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 8 vs. No. 9 |
| Thursday, March 5 | Game 2 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 7 vs. No. 10 |
| Thursday, March 5 | Game 3 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 6 vs. No. 11 |
| Friday, March 6 | Game 4 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 1 vs. Winner Game 1 |
| Friday, March 6 | Game 5 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 4 vs. No. 5 |
| Friday, March 6 | Game 6 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 2 vs. Winner Game 2 |
| Friday, March 6 | Game 7 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 vs. Winner Game 3 |
| Saturday, March 7 | Game 8 | 2:30 p.m. | Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 |
| Saturday, March 7 | Game 9 | 5:00 p.m. | Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 |
| Sunday, March 8 | Game 10 | 11:00 a.m. | Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 |
How to Follow and Attend the 2026 MVC Tournament
Tickets are available through the MVC website, Ticketmaster, or the Enterprise Center box office. All-session packages and single-session options may be offered, with fan sections often coordinated through team athletic departments.
Printable 2026 MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket
We’ve prepared a clean, printable bracket for the 2026 MVC Men’s Tournament for you. You can save or print it to PDF format. You can also checkout the 2026 March Madness schedule and printable 2026 NCAA Tournament Bracket to see where the MVC might be playing after the tournament concludes.
