The 2026 Big West Basketball Championships (both men’s and women’s) are scheduled for March 11-14, 2026, at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. This marks the fifth consecutive year at this venue, featuring 16 teams (8 men’s and 8 women’s) in single-elimination brackets to determine the automatic bids to the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments. All games stream on ESPN+.
What Teams are in the Big West this Season?
The 2026 Big West Basketball Championships feature the top eight qualifying teams from the conference’s 11 full members (as of the 2025-26 season), with identical participation structures for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The full conference membership includes: Cal Poly Mustangs, Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners, Cal State Fullerton Titans, Cal State Northridge Matadors (CSUN), Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (Rainbow Wahine for women), Long Beach State Beach (The Beach for women), UC Davis Aggies, UC Irvine Anteaters, UC Riverside Highlanders, UC San Diego Tritons, and UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
Note that this is the final year for UC Davis and Hawai’i in the Big West, as both depart for the Mountain West Conference starting in 2026-27 (with incoming full members California Baptist, Utah Valley, and Sacramento State joining post-2026). For the 2026 tournaments specifically, the top eight seeds in each gender advance to Henderson, with no reseeding after the first round and consistent bracket progression across men’s and women’s sides. This setup ensures broad representation from the conference’s California-heavy lineup (10 of 11 schools in California, plus Hawai’i).
2026 Big West Tournament Format & Schedule
The format is identical for men’s and women’s: Top eight seeds qualify. Seeds 5-8 play first-round games on Wednesday, winners advance to face seeds 3-4 on Thursday (quarterfinals), top seeds enter Friday semis, and championships are on Saturday. All times are Pacific Time (PT).
Wednesday, March 11 – First Round
- Noon: Women’s No. 5 vs. No. 8
- 2:30 p.m.: Women’s No. 6 vs. No. 7
- 6:00 p.m.: Men’s No. 5 vs. No. 8
- 8:30 p.m.: Men’s No. 6 vs. No. 7
Thursday, March 12 – Quarterfinals
- Noon: Women’s No. 4 vs. Winner of Women’s 5/8
- 2:30 p.m.: Women’s No. 3 vs. Winner of Women’s 6/7
- 6:00 p.m.: Men’s No. 4 vs. Winner of Men’s 5/8
- 8:30 p.m.: Men’s No. 3 vs. Winner of Men’s 6/7
Friday, March 13 – Semifinals
- Noon: Women’s No. 1 vs. Winner of Women’s 4/5/8
- 2:30 p.m.: Women’s No. 2 vs. Winner of Women’s 3/6/7
- 6:00 p.m.: Men’s No. 1 vs. Winner of Men’s 4/5/8
- 8:30 p.m.: Men’s No. 2 vs. Winner of Men’s 3/6/7
Saturday, March 14 – Championships
- Women’s Championship: Time TBD (likely early afternoon)
- Men’s Championship: Time TBD (likely evening)
The champions earn the Big West’s auto-bids to the NCAA Tournaments. Times for later rounds are approximate. We’ll keep you updated here as we get more information.
Printable Bracket & PDF
Here’s the printable 2026 Big West Tournament Bracket for you. The league has both the men’s and women’s games on the bracket. You can get the latest bracket from the league here. We also have a copy for you below that you can print or save to PDF format.
College Basketball Postseason Resources
- Championship Week 2026 – All Conference Tournaments Guide
- Printable 2026 March Madness Bracket
