2026 WBIT: Schedule, game times, TV channels for the women's basketball tournament

Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 WBIT postseason event. The 32-team bracket will be announced on Sunday, March 15.

Games begin Thursday, March 19, and continue through the title game on Wednesday, April 1. Minnesota won the 2025 event, beating Belmont in the championship game in Indianapolis. This year's WBIT will conclude in Wichita, Kan.

2026 WBIT: Schedule, game times, TV channels

• Selection Sunday
  • 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15 on ESPN+
• First Round
  • Thursday, March 19, at campus sites
• Second Round
  • Sunday, March 22, at campus sites
• Quarterfinals
  • Thursday, March 26, at campus sites
• Semifinals
  • 2:30 and 5 p.m. on Monday, March 30, on ESPNU at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.
• Championship
  • 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, on ESPN2 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.

How the WBIT field is selected

The regular-season champion of any NCAA Division I conference (as determined by the conference’s tie-break protocol) not otherwise selected to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will secure an automatic qualification to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. Co-champions who do not receive the declaration of WBIT representative through the conference’s tie-break protocol will not receive automatic qualification. Institutions ineligible for postseason play will not receive automatic qualification as a regular-season champion.

The first four teams out of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship — as determined by the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee — will receive an automatic bid and will be the top four seeds in the WBIT field.

Click or tap here for more information about WBIT selections.

WBIT championship history

Here's how Minnesota won it in 2025:

• First round: Thursday, March 20
  • Marquette 74, Drake 69
  • Virginia Tech 61, N.C. A&T 45
  • James Madison 77, Davidson 50
  • Saint Joseph's 69, UAlbany 40
  • Villanova 76, Boston College 70
  • Seton Hall 57, Quinnipiac 40
  • Minnesota 65, Toledo 53
  • Florida 83, UNI 71
  • Missouri St. 107, Oral Roberts 76
  • Belmont 64, Middle Tenn. 51
  • Texas Tech 65, Wyoming 48
  • Colorado 73, Southeastern La. 41
  • Gonzaga 67, UTSA 51
  • Northern Ariz. 71, Arizona 69
  • UNLV 63, Hawaii 46
  • Portland 69, Stanford 68 (OT)
• Second round: Sunday, March 23
  • Villanova 62, Saint Joseph's 60
  • Belmont 81, Northern Ariz. 80
  • Gonzaga 64, Colorado 55 
  • Minnesota 78, Missouri St. 71 
  • Portland 61, Seton Hall 55  
  • James Madison 80, Marquette 76
  • Texas Tech 69, Virginia Tech 59 
  • Florida 86, UNLV 84
• Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 27
  • Florida 67, Texas Tech 63
  • Belmont 90, James Madison 45
  • Villanova 71, Portland 61
  • Minnesota 82, Gonzaga 77 (OT)
• Semifinals: Monday, March 31  
  • Belmont 66, Villanova, 57
  • Minnesota 66, Florida 52
• Championship: Wednesday, April 2 
  • Minnesota 75, Belmont 63