NIL

NCAA rule changes extends college basketball regular season

The NCAA Division I Council passed legislation on Wednesday that allows teams to schedule 32 regular-season games, ending a seven-year period where 31 games was the maximum. The current NCAA rules say “teams can schedule 28 games with an additional three-game, multiple-team event, for a maximum of 31 games. Teams can also choose to schedule […]

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The NCAA Division I Council passed legislation on Wednesday that allows teams to schedule 32 regular-season games, ending a seven-year period where 31 games was the maximum.

The current NCAA rules say “teams can schedule 28 games with an additional three-game, multiple-team event, for a maximum of 31 games. Teams can also choose to schedule 29 games with a two-game, multiple-team event, again with a 31-game maximum. Or teams can schedule 29 regular-season games without a multiple-team event included.”

Under the new rules, which begin during the 2026-27 season, teams can schedule up to 32 games without the restriction of having a multi-team event involved. There is no penalty for scheduling fewer than 32 games if a team wishes to do so.

The oversight committee said the NCAA is trying to simplify as many rules as possible and allow for greater scheduling flexibility. Conference expansion impacting non-conference scheduling was also a factor.

There is an expectation that larger MTEs, especially those funded by NIL contracts, will move to three- or four-game formats. Extra home games also have financial implications.

“Multiple high-major coaches told CBS Sports in recent months that they are actively pursuing and hoping to play a nonconference game in the midst of the conference season moving forward, finding benefits in advance of postseason play in March,” CBS Sports senior writer Matt Norlander said.

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