It’s the most wonderful time of the year: NCAA Tournament time. As a longtime Spartan who graduated from Michigan State University, I’m so happy to see Tom Izzo and company in the running this year, in a major way. But, even if you don’t like the Spartans, there are plenty of solid teams that will be making this year’s NCAA Tournament as exciting as ever.

Here at Alternative Fix, we’ve put together a ton of information about March Madness to get your ready for the big game. Predictions are already being made.

2025 NCAA Tournament Details

While the regular season is winding down, it’s not over yet. Fans can’t start filling out their brackets until Selection Sunday, after the final weeks of the regular season have finally wrapped up, as well as the conference tournaments. Knowing that, here are some key dates to look out for with the 2025 March Madness tournaments.

Men’s March Madness starts on Tuesday, March 18, with the First Four. Women’s March Madness starts on Wednesday, March 19, with the First Four.

If you’re wondering, even though both the men’s and women’s tournaments officially start with unveiling of the field of 68, that isn’t really when the tournaments begin.

The men’s tournament will kick off on Tuesday, March 18, with the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio. The women’s tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 19, with the first set of First Four games.

Then, the official first round will begin for the men on Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21 for the women. So, even though it’s called March Madness, it doesn’t really start until later in the month. So, can we call it late-March Madness?

Selection Sunday Information

Selection Sunday is set for Sunday, March 16 for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The Men’s March Madness tournament will be at 6 p.m. ET on CBS, and the Women’s March Madness tournament will be at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

For the men, the national championship game will happen on Monday, April 7 inside the Alamodome in San Antonio.

For the men, the national championship game will happen on Monday, April 7 inside the Alamodome in San Antonio. For the women, the national championship game will take place on Sunday, April 6, in Tampa, Florida at Amalie Arena, the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning.