NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament - Number of Teams, and Seeding

Number of Teams, and Seeding

The first NCAA women's basketball tournament was held in 1982. The AIAW also held a basketball tournament in 1982, but most of the top teams, including defending AIAW champion Louisiana Tech, decided to participate in the NCAA tournament.

The championship consisted of 32 teams from 1982–1985 (in 1983, 36), 40 teams from 1986–1988, and 48 teams from 1989–1993. Since 1994 64 teams compete in each tournament.

Prior to 1996, seeding was conducted on a regional basis. The top teams (eight in the 32-, 40-, and 48-team formats, and 16 in the 64-team format) were ranked and seeded on a national basis. The remaining teams were then seeded based on their geographic region. Teams were moved outside of its geographic region only if it was necessary to balance the bracket, or if the proximity of an opponent outside of its region would be comparable and a more competitive game would result. In 1993, all teams except for the top four were explicitly unseeded. The regional seeding resumed in 1994. In 1996, seeds were assigned on a national basis using an "S-Curve" format similar to the process used in selecting the field for the men's tournament.

The following table summarizes some of the key attributes of the seeding process:

Number of teams selected
Year Automatic At-Large Total Location of first round(s) Seeding Basis
1982 12 20 32 Higher seed Regional
1983 14 22 36 Higher seed† Regional
1984 17 15 32 Higher seed† Regional
1985 18 14 32 Higher seed Regional
1986 17 23 40 Higher seed† Regional
1987 18 22 40 Higher seed† Regional
1988 18 22 40 Higher seed† Regional
1989 19 29 48 Higher seed† Regional
1990 21 27 48 Higher seed† Regional
1991 21 27 48 Higher seed† Regional
1992 22 26 48 Higher seed† Regional
1993 23 25 48 Higher seed† Regional
1994 32 32 64 Higher seed† Regional
1995 32 32 64 Higher seed† Regional
1996 31 33 64 Higher seed National
1997 30 34 64 Higher seed† National
1998 30 34 64 Higher seed National
1999 30 34 64 Higher seed National
2000 30 34 64 Higher seed† National
2001 31 33 64 Higher seed† National
2002 31 33 64 Higher seed National
2003 31 33 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National
2004 31 33 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National
2005 31 33 64 Eight Sites‡ National
2006 31 33 64 Eight Sites‡ National
2007 31 33 64 Eight Sites‡ National
2008 31 33 64 Eight Sites‡ National
2009 31 33 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National
2010 31 33 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National
2011 31 33 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National
2012 31 33 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National
2013 31 33 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National
2014 32 32 64 Sixteen Sites‡ National

† Some exceptions. Due to venue availability, in some cases, the lower seed hosted, or the game was played at a neutral site
‡ Starting in 2003, sixteen predetermined sites were selected for first and second round games. Teams were allowed to play at home, if hosting.
Between 2005 and 2008, eight sites were used for first round games

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