INDIANAPOLIS—The NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Committee has announced the field of 64 teams for the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship. 2026 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Champion UMaine-Farmington (22-5) will face Montclair State University (22-5) in a first-round matchup at Panzer Athletic Center in Montclair, New Jersey on Friday, March 6. Tip-off time is to be determined.

The championship features a 64-team tournament. Automatic qualification (AQ) is granted to 43 conference champions, while the remaining 21 teams are selected from those that did not win their conference’s AQ but are in conferences with automatic bids. Teams are geographically paired whenever possible.

The Beavers earned the NAC’s automatic qualifier into the national tournament after defeating UMaine-Presque Isle, 84-58, in the NAC Championship in Farmington on Saturday. Farmington will be making their 2nd NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, first since 2010.

Montclair St. received one of the NCAA’s 21 at-large berths after falling to TCNJ in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon. The Red Hawks, making their 9th NCAA Tournament appearance and third since their 2022-23 campaign, will serve as one of 16 NCAA pod hosts. In the other first-round game in Montclair, NESCAC at-large bid Bates (18-8) will square off against Skyline Conference Champion Yeshiva (20-8).

Sixteen sites will host four teams each for first-and second-round competition on March 6-7. The second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites on March 13-14. The tournament then shifts to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, IN, for the quarterfinals March 19, and semifinals March 21. Semifinal winners advance to the championship game, which will be staged at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on April 5.