Moves are designed to provide greater competitive balance, improve experience
As part of several initiatives to enhance NCAA championships for the 2026-27 academic year, the Division I championships in field hockey and men’s soccer will have 50% of their brackets seeded.
Expanding the number of teams seeded in both sports is expected to provide greater competitive balance and provide student-athletes and coaches with an improved championship experience that prioritizes matchups based on the strength of teams over the geographic location of participating teams and host schools. Avoiding matchups between teams in the same conference will be maintained in the early rounds.
Liz Turner Suscha, vice president of championships governance and policy, said, “We are excited to launch the fall championships with this change for field hockey and men’s soccer teams. The selection committees working on these sports do an excellent job of identifying top teams and setting up pairings. Seeding more teams will enhance the work that they do to produce competitive fields for the field hockey and men’s soccer championships.”
In field hockey, eight teams will be seeded for the 2026 championship. Previously, four teams were seeded.
The field hockey semifinals and championship game will take place Nov. 20-22 in Louisville, Kentucky.
In men’s soccer, 24 teams will be seeded for the 2026 championship. Previously, 16 teams were seeded. The 2026 Men’s College Cup will be held Dec. 11-14 in Cary, North Carolina.
