The Colorado women’s basketball team was awarded an at-large berth into the 2026 NCAA tournament, marking its 17th appearance in the national competition, according to a Mar. 15 announcement by the NCAA selection committee.
This selection is significant for Colorado, as it reflects the team’s continued presence among top programs in collegiate women’s basketball. The Buffs finished the season with a record of 22-11 overall and 11-7 in Big 12 play.
Colorado received the No. 10 seed in one of the Fort Worth quadrants and will face Illinois, which holds a record of 21-11, in a first-round game scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 21 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. Also at the Nashville site, second-seeded Vanderbilt will play High Point University in another first-round matchup. Winners from these games will meet in the second round on Monday, Mar. 23.
Tickets for individual rounds or all sessions are available through official NCAA channels or via Vanderbilt’s ticketing website.
This marks Colorado’s first postseason appearance since the 2023-24 season and continues a tradition that includes three Elite Eight appearances and an overall NCAA tournament record of 21 wins and 16 losses. In recent years, Colorado advanced to two consecutive Sweet Sixteens by defeating Drake and Kansas State before falling to Iowa in the round of sixteen during the previous tournament cycle.
Head coach JR Payne leads Colorado into her fourth NCAA tournament with the program during her ten-year tenure. Payne has guided teams to two regional appearances (2023 and 2024) and one first-round appearance (2022).
