2026 NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament Pool Sign Up Now Live

We are 8 days away from the first 2026 NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament tipping off, and it is time to submit your pool picks!

Included below is a detailed rundown of the rules, key dates, and payment information. Additionally, an excel sheet is attached that is to be filled out with your picks, and returned no later than 10:00 PM CST on Sunday, 3/1/26. No entries will be allowed after that, no exceptions. Well, one exception, if you let me know you're running a tad bit late, I'll allow it. ⌚

New for 2026: If you would prefer to use a Google Form or a Google Sheet instead of the attached excel sheet, those are both linked, just click on the words Google Form or Google Sheet! If you use the Google Sheet, please ensure you save a copy first, then make your selections, and as the last step, send or share the link to your copy of the Google Sheet with me. If you don't follow that process, everyone will see your picks. 👀

Let's get started...

Making the NCAA Basketball Conference Tournaments a little more interesting for year number 16 in a row, below are the details of the pool where the goal is to pick the winner of each conference tournament. The game is very simple, all you do is pick who you think is going to win each of the 31 NCAA conference tournaments. 🏀

The entry fee will remain the same at $50 with the following payout structure:

• 1st place receives a 60% payout
• 2nd place receives a 25% payout
• 3rd place receives a 15% payout
• 4th place receives a free entry for the 2027 pool (Rory & Webb have the free entry for 2026!)

This pool really does have a very easy scoring system. The person with the combination of most correct picks, including bonus points, wins the pool. All ties in the standings are settled using the following tiebreakers:

• Overall total w/bonus points
• Total wins
• Accuracy
• Least amount of losses
• Closest SEC championship game total

Bonus points breakdown:

The bonus point scoring is super simple. For every 3 seed or lower conference tournament winner that you pick, you will be awarded 1 bonus point. In 2025, 6 out of 31 conference tournament winners were a 3 seed or lower. Getting bonus points is still important if you want to win the pool, as some years we see half the champions being 3 seeds or lower while other years we see less than 20% of winners being a 3 seed or lower.

Also, you can win money without winning the actual pool. 🤑

This pool is meant to be fun and keep people in it as long as possible, all the way to the last game played on Selection Sunday. No matter where you're at in the standings, you can still win money in 4 different ways, even if you're outside the top 3. It's likely we'll have some ties, so the money gets split among all winners in the event of a tie. Technically, you can be towards the bottom of the standings on Selection Sunday and still win every one of these categories. 👀

• (1) Most bonus points - The person with the most total bonus points (picking 3 seeds or lower winners) will win $150. In 2025, TJH took all that money by himself with only 2 bonus points. 💰

• (2) Most power conference points - The person with the most power conference points (wins + bonus points) will win $150. The power conferences will be identified on the entry sheet for anyone unfamiliar with which conferences are considered power conferences. In 2025, Robb took all that money by himself with 4 bonus points. 💸

• (3) Lowest winning seed - The person who has the lowest winning seed conference tournament champion wins $150. In 2025, thanks to 6 seeded Mount Saint Mary's and Wofford, 3 people split this pot! 😍

• (4) Closest SEC championship game score - The person with the closest SEC championship game score wins $50. This is typically one of the last conference championship games, taking place on Selection Sunday, so even if you're in last place with no other wins, you will have the opportunity to recoup your $50. In 2025, this was split among 2 people! 😎

As conference tournaments begin and end at different dates between 3/2/26 - 3/15/26, I will post a daily blog, and standings update via the link below. 📅

https://2026conferencetournamentchallenge.blogspot.com/

Make sure you save this blog link, subscribe to it, and put it in your favorites, so you're always up to date on the pool updates. Each year I try to send less emails and keep more of the updates online. 🕑

Here are the 5 easy steps to enter the pool:

1. Fill out the attached excel spreadsheet by selecting the team you think will win each of the 31 conference tournaments using the dropdown provided for each conference. New for 2026: If you would prefer to use a Google Form or a Google Sheet, they are both linked, just click on the words Google Form or Google Sheet!
2. Do not forget to pick the total of the SEC championship game as that may be an important tiebreaker, along with a payout on Selection Sunday if you are the closest, regardless of where you're at in the standings.
3. Ensure your name (or nickname) is included along with your e-mail address
4. E-mail me a copy no later than 10:00 PM CST on Sunday, 3/1/26
5. If filling out a spreadsheet is not for you, or you just hate technology, feel free to call, e-mail, message, WhatsApp, text or smoke signal me your picks.

It really shouldn't take longer than 5-10 minutes to fill everything out as I included a dropdown list for each conference to allow easy and accurate selections for that conference. ⏲ 

The seed numbers currently shown in the excel spreadsheet probably will change over the next few weeks as the regular season comes to an end at different dates for each conference. I will keep the seeds up to date on the master score sheet I send to the group. I will send out a master spreadsheet with everyone's picks, known bonus points, and conference info prior to the first tournament championship game (Including my picks).

I will keep seeds updated daily on the Google Form and Google Sheet, but in my experience seeds don't tend to change too much between today and next Sunday as teams only have one, maybe two games. This means you don't gain any advantage waiting until the last minute to submit your picks.

Payment information on where to send your $50. 💰

• Zelle (Preferred): Rick Donegan 630-885-2873
• Venmo: @Rick-Donegan
• Address: 1140 Venetian Court; Naperville, IL 60540  
• In Person/In Vegas
• PayPal (If this is your only option send as friends & family): rwdpeanut@gmail.com

Any non-payment, or attempt to arrange payment, by Sunday, 3/8/26 will result in your entry being removed and a permanent pool ban on all pools. 🚫

Good Luck Everyone! 🍀

🚨 Reading this section below is optional, but I highly encourage it! 🚨

If you are newer to the pool, or if you need a rundown of all the changes this season, this section will give you some insight and tips for making educated picks.

Conference Tournament Seeding Changes

• The college basketball regular season is not yet over, and teams are still jockeying for conference tournament seeding.
• Seed numbers may, and likely will, change between when you submit your picks, and when a conference tournament tips off, impacting your possible bonus points and max points.

Not Every Team Makes Its Conference Tournament 

• In some conferences, not every team will make the conference tournament, and I will mark that team as (DNQ) in the dropdown when it is confirmed.
• I do my very best to reflect this in the dropdown by putting a (DNQ) next to the team, but similar to seeding, things could change between when you submit your picks and the conference tournament tipping off.
• Do your research if you're reaching for lower seeded teams, as you cannot change your pick if your team does not qualify.

Some Teams are Ineligible to Participate

• This one is a fun one as conferences are sometimes unclear, and rulings are constantly changing, right up to conference tournament time.
• The NCAA, conferences, and even the team itself can declare a team ineligible for a number of different reasons (i.e. grades, cheating, conference realignment/changes, D1 reclassification waiting periods, etc.).
• Sometimes that means the ineligible team can participate in its conference tournament, but cannot advance to the NCAA tournament, while other times it means the ineligible team cannot even participate in its own conference tournament.
• Teams that are currently documented as ineligible for the post season have a "ineligible" designation in the dropdown.
• I can't get all of these 100% accurate as decisions are sometimes appealed and change all the way up to the conference tournament start date, please do your research if selecting an ineligible team.
• About 8 years ago we had Texas Southern marked as ineligible and 24 hours before the conference tournament they were deemed eligible and won the conference tournament. Alternatively, in 2021 we had a very popular pick, Stephen F. Austin, declared themselves ineligible moments before the conference tournament tipped off.
• Currently, 2 teams are marked as ineligible, Coppin State (MEAC) and New Haven (Northeast), do your research if you're thinking about selecting either of those teams.

Conference Changes

• The number of conference changes for the 2025-26 season is minor, enjoy the stability, but the changes next season are going to be insane
• Only 1 team transitioned from DII to DI this season, and is a new name to the pool: New Haven (NEC)
• In total, we only had 6 changes to teams and conference alignments for the 2025-26 season

For those of you that stuck around for all of that hopefully it helps, even if it means swinging 1 pick in your favor as that could be the difference between 1st and 7th place. 

Have fun making your selections this week as you comb through 365 teams, the most we have ever had!