The calendar has flipped to February, which means, of course, that the madness of March is just around the corner. Less than six weeks stand between us and an official 68-team bracket for this year’s March Madness being unveiled on Selection Sunday before First Four and First Round action follow shortly thereafter. 

It’ll be tourney time before you know it, so if you’re looking for the deets and dates — you’re in the right place. Grab that calendar so you can circle the dates below and request off work in advance. The NCAA Tournament always delivers the goods, but with so many great teams worthy of a championship, this year should be especially delightful.

Here’s all the dates and locations to know on the March Madness calendar.

First Four games, as always, will be played in Dayton, Ohio, at UD Arena. This year’s Final Four and NCAA championship game will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. First and second round games, as well as the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, will be held at various places across the country. 

You can see those full details from the NCAA below.

Transfer portal dates

While you’ve got that calendar handy, here’s something else worth adding to the planner: The new transfer portal for both men’s and women’s basketball players will open for a 15-day period starting the day after the NCAA championship game. That means the men’s college basketball portal will open April 7.

Previous rules allowed for the portal to be open for 45 days in 2024 and was shortened to 30 days last year. The time to enter the portal was previously the day after Selection Sunday and amended last year for players to be eligible to enter it after the opening weekend of March Madness. 

That led to a confluence of confusion among decision-makers, including as Matt Norlander noted last month: eventual champion UConn hosting virtual interviews on Zooms with transfer candidates while at the Final Four.