NCAA Will Require Injury Reports for 2026 Men's, Women's March Madness, Financial Penalties Revealed

The NCAA announced Wednesday that player availability reports will be required for the 2026 men's and women's basketball tournaments.

Teams must submit an initial report to the NCAA by 9 p.m. local time on the night before a March Madness game before providing an update two hours before the opening tip of each contest, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

If the policy isn't followed, a first offense results in a penalty of up to $10,000 and a second offense climbs up to $25,000 (via Borzello). A third offense contains a penalty of up to $30,000 for the school and $10,000 for the head coach. 

Players can receive one of three designations on the availability reports including available (more than a 75 percent chance to play), questionable (up to a 75 percent chance to play) or out (will not play).

Per Wednesday's announcement, the new requirement was partly implemented to "reduce betting-related pressure, solicitations and harassment student-athletes and other team personnel receive from bettors connected to playing status."

The usage of the availability reports for the 2026 men's and women's basketball tournaments will serve as a pilot program and will not be utilized for other NCAA championships in 2026 while the program is undergoing evaluation.

The NCAA initially revealed that it would be adding the reports to March Madness in Oct. 2025.

"Implementing player availability reporting is a major step to increasing student-athlete protections by alleviating pressures for the enhancement of their college experience," NCAA president Charlie Baker said as part of the release.

The five major conferences have already made player availability reports required outside of March Madness. The ACC, Big 12 and SEC teams post their reports during the night before a game while the Big East and Big Ten schools disclose their reports in the morning of their respective games (h/t Borzello).

The first round of the men's basketball tournament will begin on March 19, while the first round of the women's tournament is set to start on March 20.