- Auburn and UCLA secured No. 1 overall seeds in the 2025 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, respectively. The tournaments feature 68 teams, with top seeds including Duke, Houston, Florida, South Carolina, USC and Texas.
- The men’s tournament begins Tuesday, March 18, with the first four matchups, while the women’s tournament starts Wednesday, March 19.
- Fans’ bracket tracking and game streaming may cost employers $1,801 per employee in lost productivity.
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The field is set for the 2025 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with 68 teams in each bracket gearing up for March Madness.
Auburn claimed the No. 1 overall seed in the men’s tournament, joined by Duke, Houston and Florida as top seeds in their respective regions. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) set a record with 14 teams in the men’s tournament, the most ever from a single conference.
On the women’s side, UCLA secured the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in school history. South Carolina, USC and Texas rounded out the top seeds in the women’s tournament.
The men’s tournament begins with the first four matchups on Tuesday, March 18, while the women’s tournament starts with its opening round Wednesday, March 19.
How does March Madness impact the workplace?
As fans finalize their brackets, employers brace for a dip in productivity.
A survey by the Action Network estimates March Madness could cost the U.S. economy $20 billion in lost work hours. The study found that working fans expect to spend an average of 2.4 hours per day checking scores, tracking brackets or streaming games.
Seven tournament game days fall on weekdays, which adds up to 16.8 hours of lost productivity per employee.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each lost hour of productivity costs the economy an estimated $107.22. Over the course of the tournament, the average worker could cost their employer $1,801.30 in lost productivity.
The survey also revealed that 40% of respondents have called in sick to watch a game, with more than 11 million workers expected to dedicate a significant amount of work time to following the tournament.
What are the key dates for the tournament?
The 2025 NCAA Division I men’s tournament tips off on March 18, with the championship game scheduled for April 7 in San Antonio, Texas.
The women’s tournament begins March 19 and will conclude with the title game on April 6 in Tampa, Florida.
Matchups for both tournaments are set, though game times for early rounds are expected to be announced later.
The men’s First Four will occur on March 18-19, with the first round beginning on March 20. The women’s First Four will be played on March 19-20, with first-round action starting March 21.
