NCAA implements player availability reporting for men’s, women’s basketball tournaments
The NCAA announced Thursday that player availability reporting for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be implemented in March.
HD Intelligence will serve as reporting service provider
HD Intelligence will serve as the NCAA’s player availability reporting service provider, according to an NCAA press release. HDI currently provides similar services to multiple NCAA member conferences.
Teams must submit their availability reports to the NCAA the night before the game and two hours before tipoff. These reports will be made available to the public.
The NCAA announced the implementation of player availability reporting for the 2026 DI men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) October 30, 2025
The decision to require availability reports is part of the NCAA’s efforts to protect student-athletes from sports betting and protect the integrity of the game.
“After months of thorough discussion and exploration, I applaud the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees for taking such important action,” said NCAA President Charlie Baker.
“Implementing player availability reporting is an important step toward enhancing student-athlete protections by easing the pressure to enhance their collegiate experience.”
NCAA may penalize schools that fail to report
Per the NCAA, student-athletes will be considered eligible to compete unless designated as questionable or out. Schools that fail to comply or report accurately may be subject to penalties, which will be determined by the men’s and women’s basketball committees.
In August, the Big 12 announced it would release player availability reports for football, men’s and women’s basketball before all conference games this season.
Big 12 football teams will be required to submit daily injury and player availability reports beginning three days before each conference game.
Players will be designated as Available, Possible, Questionable, Questionable or Out.
Men’s and women’s basketball teams will submit reports the night before conference games outlining player availability, game time decisions or absences.
Final reports are due 90 minutes before the start of each game.
The other three “Big Four” conferences — ACC, Big Ten and SEC — have released availability reports. The Big Ten has launched its 2023 football and men’s and women’s basketball reports.
The SEC followed suit in 2024, and the ACC began issuing reports in July, adding football, basketball and baseball to the list of participating sports.
The Big 12 will post the report on the conference website.
