2026 March Madness Bracket Challenge Rules

Editor
Mar 16
3 min read

Updated: Mar 18

San Diego Surfers Rugby March Madness Bracket Fundraiser Rules

Support the San Diego Surfers Rugby while enjoying NCAA March Madness!

Enter Women's Bracket

Enter Men's Bracket

Entry

Participation is free to submit a bracket.
To be eligible for the prize pot, participants must Venmo $20 to @sdsurfersrugby.
Include your bracket name in the Venmo payment note so we can match payment to your entry.
Unlimited brackets are allowed, but each bracket must have its own $20 payment to be eligible for the prize pot.

Prize

50% of the total pot will go to support the San Diego Surfers Rugby team and their season.
50% of the pot will go to the winning bracket.
The eligible bracket with the highest score at the end of the tournament will win.

Tournament Options

Participants may enter either or both:

Women’s NCAA Tournament bracket

Men’s NCAA Tournament bracket

Each bracket is treated as a separate entry and requires its own payment to be eligible.

Separate Pots for Men’s & Women’s Brackets

The Men’s and Women’s tournaments are separate pools with separate prize pots.

Entries in the Men’s bracket contribute only to the Men’s prize pot.
Entries in the Women’s bracket contribute only to the Women’s prize pot.
Each tournament will have its own winner and payout.

Example:

If you enter both brackets, that would be two separate entries and two payments.

Bracket Lock Times

Brackets lock at the tip-off of the first Round of 64 game for each tournament.

Women’s Tournament: Friday, March 20, 2026 – 11:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM PT
Men’s Tournament: Thursday, March 19, 2026 – 12:15 PM ET / 9:15 AM PT

Once games begin, no bracket edits are allowed.

Late Buy-In Option

If you filled out a bracket but missed the payment before brackets lock:

You may still enter the prize pool after brackets lock.
Late entry requires an additional $10 fee.
Total late payment = $30 per bracket.

*Late fees will be accepted until the championship game, but will NOT be accepted once the championship game begins and the final scores are calculated.

Example:

Pay $20 before lock → eligible
Pay $30 after lock → eligible

Make sure to pay before brackets lock to avoid the late fee.

Grow the Pot

The total prize pot depends on the number of paid entries.

More entries = bigger prize for the winner and more support for the Surfers.
If you’re confident in your bracket, invite friends, family, and coworkers to join.
The more people that enter, the bigger the payout and the bigger the impact for the team.

Scoring

This pool uses the standard scoring system from the ESPN Tournament Challenge, which will automatically track standings.

Points are awarded for each correct pick:

Round of 64: 10 points
Round of 32: 20 points
Sweet 16: 40 points
Elite Eight: 80 points
Final Four: 160 points
Championship: 320 points

All scores and standings will be automatically tracked through ESPN using the group bracket link.

Important

Only brackets with confirmed Venmo payment will be eligible to win the pot.
Payments must include the exact bracket name in the note.
If multiple brackets tie for the highest score, the pot will be split evenly among tied winners.
Password if requested: surfersrugby