NCAA Read to the Final Four®
Established to support the NCAA's dedication to education, Read to the Final Four debuted at the 2016 Men's Final Four® and has made a significant impact on students nationwide, helping them accumulate an impressive 121+ million minutes of reading!
Read, Score, Win
Schools, teachers and third-grade students participate in a tournament style challenge to compete for fun prizes, free books, and a library makeover! The competition includes a selection day and bracket as they go head-to-head for the title of Reading Champion.
The NCAA Men’s Final Four, Indiana Sports Corp and the Local Organizing Committee are joining forces to bring Read to the Final Four to local third grade classes across Indiana.
Any questions? Contact community@indianasportscorp.org
Readers, you're officially in the game!
Thank you to all our Read to the Final Four participants. Now that you are in the game, be sure to track all your minutes and secure placement in the bracket. View your classroom’s dashboard by visiting the link below.
View DashboardClassroom Resources
Check out the digital toolkit packed with resources to keep your readers organized and motivated throughout Read to the Final Four. The toolkit includes directions for logging minutes, classroom lesson plans, a classroom reading tracker, and more!
View ToolkitKey Dates for Bracket Announcements
Participating schools will be logging all their time following the November 3 tipoff through the end of January to secure their placement in the brackets. Rounds for the bracket challenge will start the first week of February. Following the conclusion of each round, advancing schools will be announced.
- Nov. 3 – Jan. 23: Season Tipoff (Log your minutes to earn a spot in your division’s bracket)
- Feb. 2 – Feb. 8: Round of 68 (Bracket competition begins, continue logging time to advance through the bracket)
- Feb. 9 – Feb. 15: Round of 64
- Feb. 16 – Feb. 22: Round of 32
- Feb. 23 – March 1: Sweet 16
- March 2 – 8: Elite 8
- March 9 – 15: Final Four
- Final Four Celebrations in April – Final Four teams will be recognized and champions will be crowned during the Read to the Final Four celebrations during
Read to the Final Four Literacy Legacy Grant
Read to the Final Four is excited to bring the energy of March Madness to Read to the Final Four schools across Indiana through grant funding focused on supporting literacy in school communities. The Read to the Final Four Literacy Legacy Grant opportunity is open to registered Read to the Final Four schools in Indiana and/or are community partners directly connected to those registered schools (i.e. school is partnered with a tutoring non-profit organization or works with a local library to increase access for students).
There are grant opportunities for library makeovers as well as school or community library refreshes. Find more details about grant opportunities and submission requirements here. All the information included in the application can be found in this document. Please note, there is a video submission option if preferred.
APPLY NOWRead Across America/Indiana Day
Monday, March 2, 2026Read Across America Day is the nation’s largest day in celebrating reading. Teachers, parents and literary champions, as you encourage your students to in their reading journey, be sure to log your time in your Read to the Final Four challenge as you read towards the championship!
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