(This story was updated to add new information.)
The No. 14-seed Vermont women’s basketball team will play No. 3 Louisville in the 2026 women’s NCAA tournament.
Vermont and Louisville landed in Region 3, Fort Worth and will play its first-round game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, March 21, at noon.
The Catamounts (27-7) punched the program’s ninth ticket to March Madness on Friday, March 13 dominating No. 2 Maine, 61-43 in the America East championship game in Burlington.
This is the first time since 2009-2010 that the Catamounts have qualified for the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons. Head coach Alisa Kresge earned her third trip to the Big Dance in her eight-year tenure.
“I’m just really proud of this group to get back there (NCAA tournament),” Kresge said. “It’s never easy. They worked really hard for that 14-seed.”
Buy Vermont women’s NCAA tournament tickets
What to know about Vermont women’s basketball’s opponent?
Louisville (27-7) finished second in the ACC with a 15-3 record and was the runner-up in the ACC’s conference tournament championship falling to Duke, 70-65 in overtime.
Louisville has put together another strong season earning a neutral site victory Tennessee. The Cardinals resume includes road wins over Notre Dame, NC State, and North Carolina as well as home wins over Colorado, Clemson and Virginia Tech. (All the teams mentioned earned spots in the NCAA tournament.)
The Cardinals are a much deeper team relying on a seven-woman rotation with all those players averaging at least 8.3 points per game.
Louisville has posted a 14-5 record in the KFC Yum! Center this season.
Has Vermont and Louisville played each other before?
The March 21 meeting in the first round will be the fourth meeting between these two teams. Louisville leads the series 2-1 with the most recent meeting happening on December 21, 2008.
Vermont earned its lone win against Louisville in the 2004-2005 season opener beating the Cardinals 59-56 in Patrick Gym.
Vermont women’s basketball’s previous NCAA Tournament experience
The Catamounts have made eight previous trips to March Madness. They completed back-to-back perfect regular seasons in 1992 and 1993, but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament both times including at home in 1993.
Vermont made it three straight appearances in 1993. The Cats also made it in 2000, 2009, 2010 and 2023. In 2010, they captured their first-round win over No. 7 Wisconsin for the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory.
The Catamounts played NC State close in 2025, only trailing 35-33 at halftime. The Wolfpack would pull away in the fourth quarter, but Vermont can rely on that experience this year.
“They (the players) know what it takes and the mentality they came in with,” Kresge said. “We are no longer happy to just be there, we want to compete and show everybody what we have going for us.”
Vermont is 1-8 all-time in March Madness.
Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
