Are College Basketball Tournament brackets legal?

College Basketball Tournament Brackets are completely legal to fill out and compete against fellow pool entries and users. Multiple softwares, including RunYourPool, will run sweepstakes and public contests for users to vie for a grand prize. Bracket pools must be in compliance with RunYourPools’s Terms and Conditions and must be for entertainment purposes only.

Head-to-Head Pools for the College Basketball Tournament this March

If you're looking for a new type of pool to run for the college basketball tournament this March, a Head-to-Head Pool for the NCAA Tournament is a fun format to try. There are no time consuming brackets to fill out, so this format is fun for the casual user, while still being interesting to the seasoned veteran.

Start a Head-to-Head Pool

Head-to-Head Pool Rules

Each entry is randomly assigned one NCAA team from the first round (a maximum of 64 entries are allowed).
Each entry will go head to head with the opponent their team is playing.
Game outcomes are based on the point spread, so even if you get a 16 seed in the first round you still have a chance to win.
If your team covers the spread, you will advance to the next round with the winning team and your opponent will be eliminated.
The winning entry is the one who makes it to the end of the NCAA Tournament.

Head-to-Head Samples

The following samples are just a few of the reports you'll see for your Head-to-Head Survivor pool.

Click to view more detailed samples:

Bracket Results

NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament head-to-head

Team Assignment

Assignment Summary

4 Simple Steps

Let us show you how easy we make running your 2025 College Basketball Tournament pool:

Step 1 - Setup your pool

In less than 5 minutes, you provide us with all the information we need to run your pool for you. Supply us with your contact information, a pool password, and your customized pool settings.

Step 2 - Contact your pool members

After setting up your pool, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from runyourpool.com. This email contains a pre-formatted section that you can simply forward to the people that you'd like to join your pool. It contains a link and all the information they need to join.

Step 3 - Assign NCAA teams to your members

You can randomly or manually assign them.

Step 4 - Enjoy the Tournament!

We take over from there. Your pool standings and all other reports are updated in near real-time as games conclude.

Start Your Pool Today

No Upfront Fee or Obligation!

Start your NCAA Survivor pool with us today. If you have any additional questions, please contact us via email at support@runyourpool.com. We're happy to answer any questions you may have.

Start a Head-to-Head Pool

Pricing

You can find pricing details on our Pricing page.

Brand Your Pool

Add your company or organization logo to customize the look of your Head-to-Head Survivor pool. For more information, see our Brand Your Pool page.

Private Message Boards

Every NCAA Head-to-Head pool hosted at RunYourPool.com includes a free, private message board. Your pool's message board, accessible only to your pool members, is a great way to communicate with members.

Frequently Asked Questions

The NCAA Men's Basketball tournament is an invite-only 68-team competition played annually across four separate geographic locations separated as West, East, MidWest and South. The tournament, which traditionally starts in mid-March and ends in early April, features both college conference winners and at-large bids in a seed system.

A NCAA Basketball Head-to-Head Pool is a type of pool in which participants are each randomly assigned one of the tournament's 64 teams. Participants advance if their team covers the spread, which allows every entry and team to have a chance of winning. If a team covered loses, but covers the spread, that participant will advance to the next round with the winning team.

The best way to play a NCAA Basketball Head-to-Head Pool is to set it up using RunYourPool and invite all of your friends! Setting up the pool and inviting participants is easy and should take less than five minutes. Next, you can randomize or assign the teams that participants will have.