1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

Kansas City returned as Final Four host for the first time since 1964, with Kemper Arena becoming the 25th arena to host it. 1988 saw two new host locations, in Chapel Hill, part of the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area, and Pontiac, in suburban Detroit, which had never hosted games beforehand. The Silverdome became the seventh domed stadium to host tournament games. This would be the only appearance in the tournament for the Dean Smith Center, and would also be the last year hosting for Pauley Pavilion, the Joyce Center and Bob Devaney Sports Center.

(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.

CBS Sports

• Jim Nantz & James Brown served as studio hosts.
• Brent Musburger and Billy Packer – First Round (Florida–St. John's) at Salt Lake City, Utah; Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut and Chapel Hill, North Carolina; West Regional at Seattle, Washington; Final Four at Kansas City, Missouri
• Tim Brant and Bill Raftery – First (UNLV–SW Missouri State) and Second Rounds at Los Angeles, California; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Dick Stockton and Billy Cunningham – Second Round at Lincoln, Nebraska and Salt Lake City, Utah; Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Alabama
• Verne Lundquist and Tom Heinsohn – Second Round at Cincinnati, Ohio and South Bend, Indiana; Midwest Regional at Pontiac, Michigan
• Tim Ryan and Curry Kirkpatrick – Second Round at Atlanta, Georgia

ESPN and NCAA Productions

• John Saunders (NCAA Tournament Today) and Bob Ley (NCAA Tournament Tonight) served as studio hosts and Dick Vitale served as studio analyst.
• Mike Gorman and Ron Perry – First Round (Temple–Lehigh, Georgia Tech–Iowa State) at Hartford, Connecticut
• Bob Carpenter and Dan Belluomini – First Round (Indiana–Richmond, Georgetown–LSU) at Hartford, Connecticut
• Ralph Hacker and Bucky Waters – First Round (Duke–Boston University, Missouri–Rhode Island) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Bob Rathbun and Dan Bonner – First Round (Syracuse–North Carolina A&T, SMU–Notre Dame) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Fred White and Larry Conley – First Round (Oklahoma–Chattanooga, Louisville–Oregon State) at Atlanta, Georgia
• Mike Patrick and Bob Ortegel – First Round (Brigham Young–Charlotte, Auburn–Bradley) at Atlanta, Georgia
• Tom Hammond and Mike Pratt – First Round (Kentucky–Southern, Illinois–UTSA) at Cincinnati, Ohio
• Mick Hubert and Jack Givens – First Round (Villanova–Arkansas, Maryland–UC Santa Barbara) at Cincinnati, Ohio
• Eddie Doucette and John Laskowski – First Round (Purdue–Fairleigh Dickinson, Kansas State–La Salle) at South Bend, Indiana
• Wayne Larrivee and Jim Gibbons – First Round (DePaul–Wichita State, Baylor–Memphis State) at South Bend, Indiana
• Ron Franklin and Quinn Buckner – First Round (Pittsburgh–Eastern Michigan, N.C. State–Murray State) at Lincoln, Nebraska
• John Sanders and Gary Thompson – First Round (Kansas–Xavier, Vanderbilt–Utah State) at Lincoln, Nebraska
• Pete Solomon and Derrek Dickey – First Round (Arizona–Cornell) at Los Angeles, California
• Phil Stone and Lynn Shackelford – First Round (Iowa–Florida State, Seton Hall–UTEP) at Los Angeles, California
• Ted Robinson and Bruce Larson – First Round (North Carolina–North Texas) at Salt Lake City, Utah
• Frank Fallon and Bruce Larson – First Round (Michigan–Boise State) at Salt Lake City, Utah
• Frank Fallon and Irv Brown – First Round (Wyoming–Loyola Marymount) at Salt Lake City, Utah