# List of NCAA Division I men's basketball champions

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament for men's college basketball teams in the United States. It determines the champion of Division I, the top level of play in the NCAA, and the media often describes the winner as the national champion of college basketball. The NCAA Tournament has been held annually since 1939, except for 2020, when it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Its field grew from eight teams in the beginning to sixty-five teams by 2001; as of 2011, sixty-eight teams take part in the tournament. Teams can gain invitations by winning a conference championship or receiving an at-large bid from a 10-person committee. The semifinals of the tournament are known as the Final Four and are held in a different city each year, along with the championship game; Indianapolis, the city where the NCAA is based, will host the Final Four every five years until 2040. Each winning university receives a rectangular, gold-plated trophy made of wood.
The first NCAA tournament was organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Oregon won the inaugural tournament, defeating Ohio State 46–33 in the first championship game. Before the 1941 tournament, control of the event was given to the NCAA. In the early years of the tournament, it was considered less important than the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), a New York City-based event. Teams were able to compete in both events in the same year, and three of those that did so—Utah in 1944, Kentucky in 1949, and City College of New York (CCNY) in 1950—won the NCAA Tournament. The 1949–50 CCNY team won both tournaments (defeating Bradley in both finals), and is the only college basketball team to accomplish this feat. By the mid-1950s, the NCAA Tournament became the more prestigious of the two events, and in 1971 the NCAA barred universities from playing in other tournaments, such as the NIT, if they were invited to the NCAA Tournament. Only twice has there been no national champion in a calendar year. The first occurrence was when the 2013 championship won by Louisville became the first men's basketball national title to ever be vacated by the NCAA after the school and its coach at the time, Rick Pitino, were implicated in a 2015 sex scandal involving recruits. A situation in which no official winner was declared did not happen again until the 2020 cancellation.
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been the most successful college in the NCAA Tournament, winning 11 national titles. Ten of those championships came during a 12-year stretch from 1964 to 1975. UCLA also holds the record for the most consecutive championships, winning seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. Kentucky has the second-most titles, with eight. North Carolina and Connecticut are tied for third with six championships each, while Duke and Indiana follow with five each. Connecticut is the most recent champion, with consecutive wins against San Diego State in the final of the 2023 tournament and Purdue in 2024. Among head coaches, John Wooden is the all-time leader with 10 championships; he coached UCLA during their period of success in the 1960s and 1970s. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is second all-time with five titles.

## Championship games

Legend for "Championship games" table below :
| Indicator | Meaning |
| $^{OT}$ | Game was decided in an overtime period |
| $^{3OT}$ | Game was decided in a third overtime period |
| Italics | Championship game appearance vacated by the NCAA |
| Score | Each score is linked to an article about that particular championship game, when available |
| Year | Each year is linked to an article about that particular NCAA Tournament |
Championship games, by year, showing winners and losers, final scores and venues :
| Year | Winning team | Winning head coach | Score | Losing team | Losing head coach | Venue | City |
| 1939 | Oregon | Howard Hobson | 46–33 | Ohio State | Harold Olsen | Patten Gymnasium | Evanston, Illinois |
| 1940 | Indiana | Branch McCracken | 60–42 | Kansas | Phog Allen | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1941 | Wisconsin | Bud Foster | 39–34 | Washington State | Jack Friel | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1942 | Stanford | Everett Dean | 53–38 | Dartmouth | O. B. Cowles | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1943 | Wyoming | Everett Shelton | 46–34 | Georgetown | Elmer Ripley | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York |
| 1944 | Utah | Vadal Peterson | 42–40$^{OT}$ | Dartmouth | Earl Brown | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York |
| 1945 | Oklahoma A&M | Henry Iba | 49–45 | NYU | Howard Cann | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York |
| 1946 | Oklahoma A&M | Henry Iba | 43–40 | North Carolina | Ben Carnevale | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York |
| 1947 | Holy Cross | Doggie Julian | 58–47 | Oklahoma | Bruce Drake | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York |
| 1948 | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | 58–42 | Baylor | Bill Henderson | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York |
| 1949 | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | 46–36 | Oklahoma A&M | Henry Iba | Hec Edmundson Pavilion | Seattle, Washington |
| 1950 | CCNY | Nat Holman | 71–68 | Bradley | Forddy Anderson | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York |
| 1951 | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | 68–58 | Kansas State | Jack Gardner | Williams Arena | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 1952 | Kansas | Phog Allen | 80–63 | St. John's | Frank McGuire | Hec Edmundson Pavilion | Seattle, Washington |
| 1953 | Indiana | Branch McCracken | 69–68 | Kansas | Phog Allen | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1954 | La Salle | Ken Loeffler | 92–76 | Bradley | Forddy Anderson | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1955 | San Francisco | Phil Woolpert | 77–63 | La Salle | Ken Loeffler | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1956 | San Francisco | Phil Woolpert | 83–71 | Iowa | Bucky O'Connor | McGaw Hall | Evanston, Illinois |
| 1957 | North Carolina | Frank McGuire | 54–53$^{3OT}$ | Kansas | Dick Harp | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1958 | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | 84–72 | Seattle | John Castellani | Freedom Hall | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1959 | California | Pete Newell | 71–70 | West Virginia | Fred Schaus | Freedom Hall | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1960 | Ohio State | Fred Taylor | 75–55 | California | Pete Newell | Cow Palace | Daly City, California |
| 1961 | Cincinnati | Ed Jucker | 70–65$^{OT}$ | Ohio State | Fred Taylor | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1962 | Cincinnati | Ed Jucker | 71–59 | Ohio State | Fred Taylor | Freedom Hall | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1963 | Loyola Chicago | George Ireland | 60–58$^{OT}$ | Cincinnati | Ed Jucker | Freedom Hall | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1964 | UCLA | John Wooden | 98–83 | Duke | Vic Bubas | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1965 | UCLA | John Wooden | 91–80 | Michigan | Dave Strack | Memorial Coliseum | Portland, Oregon |
| 1966 | Texas Western | Don Haskins | 72–65 | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | Cole Field House | College Park, Maryland |
| 1967 | UCLA | John Wooden | 79–64 | Dayton | Don Donoher | Freedom Hall | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1968 | UCLA | John Wooden | 78–55 | North Carolina | Dean Smith | Sports Arena | Los Angeles, California |
| 1969 | UCLA | John Wooden | 92–72 | Purdue | George King | Freedom Hall | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1970 | UCLA | John Wooden | 80–69 | Jacksonville | Joe Williams | Cole Field House | College Park, Maryland |
| 1971 | UCLA | John Wooden | 68–62 | Villanova | Jack Kraft | Astrodome | Houston, Texas |
| 1972 | UCLA | John Wooden | 81–76 | Florida State | Hugh Durham | Memorial Sports Arena | Los Angeles, California |
| 1973 | UCLA | John Wooden | 87–66 | Memphis State | Gene Bartow | St. Louis Arena | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 1974 | NC State | Norm Sloan | 76–64 | Marquette | Al McGuire | Greensboro Coliseum | Greensboro, North Carolina |
| 1975 | UCLA | John Wooden | 92–85 | Kentucky | Joe B. Hall | San Diego Sports Arena | San Diego, California |
| 1976 | Indiana | Bob Knight | 86–68 | Michigan | Johnny Orr | Spectrum | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 1977 | Marquette | Al McGuire | 67–59 | North Carolina | Dean Smith | Omni Coliseum | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 1978 | Kentucky | Joe B. Hall | 94–88 | Duke | Bill Foster | The Checkerdome | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 1979 | Michigan State | Jud Heathcote | 75–64 | Indiana State | Bill Hodges | Special Events Center | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 1980 | Louisville | Denny Crum | 59–54 | UCLA | Larry Brown | Market Square Arena | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1981 | Indiana | Bob Knight | 63–50 | North Carolina | Dean Smith | Spectrum | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 1982 | North Carolina | Dean Smith | 63–62 | Georgetown | John Thompson | Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 1983 | NC State | Jim Valvano | 54–52 | Houston | Guy Lewis | University Arena | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| 1984 | Georgetown | John Thompson | 84–75 | Houston | Guy Lewis | Kingdome | Seattle, Washington |
| 1985 | Villanova | Rollie Massimino | 66–64 | Georgetown | John Thompson | Rupp Arena | Lexington, Kentucky |
| 1986 | Louisville | Denny Crum | 72–69 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | Reunion Arena | Dallas, Texas |
| 1987 | Indiana | Bob Knight | 74–73 | Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 1988 | Kansas | Larry Brown | 83–79 | Oklahoma | Billy Tubbs | Kemper Arena | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1989 | Michigan | Steve Fisher | 80–79$^{OT}$ | Seton Hall | P. J. Carlesimo | Kingdome | Seattle, Washington |
| 1990 | UNLV | Jerry Tarkanian | 103–73 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | McNichols Sports Arena | Denver, Colorado |
| 1991 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | 72–65 | Kansas | Roy Williams | Hoosier Dome | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1992 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | 71–51 | Michigan | Steve Fisher | Metrodome | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 1993 | North Carolina | Dean Smith | 77–71 | Michigan | Steve Fisher | Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 1994 | Arkansas | Nolan Richardson | 76–72 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | Charlotte Coliseum | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| 1995 | UCLA | Jim Harrick | 89–78 | Arkansas | Nolan Richardson | Kingdome | Seattle, Washington |
| 1996 | Kentucky | Rick Pitino | 76–67 | Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | Continental Airlines Arena | East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| 1997 | Arizona | Lute Olson | 84–79$^{OT}$ | Kentucky | Rick Pitino | RCA Dome | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1998 | Kentucky | Tubby Smith | 78–69 | Utah | Rick Majerus | Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas |
| 1999 | Connecticut | Jim Calhoun | 77–74 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | Tropicana Field | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 2000 | Michigan State | Tom Izzo | 89–76 | Florida | Billy Donovan | RCA Dome | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2001 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | 82–72 | Arizona | Lute Olson | Metrodome | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 2002 | Maryland | Gary Williams | 64–52 | Indiana | Mike Davis | Georgia Dome | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2003 | Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | 81–78 | Kansas | Roy Williams | Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 2004 | Connecticut | Jim Calhoun | 82–73 | Georgia Tech | Paul Hewitt | Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2005 | North Carolina | Roy Williams | 75–70 | Illinois | Bruce Weber | Edward Jones Dome | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 2006 | Florida | Billy Donovan | 73–57 | UCLA | Ben Howland | RCA Dome | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2007 | Florida | Billy Donovan | 84–75 | Ohio State | Thad Matta | Georgia Dome | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2008 | Kansas | Bill Self | 75–68$^{OT}$ | Memphis | John Calipari | Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2009 | North Carolina | Roy Williams | 89–72 | Michigan State | Tom Izzo | Ford Field | Detroit, Michigan |
| 2010 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | 61–59 | Butler | Brad Stevens | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2011 | Connecticut | Jim Calhoun | 53–41 | Butler | Brad Stevens | Reliant Stadium | Houston, Texas |
| 2012 | Kentucky | John Calipari | 67–59 | Kansas | Bill Self | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 2013 | Louisville | Rick Pitino | 82–76 | Michigan | John Beilein | Georgia Dome | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2014 | Connecticut | Kevin Ollie | 60–54 | Kentucky | John Calipari | AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas |
| 2015 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | 68–63 | Wisconsin | Bo Ryan | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2016 | Villanova | Jay Wright | 77–74 | North Carolina | Roy Williams | NRG Stadium | Houston, Texas |
| 2017 | North Carolina | Roy Williams | 71–65 | Gonzaga | Mark Few | University of Phoenix Stadium | Glendale, Arizona |
| 2018 | Villanova | Jay Wright | 79–62 | Michigan | John Beilein | Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2019 | Virginia | Tony Bennett | 85–77$^{OT}$ | Texas Tech | Chris Beard | U.S. Bank Stadium | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 2020 | Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Mercedes-Benz Stadium (scheduled) | Atlanta, Georgia (scheduled) |
| 2021 | Baylor | Scott Drew | 86–70 | Gonzaga | Mark Few | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2022 | Kansas | Bill Self | 72–69 | North Carolina | Hubert Davis | Caesars Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 2023 | Connecticut | Dan Hurley | 76–59 | San Diego State | Brian Dutcher | NRG Stadium | Houston, Texas |
| 2024 | Connecticut | Dan Hurley | 75–60 | Purdue | Matt Painter | State Farm Stadium | Glendale, Arizona |
| 2025 | | | | | | Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2026 | | | | | | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2027 | | | | | | Ford Field | Detroit, Michigan |
| 2028 | | | | | | Allegiant Stadium | Paradise, Nevada |
| 2029 | | | | | | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2030 | | | | | | AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas |
| 2031 | | | | | | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, Georgia |

## Multiple champions

Teams with multiple championships :
| Team | Wins | Years won |
| UCLA | 11 | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017 |
| UConn | 6 | 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024 |
| Duke | 5 | 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 |
| Indiana | 5 | 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987 |
| Kansas | 4 | 1952, 1988, 2008, 2022 |
| Villanova | 3 | 1985, 2016, 2018 |
| Louisville | 2 | 1980, 1986, 2013 |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 1961, 1962 |
| Florida | 2 | 2006, 2007 |
| Michigan State | 2 | 1979, 2000 |
| NC State | 2 | 1974, 1983 |
| Oklahoma State | 2 | 1945, 1946 |
| San Francisco | 2 | 1955, 1956 |
Coaches with multiple championships :
| Coach | Wins | Years won |
| John Wooden | 10 | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975 |
| Mike Krzyzewski | 5 | 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 |
| Adolph Rupp | 4 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958 |
| Jim Calhoun | 3 | 1999, 2004, 2011 |
| Bob Knight | 3 | 1976, 1981, 1987 |
| Roy Williams | 3 | 2005, 2009, 2017 |
| Denny Crum | 2 | 1980, 1986 |
| Billy Donovan | 2 | 2006, 2007 |
| Dan Hurley | 2 | 2023, 2024 |
| Henry Iba | 2 | 1945, 1946 |
| Ed Jucker | 2 | 1961, 1962 |
| Branch McCracken | 2 | 1940, 1953 |
| Bill Self | 2 | 2008, 2022 |
| Dean Smith | 2 | 1982, 1993 |
| Phil Woolpert | 2 | 1955, 1956 |
| Jay Wright | 2 | 2016, 2018 |

## Champions by conference status
### Champions by conference at the time of tournaments

Championships by conference membership at the time of tournaments :
| Conference | Wins | Years won |
| Atlantic Coast Conference (1953–current) | 15 | 1957, 1974, 1982, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019 |
| Pac-12 Conference (1915–2024) | 15 | 1939, 1942, 1959, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995, 1997 |
| Southeastern Conference (1932–current) | 11 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2012 |
| Big Ten Conference (1896–current) | 10 | 1940, 1941, 1953, 1960, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1989, 2000 |
| Big East Conference (1979–current) | 10 | 1984, 1985, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024 |
| Independents | 6 | 1944, 1947, 1954, 1963, 1966, 1977 |
| Missouri Valley Conference (1907–current) | 4 | 1945, 1946, 1961, 1962 |
| Big 12 Conference (1997–current) | 3 | 2008, 2021, 2022 |
| Big 8 Conference (1907–1996) | 2 | 1952, 1988 |
| Metro Conference (1975–1995) | 2 | 1980, 1986 |
| West Coast Conference (1952–current) | 2 | 1955, 1956 |
| American Athletic Conference (2014–current) | 1 | 2014 |
| Big West Conference (1969–current) | 1 | 1990 |
| Metropolitan New York Conference (1933–1963) | 1 | 1950 |
| Mountain States Conference (1938–1962) | 1 | 1943 |

### Championships by current conference membership

Championships by current conference membership :
| Conference | Wins | Years won |
| Big Ten Conference | 23 | 1939, 1940, 1941, 1953, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1989, 1995, 2000, 2002 |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 19 | 1942, 1957, 1959, 1974, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 |
| Southeastern Conference | 11 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2012 |
| Big East Conference | 11 | 1977, 1984, 1985, 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024 |
| Big 12 Conference | 9 | 1944, 1945, 1946, 1952, 1988, 1997, 2008, 2021, 2022 |
| American Athletic Conference | 2 | 1961, 1962 |
| Mountain West Conference | 2 | 1943, 1990 |
| West Coast Conference | 2 | 1955, 1956 |
| Atlantic 10 Conference | 1 | 1954 |
| City University of New York Athletic Conference | 1 | 1950 |
| Conference USA | 1 | 1966 |
| Missouri Valley Conference | 1 | 1963 |
| Patriot League | 1 | 1947 |