March Madness History: Past Champions and Year-by-Year Final Four Breakdown
I am currently watching Indiana valiantly, but unsuccessfully, try to beat Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. The Hoosiers are currently down by 14 despite a strong game by Verdell Jones and it looks like only 1 victory will be our fate in Big Ten play this year.
So, there will be no suspense in Bloomington come Selection Sunday this year. Indiana
will end the 2008-09 season the same we have ended every one since 1987: with 5 National Titles.
Well, as you may have noticed over the past couple of weeks, I have been doing a lot of research on the history of the major conference basketball tournaments. As always, I try to enlighten you with the fruits of my research. Because I anticipate the IU-Wisconsin game to be painful to watch, I decided to only give it partial attention, and use the time to do some research on the history of the NCAA Tournament.
So let’s break down the long and storied history of what we all affectionately refer to as “March Madness”. Here are a few quick links of note for this year’s NCAA tournament:
- 2009 NCAA Mens Tournament Dates and Site Breakdown
- 2009 NCAA Womens Tournament Dates and Site Breakdown
- NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament History: Past Champions, Final Four participants, Final Four locations by year, and interesting tournament tidbits
- NCAA Tournament All-Time MOPs: Mens and Womens Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player Winners
- NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament Champions
- StubHub Tickets: 2009 NCAA Mens Tournament Tickets
- StubHub Tickets: 2009 NCAA Womens Tournament Tickets
First, a quick breakdown of every Final Four since they started having Final Fours way back in 1939, plus more interesting notes and tidbits after the table:
NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament History: Champions, Final Four Teams, Locations
| Year | NCAA Champion | NCAA Runner-up | Final Four Teams | Location | Title Game Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | #1 North Carolina | #2 Michigan State | #1 UConn, #3 Villanova | Detroit | 89-72 |
| 2008 | #1 Kansas | #1 Memphis | #1 North Carolina, #1 UCLA | San Antonio | 75-68 |
| 2007 | #1 Florida | #1 Ohio State | #2 UCLA, #2 Georgetown | Atlanta | 84-75 |
| 2006 | #3 Florida | #2 UCLA | #11 George Mason, #4 LSU | Indianapolis | 73-57 |
| 2005 | #1 North Carolina | #1 Illinois | #5 Michigan State, #4 Louisville | St. Louis | 75-70 |
| 2004 | #2 UCONN | #3 Georgia Tech | #1 Duke, #2 Oklahoma State | San Antonio | 82-73 |
| 2003 | #3 Syracuse | #2 Kansas | #1 Texas, #3 Marquette | New Orleans | 81-78 |
| 2002 | #1 Maryland | #5 Indiana!!! | #1 Kansas, #2 Oklahoma | Atlanta | 64-52 |
| 2001 | #1 Duke | #2 Arizona | #3 Maryland, #1 Michigan State | Minneapolis | 82-72 |
| 2000 | #1 Michigan State | #5 Florida | #8 Wisconsin, #8 North Carolina | Indianapolis | 89-76 |
| 1999 | #1 UCONN | #1 Duke | #4 Ohio State, #1 Michigan State | St. Pete | 77-74 |
| 1998 | #2 Kentucky | #3 Utah | #3 Stanford, #1 North Carolina | San Antonio | 78-69 |
| 1997 | #4 Arizona | #1 Kentucky | #1 North Carolina, #1 Minnesota | Indianapolis | 84-79 |
| 1996 | #1 Kentucky | #4 Syracuse | #1 UMASS, #5 Mississippi State | East Rutherford | 76-67 |
| 1995 | #1 UCLA | #2 Arkansas | #4 Oklahoma State, #2 North Carolina | Seattle | 89-78 |
| 1994 | #1 Arkansas | #2 Duke | #2 Arizona, #3 Florida | Charlotte | 76-72 |
| 1993 | #1 North Carolina | #1 Michigan | #2 Kansas, #1 Kentucky | New Orleans | 77-71 |
| 1992 | #1 Duke | #6 Michigan | #2 Indiana!!!, #4 Cincinnati | Minneapolis | 71-51 |
| 1991 | #1 Duke | #3 Kansas | #1 UNLV, #2 North Carolina | Indianapolis | 72-65 |
| 1990 | #1 UNLV | #3 Duke | #4 Georgia Tech, #4 Arkansas | Denver | 103-73 |
| 1989 | #3 Michigan | #3 Seton Hall | #1 Illinois, #2 Duke | Seattle | 80-79 |
| 1988 | #6 Kansas | #1 Oklahoma | #2 Duke, #1 Arizona | Kansas City | 83-79 |
| 1987 | #1 Indiana!!! | #2 Syracuse | #1 UNLV, #6 Providence | New Orleans | 74-73 |
| 1986 | #2 Louisville | #1 Duke | #11 LSU, #1 Kansas | Dallas | 72-69 |
| 1985 | #8 Villanova | #1 Georgetown | #2 Memphis State, #1 St. John's | Lexington | 66-64 |
| 1984 | #1 Georgetown | #2 Houston | #1 Kentucky, #7 Virginia | Seattle | 84-75 |
| 1983 | #6 N.C. State | #1 Houston | #1 Louisville, #4 Georgia | Albuquerque | 54-52 |
| 1982 | #1 North Carolina | #1 Georgetown | #6 Houston, Louisville #3 | New Orleans | 63-62 |
| 1981 | #3 Indiana!!! | #2 North Carolina | #1 Virginia, #1 LSU | Philadelphia | 63-50 |
| 1980 | #2 Louisville | #8 UCLA | #6 Purdue, #5 Iowa | Indianapolis | 59-54 |
| 1979 | #2 Michigan State | #1 Indiana State | #2 DePaul, #9 Penn | Salt Lake City | 75-64 |
| 1978 | Kentucky | Duke | Arkansas, Notre Dame | St. Louis | 94-88 |
| 1977 | Marquette | North Carolina | UNLV, UNC-Charlotte | Atlanta | 67-59 |
| 1976 | Indiana!!! 32-0! | Michigan | UCLA, Rutgers | Philadelphia | 86-68 |
| 1975 | UCLA | Kentucky | Louisville, Syracuse | San Diego | 92-85 |
| 1974 | N.C. State | Marquette | UCLA, Kansas | Greensboro | 76-64 |
| 1973 | UCLA | Memphis State | Indiana, Providence | St. Louis | 87-66 |
| 1972 | UCLA | Florida State | North Carolina, Louisville | Los Angeles | 81-76 |
| 1971 | UCLA | Villanova | Western Kentucky, Kansas | Houston | 68-62 |
| 1970 | UCLA | Jacksonville | New Mexico State, St. Bonaventure | College Park | 80-69 |
| 1969 | UCLA | Purdue | Drake, North Carolina | Louisville | 92-72 |
| 1968 | UCLA | North Carolina | Ohio State, Houston | Los Angeles | 78-55 |
| 1967 | UCLA | Dayton | Houston, North Carolina | Louisville | 79-64 |
| 1966 | Texas Western | Kentucky | Duke, Utah | College Park | 72-65 |
| 1965 | UCLA | Michigan | Princeton, Wichita State | Portland | 91-80 |
| 1964 | UCLA | Duke | Michigan, Kansas State | Kansas City | 98-83 |
| 1963 | Loyala (IL) | Cincinnati | Duke, Oregon State | Louisville | 60-58 |
| 1962 | Cincinnati | Ohio State | Wake Forest, UCLA | Louisville | 71-59 |
| 1961 | Cincinnati | Ohio State | St. Joeseph's (PA), Utah | Kansas City | 70-65 |
| 1960 | Ohio State | California | Cincinnati, NYU | San Francisco | 75-55 |
| 1959 | California | West Virginia | Cincinnati, Louisville | Louisville | 71-70 |
| 1958 | Kentucky | Seattle | Temple, Kansas State | Louisville | 84-72 |
| 1957 | North Carolina | Kansas | San Francisco, Michigan State | Kansas City | 54-53 |
| 1956 | San Francisco | Iowa | Temple, SMU | Evanston | 83-71 |
| 1955 | San Francisco | LaSalle | Colorado, Iowa | Kansas City | 76-73 |
| 1954 | LaSalle | Bradley | Penn State, USC | Kansas City | 92-76 |
| 1953 | Indiana!!! | Kansas | Washington, LSU | Kansas City | 69-68 |
| 1952 | Kansas | St. John's | Illinois, Santa Clara | Seattle | 80-63 |
| 1951 | Kentucky | Kansas State | Illinois, Oklahoma State | Minneapolis | 68-58 |
| 1950 | CCNY | Bradley | N.C. State, Baylor | New York | 71-68 |
| 1949 | Kentukcy | Oklahoma State | Illinois, Oregon State | Seattle | 46-36 |
| 1948 | Kentucky | Baylor | Holy Cross, Kansas State | New York | 58-42 |
| 1947 | Holy Cross | Oklahoma | Texas, CCNY | New York | 58-47 |
| 1946 | Oklahoma State | North Carolina | Ohio State, California | New York | 43-40 |
| 1945 | Oklahoma State | NYU | Arkansas, Ohio State | New York | 49-45 |
| 1944 | Utah | Dartmouth | Iowa State, Ohio State | New York | 42-40 |
| 1943 | Wyoming | Georgetown | DePaul, Texas | New York | 46-34 |
| 1942 | Stanford | Dartmouth | Colorado, Kentucky | Kansas City | 53-38 |
| 1941 | Wisconsin | Washington State | Arkansas, Pittsburgh | Kansas City | 39-34 |
| 1940 | Indiana!!! | Kansas | Duquesne, USC | Kansas City | 60-42 |
| 1939 | Oregon | Ohio State | Oklahoma State, Villanova | Evanston | 46-33 |
Note: The number listed by each team is their tournament seed. Seeding did not occur until 1979, which interestingly is the year that many people feel changed college basketball forever: the Magic-Bird title game. FYI, future Final Four sites include: 
- 2010: Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN (April 4th, 6th)
- 2011: Reliant Stadium — Houston, TX (April 2nd, 4th)
- 2012: Louisiana Superdome — New Orleans, LA (March 31st, April 2nd)
- 2013: Georgia Dome — Atlanta, GA (April 6th, 8th)
- 2014: Cowboys Stadium — Arlington, TX (April 5th, 7th)
- 2015: Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN (April 4th, 6th)
- 2016: Reliant Stadium — Houston, TX (April 2nd, 4th)
The NCAA Tournament has expanded on numerous occasions since 1939. Interestingly, before 1975 only one team per conference was allowed to be in the NCAA Tournament. Here is a breakdown of the number of teams in the tournament during each different iteration:
- 1939-1950: 8 teams
- 1951-1974: varied between 16 teams and 25 teams
- 1975-1978: 32 teams
- 1979: 40 teams
- 1980-1982: 48 teams
- 1983: 52 teams (48-team tourney with four play-in games beforehand)
- 1984: 53 teams (48-team tourney with five play-in games beforehand)
- 1985-2000: 64 teams
- 2001-present: 65 teams (64-team tourney with one play-in or “opening round” game beforehand)
Six times, the National Championship game has been decided by one point, with two of those games being decided in overtime. The most recent 1-point game was 1989 when Michigan beat Seton hall in OT. The largest margin of victory in an NCAA Championship game was 30, when UNLV beat Duke 103-73 in 1990. For more interesting news and notes, follow the link to the NCAA Tournament history page at Wikipedia. Below is a recreation of the table you will find at the above link that lists out the number of NCAA Championships won by each school, with reorganization in order of most titles:
List: Most NCAA Championships - College Basketball
| School | Number of NCAA Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 11 | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998 |
| Indiana | 5 | 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987 |
| North Carolina | 5 | 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 |
| Duke | 3 | 1991, 1992, 2001 |
| Kansas | 3 | 1952, 1988, 2008 |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 1961, 1962 |
| UCONN | 2 | 1999, 2004 |
| Florida | 2 | 2006, 2007 |
| Louisville | 2 | 1980, 1986 |
| Michigan State | 2 | 1979, 2000 |
| N.C. State | 2 | 1974, 1983 |
| Oklahoma State | 2 | 1945, 1946 |
| San Francisco | 2 | 1955, 1956 |
| Arizona | 1 | 1997 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 1994 |
| California | 1 | 1959 |
| CCNY | 1 | 1950 |
| Georgetown | 1 | 1984 |
| Holy Cross | 1 | 1947 |
| LaSalle | 1 | 1954 |
| Loyala (IL) | 1 | 1963 |
| Marquette | 1 | 1977 |
| Maryland | 1 | 2002 |
| Michigan | 1 | 1989 |
| Ohio State | 1 | 1960 |
| Oregon | 1 | 1939 |
| Stanford | 1 | 1942 |
| Syracuse | 1 | 2003 |
| UNLV | 1 | 1990 |
| Texas Western (UTEP) | 1 | 1966 |
| Utah | 1 | 1944 |
| Villanova | 1 | 1985 |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 1941 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 1943 |
And now that this post is done, I must say that creating the two table above was quite an enjoyable experience — and a nice reminder of the wonderful tradition of IU basketball. Only two schools have won more NCAA Championships, and hopefully Tom Crean can be the guy to add a few more to the list.
Only one week until Selection Sunday…
Tags: College Basketball, indiana hoosiers, Kansas Jayhawks, kentucky wildcats, march madness, NCAA mens basketball tournament
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Nice job on putting this together.
It was tough getting ecent charts/stats/trends for my “Trends Champion” selection. Score of the finals would have been nice added addition next time.
Thanks,
SW
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Thanks Scott. Glad you found the page helpful. And fear not…I found the info you were looking for. The table has been updated with the title game score.
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Scott Wetzel Reply:
March 31st, 2009 at 12:30 pm
@JRod, i dissed this article
allready because its not very helpfull
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JRod Reply:
March 31st, 2009 at 12:38 pm
@Scott Wetzel, nice try, but unless you are the same Scott Wetzel leaving a comment with a different email address and from a different IP address, I’m going to go ahead and call BS here.
If you are really Scott Wetzel, my apologies for misunderstanding the line “nice job of putting this together.”
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Great info thanks Jrod go ZAGS!!!!
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i know u your that guy that is weird
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JRod Reply:
March 31st, 2009 at 12:39 pm
@bob wetlack, you win the award so far for leaving the strangest, most incoherent comment ever at MSF.
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wow did not help at all nada nothing u sould have something that axcully works u r such a ediot
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Can someone who can spell and put together coherent thoughts help me out here, because I fear I am missing something.
Are the two tables not displaying correctly? Is there just a blank space where the text of the post should be?
The title tag of the post says: “Most NCAA Championships College Basketball | Final Four History: Teams, Site”
The blog title says: “March Madness History: Past Champions and Year-by-Year Final Four Breakdown”
If I’m not mistaken, that’s exactly the information provided, along with some ads so I can actually generate a little bit of revenue and afford to keep posting. If you didn’t want the information, why click through to the page?
I think what is more likely is that we have spam commenting not being caught by Akisment. Although, there are no links, which is curious. Either way, this post appears to be attracting the lowest IQ of all of our commenters. At least they are all confined to one post.
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What’s up with the Tar heels winning in 1924? I guess I’m asking why wouldn’t it count as one of their championships? By the the way this has been very helpful, I had never realized that UCLA won 10 out of 12 years. I am so glad I wasn’t alive to see any of that BS.
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