Quick Links: Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament Champions By Year

The History and Evolution of the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament

The Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness, is one of the most popular sporting events in the United States. The tournament has grown to become a national phenomenon with 68 teams competing each year, but it wasn’t always that way.

At the Start

The Men’s Division 1 College Basketball Tournament was created to determine the best college basketball team in the United States. Prior to the tournament’s creation, college basketball was dominated by regional championships, and there was no national championship to determine the best team in the country.

The idea for the tournament came from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), which was looking for a way to promote college basketball on a national level. The first NCAA basketball tournament was held in 1939 and was a single-elimination tournament that featured just eight teams.

The tournament was held in Evanston, Illinois, and was won by the University of Oregon, who defeated Ohio State in the championship game by a score of 46-33. The tournament was an instant success, and it quickly became an annual event.

In the early years of the tournament, only one team per conference was allowed to participate, which meant that some of the top teams in the country were excluded. However, the NCAA has since changed the rules several times to allow more teams to be able to receive a bid.

Above: 1938 Newspaper Article

More Teams, More Madness: The Expansions of the Tournament Over Time

The first expansion of the tournament occurred in 1951, which allowed multiple teams from each conference to participate. In 1975 and 1980, the tournament expanded to 32 and 48 teams, respectively.

However, it was the 1985 expansion to 64 teams that is perhaps the most significant in the tournament’s history. This expansion, which was prompted in part by the growth of television, allowed more teams from smaller conferences to participate and increased the number of games played.

In 2001, a “play-in” game was added to give more teams a chance to participate. This game, originally known as the “Opening Round,” featured two teams that were not part of the traditional 64-team field. The winner of the game advanced to the main tournament bracket. In 2011, the tournament expanded to 68 teams and added three more “play-in” games, now known as the “First Four.”

The Growth in Popularity of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament

Over the years, the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament has grown in popularity to become one of the most-watched and beloved sporting events in the United States. Here are a few facts that illustrate the tournament’s remarkable growth:

The tournament’s championship game is often one of the year’s most-watched television events. The highest-rated college basketball game in TV history was the 1979 final between Michigan State and Indiana State, featuring Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
The tournament’s popularity has led to the cultural phenomenon known as “March Madness,” referring to the excitement and unpredictability of the games. The phrase was first used in 1939, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that it became associated with the tournament.
In 2019, the Men’s Tournament generated $933 million in ad revenue, making it one of the most lucrative sporting events worldwide.
The tournament has also become a major event for sports betting. In 2019, 47 million Americans filled out brackets and bet an estimated $8.5 billion on the games.

Historic Teams and Players

Over the years, the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament has been home to some of the most dominant teams and players in college basketball history. Here are a few of the most notable:

Teams

UCLA: Under legendary coach John Wooden, the UCLA Bruins won 11 national championships from 1964 to 1975. UCLA’s success is the greatest in college basketball history, including a record 38 consecutive tournament wins.
Kentucky: The Wildcats are the all-time winningest team in tournament history, with 131 wins and 8 championships.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels have won 6 national championships and hold the record for most Final Four appearances with 21.
Duke: The Blue Devils have won 5 national championships and have made 17 Final Four appearances, including 3 national championships in the span of five years from 1991 to 1995.
Kansas: The Jayhawks have won 4 national championships and have made 16 Final Four appearances. They have also won the most conference championships in NCAA history with 62 regular-season titles and 15 conference tournament titles.

Players

The tournament has also been home to some of the most iconic players in college basketball history. Names like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all played in the tournament and went on to become legends of the sport. More recently, players like Zion Williamson, Carmelo Anthony, and Christian Laettner have captured the imagination of fans with their electrifying NCAA tournament performances.

Tournament Upsets

One of the thrills of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament is the possibility (certainty) of upsets. When a lower-seeded team defeats a higher-seeded team, it adds excitement (the “madness”) to the entire tournament. Is it going to happen? Can that underdog win again? How far can they go?

Here are some notable upsets in tournament history:

In 1985, #8 seed Villanova defeated #1 seed Georgetown in the championship game. This is still one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.
In 1991, #2 seed Syracuse was upset by #15 seed Richmond in the first round. This was the first time a #15 seed ever defeated a #2 seed. Since then, 9 other #15 seeds have taken down #2 seeds.
In 2018, 16th-seeded UMBC made history by becoming the first 16th-seeded team to ever defeat a 1st-seeded team in the first round, beating the Virginia Cavaliers 74-54.
2022 saw 15 seed St. Peters defeat Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue to reach the final 8 teams where they lost to North Carolina.
Villanova, who won the tournament in 1985 as a number 8 seed, was the lowest-seeded team to ever win the national championship.

Check out this list of all first round upsets listed by year.

A Rich History of March Madness

More than 80 years after it first began, the Men’s Basketball Tournament has grown into a true piece of American culture. But as we see every year, the true excitement of March Madness comes from the wonderful sport of basketball and the players and teams who compete each year.