March Madness
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- basketball
What is March Madness?
How are March Madness teams selected?
When was the first March Madness tournament?
News •
March Madness, informal term that refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments and the attendant fan interest in—and media coverage of—the events. The single-elimination tournaments begin each March and consist of fields of 68 teams that qualify either by winning their conference title or by being chosen as an at-large entry by the NCAA’s selection committee.
The first men’s tournament was held in 1939, but it was overshadowed for most of the first two decades of its existence by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which was considered more prestigious and usually featured the best teams in the country. The NCAA tournament gradually began to draw the top teams and more television revenue, and, by the time the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), began its record run of seven consecutive titles in 1967, the tournament was firmly established as the premier college basketball postseason championship series in the United States.
The size of the tournament field increased incrementally from 8 teams in 1939 to 64 teams in 1985. A 65th team and corresponding “play-in game” were added in 2001, when a new conference with an automatically qualifying champion was created and the NCAA did not want to lower the number of high-profile at-large schools it could invite to the tournament. In 2011 the NCAA added three additional opening-round games to the field, bringing the field to 68 teams. The first women’s tournament was a 32-team event held in 1982, and it expanded to 64 in 1994 and 68 in 2022.
The men’s tournament format (not including the play-in games) consists of four subsets known as regions, each of which contains 16 teams that are seeded number 1 to number 16 by the selection committee and then matched up according to seed, with the number 1 seed playing number 16, number 2 playing number 15, and so on. (The selection committee generally comprises university athletic directors and conference commissioners.) Two of the four first-round games pit the four lowest-seeded teams (often the champions of the smallest conferences in the NCAA) against each other to determine two of the 16 seeds, while the other two first-round games feature the final four at-large teams, which are traditionally 11 or 12 seeds.
The second- and third-round games take place later in the first week of the tournament at eight geographically dispersed sites, and the 16 teams that move on to the second week (having won both their second- and third-round games) are referred to as the “Sweet Sixteen.” These remaining teams then proceed to four regional sites and are further winnowed to an “Elite Eight” and a “Final Four,” the last of which advances to yet another location for the national semifinals and finals in the third week of the competition.
The sizable field often produces pairings of large schools from highly regarded conferences with smaller automatic qualifiers that may result in first-round upsets, which can then lead to underdog teams (known as “Cinderellas”) advancing far in the tournament. In the 2018 men’s tournament, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, became the first number 16 seed to upset a number one seed, Virginia.
It is a common practice for fans to fill out tournament brackets with their predictions before the event begins and to enter their brackets into office pools (or on the Internet) with friends and coworkers. Studies have shown that American workers become less productive during March Madness, as large numbers of basketball fans frequently monitor the status of their brackets or discuss the tournament (or even watch the games) while on the job.
Did You Know?
It is estimated that during March Madness, businesses lose more than $16 billion because of unproductive employees. Conversely, the NCAA earns approximately $1 billion in revenue for the tournament.
Men’s winners
Winners of the men’s NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament are provided in the table.
| year | winner | runner-up | score |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Louisville's title was vacated in 2018 because of rules violations committed between 2011 and 2015. | |||
| **Tournament canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. | |||
| 1939 | Oregon | Ohio State | 46–43 |
| 1940 | Indiana | Kansas | 60–42 |
| 1941 | Wisconsin | Washington State | 39–34 |
| 1942 | Stanford | Dartmouth | 53–38 |
| 1943 | Wyoming | Georgetown | 46–34 |
| 1944 | Utah | Dartmouth | 42–40 |
| 1945 | Oklahoma A&M | New York | 49–45 |
| 1946 | Oklahoma A&M | North Carolina | 43–40 |
| 1947 | Holy Cross | Oklahoma | 58–47 |
| 1948 | Kentucky | Baylor | 58–42 |
| 1949 | Kentucky | Oklahoma State | 46–36 |
| 1950 | CCNY | Bradley | 71–68 |
| 1951 | Kentucky | Kansas State | 68–58 |
| 1952 | Kansas | St. John's (N.Y.) | 80–63 |
| 1953 | Indiana | Kansas | 69–68 |
| 1954 | La Salle | Bradley | 92–76 |
| 1955 | San Francisco | La Salle | 77–63 |
| 1956 | San Francisco | Iowa | 83–71 |
| 1957 | North Carolina | Kansas | 54–53 |
| 1958 | Kentucky | Seattle | 84–72 |
| 1959 | California (Berkeley) | West Virginia | 71–70 |
| 1960 | Ohio State | California (Berkeley) | 75–55 |
| 1961 | Cincinnati | Ohio State | 70–65 |
| 1962 | Cincinnati | Ohio State | 71–59 |
| 1963 | Loyola (Ill.) | Cincinnati | 60–58 |
| 1964 | UCLA | Duke | 98–83 |
| 1965 | UCLA | Michigan | 91–80 |
| 1966 | Texas Western | Kentucky | 72–65 |
| 1967 | UCLA | Dayton | 79–64 |
| 1968 | UCLA | North Carolina | 78–55 |
| 1969 | UCLA | Purdue | 92–72 |
| 1970 | UCLA | Jacksonville | 80–69 |
| 1971 | UCLA | Villanova | 68–62 |
| 1972 | UCLA | Florida State | 81–76 |
| 1973 | UCLA | Memphis State | 87–66 |
| 1974 | North Carolina State | Marquette | 76–64 |
| 1975 | UCLA | Kentucky | 92–85 |
| 1976 | Indiana | Michigan | 86–68 |
| 1977 | Marquette | North Carolina | 67–59 |
| 1978 | Kentucky | Duke | 94–88 |
| 1979 | Michigan State | Indiana State | 75–64 |
| 1980 | Louisville | UCLA | 59–54 |
| 1981 | Indiana | North Carolina | 63–50 |
| 1982 | North Carolina | Georgetown | 63–62 |
| 1983 | North Carolina State | Houston | 54–52 |
| 1984 | Georgetown | Houston | 84–75 |
| 1985 | Villanova | Georgetown | 66–64 |
| 1986 | Louisville | Duke | 72–69 |
| 1987 | Indiana | Syracuse | 74–73 |
| 1988 | Kansas | Oklahoma | 83–79 |
| 1989 | Michigan | Seton Hall | 80–79 |
| 1990 | UNLV | Duke | 103–73 |
| 1991 | Duke | Kansas | 72–65 |
| 1992 | Duke | Michigan | 71–51 |
| 1993 | North Carolina | Michigan | 77–71 |
| 1994 | Arkansas | Duke | 76–72 |
| 1995 | UCLA | Arkansas | 89–78 |
| 1996 | Kentucky | Syracuse | 76–67 |
| 1997 | Arizona | Kentucky | 84–79 |
| 1998 | Kentucky | Utah | 78–69 |
| 1999 | Connecticut | Duke | 77–74 |
| 2000 | Michigan State | Florida | 89–76 |
| 2001 | Duke | Arizona | 82–72 |
| 2002 | Maryland | Indiana | 64–52 |
| 2003 | Syracuse | Kansas | 81–78 |
| 2004 | Connecticut | Georgia Tech | 82–73 |
| 2005 | North Carolina | Illinois | 75–70 |
| 2006 | Florida | UCLA | 73–57 |
| 2007 | Florida | Ohio State | 84–75 |
| 2008 | Kansas | Memphis | 75–68 |
| 2009 | North Carolina | Michigan State | 89–72 |
| 2010 | Duke | Butler | 61–59 |
| 2011 | Connecticut | Butler | 53–41 |
| 2012 | Kentucky | Kansas | 67–59 |
| 2013 | Louisville* | Michigan | 82–76 |
| 2014 | Connecticut | Kentucky | 60–54 |
| 2015 | Duke | Wisconsin | 68–63 |
| 2016 | Villanova | North Carolina | 77–74 |
| 2017 | North Carolina | Gonzaga | 71–65 |
| 2018 | Villanova | Michigan | 79–62 |
| 2019 | Virginia | Texas Tech | 85–77 |
| 2020 | not held** | ||
| 2021 | Baylor | Gonzaga | 86–70 |
| 2022 | Kansas | North Carolina | 72–69 |
| 2023 | Connecticut | San Diego State | 76–59 |
| 2024 | Connecticut | Purdue | 75–60 |
Most championships, men
Click on the interactive to see which schools have won the most men’s titles.
Women’s winners
Winners of the women’s NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament are provided in the table.
| year | winner | runner-up | score |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Tournament canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. | |||
| 1982 | Louisiana Tech | Cheyney (Pa.) | 76–62 |
| 1983 | Southern California | Louisiana Tech | 69–67 |
| 1984 | Southern California | Tennessee | 72–61 |
| 1985 | Old Dominion | Georgia | 70–65 |
| 1986 | Texas | Southern California | 97–81 |
| 1987 | Tennessee | Louisiana Tech | 67–44 |
| 1988 | Louisiana Tech | Auburn | 56–54 |
| 1989 | Tennessee | Auburn | 76–60 |
| 1990 | Stanford | Auburn | 88–81 |
| 1991 | Tennessee | Virginia | 70–67 |
| 1992 | Stanford | Western Kentucky | 78–62 |
| 1993 | Texas Tech | Ohio State | 84–82 |
| 1994 | North Carolina | Louisiana Tech | 60–59 |
| 1995 | Connecticut | Tennessee | 70–64 |
| 1996 | Tennessee | Georgia | 83–65 |
| 1997 | Tennessee | Old Dominion | 68–59 |
| 1998 | Tennessee | Louisiana Tech | 93–75 |
| 1999 | Purdue | Duke | 62–45 |
| 2000 | Connecticut | Tennessee | 71–52 |
| 2001 | Notre Dame | Purdue | 68–66 |
| 2002 | Connecticut | Oklahoma | 82–70 |
| 2003 | Connecticut | Tennessee | 73–68 |
| 2004 | Connecticut | Tennessee | 70–61 |
| 2005 | Baylor | Michigan State | 84–62 |
| 2006 | Maryland | Duke | 78–75 |
| 2007 | Tennessee | Rutgers | 59–46 |
| 2008 | Tennessee | Stanford | 64–48 |
| 2009 | Connecticut | Louisville | 76–54 |
| 2010 | Connecticut | Stanford | 53–47 |
| 2011 | Texas A&M | Notre Dame | 76–70 |
| 2012 | Baylor | Notre Dame | 80–61 |
| 2013 | Connecticut | Louisville | 93–60 |
| 2014 | Connecticut | Notre Dame | 79–58 |
| 2015 | Connecticut | Notre Dame | 63–53 |
| 2016 | Connecticut | Syracuse | 82–51 |
| 2017 | South Carolina | Mississippi State | 67–55 |
| 2018 | Notre Dame | Mississippi State | 61–58 |
| 2019 | Baylor | Notre Dame | 82–81 |
| 2020 | not held* | ||
| 2021 | Stanford | Arizona | 54–53 |
| 2022 | South Carolina | Connecticut | 64–49 |
| 2023 | LSU | Iowa | 102–85 |
| 2024 | South Carolina | Iowa | 87–75 |
Most championships, women
Click on the interactive to see which schools have won the most women’s titles.