Who Has the Most NCAA Basketball Championships?

The Big Dance, better known as March Madness, is one of the largest and most anticipated tournaments in all of college sports. Just last year, the 2022 men's tournament averaged 10.7 million viewers across the 67 live games.^[6] The women's tournament championship game set a record high of 4.85 million views, becoming the most-watched women's basketball game since 2004.^[7]

Whether you're a diehard Tar Heel or Bruin, here's all you need to know about tournament winners throughout the history of college basketball postseason championships.

Most Men's NCAA Basketball Championships

• UCLA has won the most championships in the history of men's college basketball, with 11 wins since 1939. The Bruins have won 13% of the championships.^{Note Reference [2]}
• Kentucky has established itself as a historic powerhouse with eight championships to its name, followed by North Carolina with six wins.^{Note Reference [2]}
• The Blue Bloods, including North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky, have won just under 30% of all the championships since 1939.^{Note Reference [2]}
• 36 different universities account for 83 years of championships.^{Note Reference [2]}

Other Universities That Have Won Since 1939

Most Women's NCAA Basketball Championships

• UConn and Tennessee, with 11 and eight titles respectively, account for just under half of championships won since 1982.^{Note Reference [1]}
• The Stanford and Baylor women's basketball programs have each won three championships in the 40 years since the start of the tournament.^{Note Reference [1]}
• The 2022 champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, have won two championships, along with Louisiana Tech, Notre Dame, and USC.^{Note Reference [1]}
• Since 2012, only teams that have won a championship before have taken home the trophy.^{Note Reference [1]}

Other Universities That Have Won Since 1982

The Most NCAA Basketball Championships Overall

So, who can claim to be the winningest college overall?

• The programs at UConn have won 15 titles in total, making it the overall title holder by an eight-championship margin.^{Note Reference [1], Note Reference [2]}
• North Carolina has a combined total of seven titles, six of which come from the men's program.^{Note Reference [1], Note Reference [2]}
• Baylor and Stanford claim four championships each. Three of each of their four titles were taken home by the women's teams.
• The men's and women's programs from Maryland have contributed equally, each winning one championship.^{Note Reference [1], Note Reference [2]}

Lowest Seed to Win March Madness

Villanova's men's basketball team, entering the tournament as an eight seed, was the lowest seed to win March Madness in 1985, 66-64 over Georgetown.^{Note Reference [2]}

The women's March Madness tournament has only seen first, second, and third seeds win. Notably, North Carolina and Tennessee won the championships in 1994 and 1997 as third seed teams.^{Note Reference [3]}

Highest Seed to Win March Madness

The highest seed to win the Big Dance is understandably the first seed. Here's what we know about the top-seeded winners.

Men's No. 1 Ranked Teams to Win the NCAA Basketball Championship

• 18 different men's programs since 1939 have won March Madness as first seeds.^{Note Reference [2]}
• The North Carolina Tar Heels have won March Madness six times, five of which as first seeds.^{Note Reference [2]}
• The first time a first seed won the tournament was in 1982, over 40 years after the NCAA tournament first began.^{Note Reference [2]}

Women's No. 1 Ranked Teams to Win the NCAA Basketball Championship

• Since the start of the women's March Madness tournament, 10 different teams have won as first seeds.^{Note Reference [3]}
• UConn's program won 10 out of their 11 championships as a first seed.^{Note Reference [3]}
• From 2013-2016, UConn was a first seed and brought home the championship trophy.^{Note Reference [3]}

Most March Madness Appearances

Although not as exciting as winning, just appearing in March Madness is a big deal. In 2023, 64 teams will be invited to compete in the first round of the women's tournament, and 68 teams will be invited to the men's tournament.^{[13], [14]}

These programs have appeared in the tournament the most.

• Although Indiana men's basketball has never won March Madness, they have appeared in 40 tournaments since 1939.^{Note Reference [2]}
• Kentucky men's basketball has participated in over 70% of March Madness tournaments.^{Note Reference [2]}
• Tennessee women's basketball has played in every single March Madness tournament except one.^{Note Reference [3]}
• North Carolina is the only university to have both their men's and women's teams rank in the top 10 for tournament appearances.^{Note Reference [2], Note Reference [3]}

Which Conference Claims the Most NCAA Basketball Championships?

The Pac-12 is the overall top-winning conference with 23 titles from eight different universities, including 11 wins from the UCLA men's program and three titles from Stanford's women's program.^{Note Reference [1], Note Reference [2], Note Reference [4], Note Reference [5]}

Men's Conference Title Winners

• When it comes to men's college basketball, the Pac-12 and ACC dominate. The Pac-12 has won over 21% of all championships and the ACC claims exactly 20%.^{Note Reference [2], Note Reference [5]}
• With 11 wins each, the Big Ten and the SEC have claimed just over 25% of titles won combined.^{Note Reference [2], Note Reference [5]}
• The American, Mountain West, A-10, and West Coast conferences have each won two national titles.^{Note Reference [2], Note Reference [5]}

Women's Conference Title Winners

• The Big East and SEC are tied for the highest number of championships won in women's basketball history, each claiming 11 titles, or a combined 55% of titles.^{Note Reference [1], Note Reference [4]}
• The SEC and the Big 12 both have three women's basketball programs that have won a national championship.^{Note Reference [1], Note Reference [4]}
• The ACC, Big Ten, Conference USA, and Sunbelt Conferences each have claimed national titles since 1982.^{Note Reference [1], Note Reference [4]}

Who Has the Most Wins in College Basketball?

Wins are wins, whether they happen in a championship or during the regular season. These teams have won the most games during the 2021-2022 season, both by total number of wins and by winning percentage.

Most Wins in College Basketball

• The Kansas Jayhawks have the highest number of wins in the history of men's basketball, beating out the Kentucky Wildcats by four wins.^[15]
• The 2010s saw the team with the most wins in any decade, with Kentucky securing 305 of them.^{Note Reference [15]}
• The Tennessee Lady Volunteers, who were led by coaching legend Pat Summitt from 1974-2012, have the highest number of wins in women's basketball by 186 games.^[16]
• Teams like Temple, St. John's, James Madison, Stephen F. Austin, and Old Dominion, don't typically appear in the March Madness tournament, but they have made names for themselves in women's basketball with their number of wins.^{Note Reference [15], Note Reference [16]}

Highest Winning Percentage in College Basketball

• When it comes to winning percentage, the women's team at Florida Gulf Coast has taken the lead. They've won nearly 85% of their games.^{Note Reference [16]}
• UConn and Tennessee's women's programs follow close behind at nearly 80% each.^{Note Reference [16]}
• Kentucky has the highest winning percentage in men's basketball, followed by North Carolina, Kansas, and Duke.^{Note Reference [15]}
• UCLA had the highest winning percentage in a single decade, winning over 90% of their games in the 1970s.^{Note Reference [15]}

All-Time Winning Streaks

Some of the greatest teams in the history of college basketball have been known for their game-winning streaks, like UConn's 111-game streak in women's basketball or UCLA's 88-game streak in men's, both spanning over three seasons.^{Note Reference [15], Note Reference [16]}