The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is held each spring featuring 65 of the top college basketball teams in the United States. The 20-day tournament, colloquially known as "March Madness" or the Big Dance, has become one of the country's most prominent sports events.
The tournament, whose field includes regional conference champions and other top teams, is staged in a single elimination format. Since its 1939 inception, it has built a legacy that includes dynasty teams and dramatic underdog stories. In recent years, friendly wagering on the event has become something of a national pastime, spawning countless "office pools" that attract expert fans and novices alike.
The tournament bracket is made up of champions from each Division I conference, which receive automatic bids. The remaining slots are at-large berths , with teams chosen by an NCAA selection committee. The selection process and tournament seedings are based on several factors, including team rankings, win-loss records and RPI data.
The two lowest-seeded teams (usually the teams below .500 & the SWAC champion) play a pre-tournament game to determine which will advance into the first round of the tournament. This play-in game was added in 2001 and has been played in Dayton, Ohio each subsequent year.
A Most Outstanding Player honor is awarded by the Associated Press at the end of each tournament.
See also: Division II, Division III
Winners of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
Upcoming Final Four championship locations and dates
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2006 - Indianapolis, RCA Dome, April 1 and 3
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2007 - Atlanta, Georgia Dome, March 31 and April 2
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2008 - San Antonio, Alamodome, April 5 and 7
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2009 - Detroit, Ford Field, April 4 and 6
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2010 - Indianapolis, RCA Dome, April 3 and 5
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2011 - Houston, Reliant Stadium, April 2 and 4
Number of championships by school
- UCLA 11
- Kentucky 7
- Indiana 5
- North Carolina 4
- Duke 3
- Cincinnati 2
- Connecticut 2
- Kansas 2
- Louisville 2
- Michigan State 2
- North Carolina State 2
- Oklahoma State 2 (both times as Oklahoma A&M)
- San Francisco 2
- Arizona 1
- Arkansas 1
- California 1
- CCNY 1
- Georgetown 1
- Holy Cross 1
- La Salle 1
- Loyola (Chicago) 1
- Marquette 1
- Maryland 1
- Michigan 1
- Ohio State 1
- Oregon 1
- Stanford 1
- Syracuse 1
- UNLV 1
- Utah 1
- UTEP 1 (as Texas Western)
- Villanova 1
- Wisconsin 1
- Wyoming 1
See also
External links
Last updated: 06-02-2005 18:28:39
Last updated: 08-17-2005 12:23:10
