So, now that everyone is focused on filling out brackets, getting into some of the history of college basketball comes front and center. A common question that comes up is which teams have won the most NCAA basketball championships? That’s a great question, and we’ll go over the complete list of schools who have won a championship for you.
How Many Schools are in Division I Men’s Basketball?
At the time of this writing, there are more than 350 schools in D-I Men’s basketball. That’s a crazy number of schools when you think about it. Out of this 350, only 15 total teams have won more than one national championship.
Which Teams have Won the Most NCAA Basketball Championships?
When you want to know which teams have won the most NCAA basketball championships, it is UCLA. Out of the 350 teams, UCLA is in first place with 11 championships. This makes their lead in Final Four appearances make even more sense. After UCLA, there are seven teams who have won two Championships a piece (tied for 9th place). UCONN is now tied with UNC in third place after winning it all again in 2024 with six.
They include: Cincinnati (1961, 1962), Florida (2006, 2007), Louisville (1980, 1986), Michigan State (1979, 2000), North Carolina State (1974, 1983), Oklahoma State (1945, 1946), and San Francisco (1955, 1956). Louisville had their 2013 tournament participation vacated, so we don’t include that in the numbers (source NCAA, not us). Out of this list of teams with two wins, four did it in back-back years.
Teams with Most NCAA Basketball Championships (pre-2024 NCAA Tournament)
SCHOOL | NUMBER OF CHAMPIONSHIPS | LAST CHAMPIONSHIP | RUNNER-UP FINISHES |
UCLA | 11 | 1995 | 2 |
Kentucky | 8 | 2012 | 4 |
North Carolina | 6 | 2017 | 6 |
Connecticut | 6 | 2024 | 0 |
Duke | 5 | 2015 | 6 |
Indiana | 5 | 1987 | 1 |
Kansas | 4 | 2022 | 6 |
Villanova | 3 | 2018 | 1 |
Cincinnati | 2 | 1962 | 1 |
Florida | 2 | 2007 | 1 |
Louisville | 2 | 1986 | 0 |
Michigan State | 2 | 2000 | 1 |
North Carolina State | 2 | 1983 | 0 |
Oklahoma State | 2 | 1946 | 0 |
San Francisco | 2 | 1956 | 0 |
Arizona | 1 | 1997 | 1 |
Arkansas | 1 | 1994 | 1 |
Baylor | 1 | 2021 | 1 |
California | 1 | 1959 | 1 |
CCNY | 1 | 1950 | 0 |
Georgetown | 1 | 1984 | 3 |
Holy Cross | 1 | 1947 | 0 |
La Salle | 1 | 1954 | 0 |
Loyola (Ill.) | 1 | 1963 | 0 |
Marquette | 1 | 1977 | 1 |
Maryland | 1 | 2002 | 0 |
Ohio State | 1 | 1960 | 4 |
Oregon | 1 | 1939 | 0 |
Stanford | 1 | 1942 | 0 |
Syracuse | 1 | 2003 | 2 |
UNLV | 1 | 1990 | 0 |
Utah | 1 | 1944 | 1 |
UTEP | 1 | 1966 | 0 |
Virginia | 1 | 2019 | 0 |
Wisconsin | 1 | 1941 | 1 |
Wyoming | 1 | 1943 | 0 |