NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament


The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each March, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season. The NCAA tournament was preceded by the AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament, which was held annually from 1972 to 1982. Basketball was one of 12 women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same 12 sports; however, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA prevailed, while the AIAW disbanded.
Attendance and interest in the Women's Division I Championship have grown over the years, especially from 2003 to 2016, when the final championship game was moved to the Tuesday following the Monday men's championship game. The women's championship game is the penultimate overall game of the college basketball season since 2017. From 1982 to 1990, 1996 to 2002, and since 2017 the Women's Final Four is usually played on the Friday before the Men's Final Four or the hours before the men played on the final Saturday of the tournament. The final was usually played the Sunday afternoon following the Men's Final Four; since 2017, Sunday evening.
The tournament bracket is made up of champions from each Division I conference, which receive automatic bids. The remaining slots are at-large bids, 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 NET data.
Unlike the men's tournament, there are only 32 at-large bids, and no play-in game. The women's tournament, like the men's, is staged in a single elimination format and is part of the media and public frenzy known colloquially as March Madness or The Big Dance.
All 63 games have been broadcast on television from 2003 to 2019 on ESPN and ESPN2; come 2021, ESPN. Similar to the pre-2011 men's tournament coverage on CBS, local teams are shown on each channel when available, with "whip-around" coverage designed to showcase the most competitive contests in the rest of the country.
Both 2020 men's and women's tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tournament format

A total of 64 teams qualify for the tournament played in March and April. Of these teams, 32 earn automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments. Since 2017 the Ivy League conducts their own post-season tournament. The remaining teams are granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. Dr. Marilyn McNeil, vice president/director of athletics at Monmouth University is the current chairwoman. On March 1, 2011, Bowling Green State University's director of intercollegiate athletics, Greg Christopher, was appointed chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee during the 2011–12 academic year.
The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc.

Number of teams, and seeding

The first NCAA women's basketball tournament was held in 1982. The AIAW also held a basketball tournament in 1982, but most of the top teams, including defending AIAW champion Louisiana Tech, decided to participate in the NCAA tournament.
The championship consisted of 32 teams from 1982–1985, 40 teams from 1986–1988, and 48 teams from 1989–1993. Since 1994, 64 teams compete in each tournament.
Prior to 1996, seeding was conducted on a regional basis. The top teams were ranked and seeded on a national basis. The remaining teams were then seeded based on their geographic region. Teams were moved outside of its geographic region only if it was necessary to balance the bracket, or if the proximity of an opponent outside of its region would be comparable and a more competitive game would result. In 1993, all teams except for the top four were explicitly unseeded. The regional seeding resumed in 1994. In 1996, seeds were assigned on a national basis using an "S-Curve" format similar to the process used in selecting the field for the men's tournament.
The following table summarizes some of the key attributes of the seeding process:
† Some exceptions. Due to venue availability, in some cases, the lower seed hosted, or the game was played at a neutral site.
‡ From 2003–2014, sixteen predetermined sites were selected for first and second-round games. Teams were allowed to play at home, if hosting.
Between 2005 and 2008, eight sites were used for first-round games.

Selection process

A special selection committee appointed by the NCAA determines which 64 teams will enter the tournament, and where they will be seeded and placed in the bracket. Because of the automatic bids, only 32 teams rely on the selection committee to secure them a spot in the tournament.

Women's NCAA Division I basketball champions

Team titles

TeamTitlesYear Won
UConn111995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Tennessee81987, 1989, 1991,1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008
Baylor32005, 2012, 2019
Louisiana Tech21982, 1988
Notre Dame22001, 2018
Stanford21990, 1992
USC21983, 1984
Maryland12006
North Carolina11994
Old Dominion11985
Purdue11999
South Carolina12017
Texas11986
Texas A&M12011
Texas Tech11993

NCAA Final Fours by school

Multiple NCAA championship coaches

NCAA Championship by Conference

Note: Conferences are listed by all champions' affiliations at that time; these do not necessarily match current affiliations.
ConferenceYearChampionships
Big East1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 20139
Southeastern1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 20179
Big 122005, 2011, 2012, 20194
Pac-121983, 1984, 1990, 19924
American Athletic2014, 2015, 20163
Atlantic Coast1994, 2006, 20183
Southwest1986, 19932
Western Collegiate1983, 19842
American South19881
Big Ten19991
Independent19821
Sun Belt19851

NCAA Final Four locations

Top-ranked teams

Since the women's tournament began in 1982, 17 teams have entered the tournament ranked #1 in at least 1 poll and gone on to win the tournament:
Only once has the reigning champion not made it to the tournament the next year.
Since 1982, at least one #1 seed has made the Final Four every year.
Under coach Geno Auriemma, Connecticut has been seeded #1 a record 22 times. Tennessee is second with 21 #1 seeds.
All four #1 seeds have made it to the Final Four 4 times :
The championship game has matched two #1 seeds 14 times:
Three teams have beaten three #1 seeds during the course of a tournament :
Prior to the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams, all four #1 seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with three exceptions. Notably, the first two times this occurred were at the hands of the same school:
Lowest seeds to reach each round since the expansion to 64 teams:
Unlike in the men's tournament, no #14 seed has beaten a #3 and no #15 seed has beaten a #2 seed, but they have come close.
Since the expansion to 64 teams in 1994, each seed-pairing has played 104 first-round games with these results:
  1. The #1 seed is 103–1 against the #16 seed.
  2. The #2 & #3 seeds are 104–0 against the #15 & #14 seeds, respectively.
  3. The #4 seed is 98–6 against the #13 seed.
  4. The #5 seed is 82–22 against the #12 seed.
  5. The #6 seed is 72–32 against the #11 seed.
  6. The #7 seed is 67–37 against the #10 seed.
  7. The #9 seed is 55–49 against the #8 seed.

    Second-round games

Since the expansion to 64 teams in 1994, the following results have occurred for each pairing:
vs. #8vs. #9
#148–1 52–2
#160–1

note: The 3 losses by the #1 seed vs #8/9 were: Duke, Ohio St, Texas Tech.

note: The #9 vs. #16 game was Arkansas over Harvard in 1998.
vs. #7vs. #10
#249–13 31–3
#15

vs. #6vs. #11
#345–22 17–12
#14

vs. #5vs. #12
#442–27 18–3
#133–3

Teams entering the tournament unbeaten

Of the 18 teams who have entered the tournament unbeaten, 9 went on to win the National Championship.
Only one team has ever played the Final Four on its home court. Two other teams have played the Final Four in their home cities, and seven others have played the Final Four in their home states.
The only team to play on its home court was Texas in 1987, which lost its semifinal game at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center.
Old Dominion enjoyed nearly as large an advantage in 1983 when the Final Four was played at the Norfolk Scope in its home city of Norfolk, Virginia, but also lost its semifinal. The Scope has never been the Lady Monarchs' regular home court. ODU has always used on-campus arenas, first the ODU Fieldhouse and since 2002 Chartway Arena. The following year, USC won the national title at Pauley Pavilion, the home court of its Los Angeles arch-rival UCLA.
Of the other teams to play in their home states, Stanford won the national title; Notre Dame lost in the championship game; and Western Kentucky, Penn State, Missouri State, LSU, and Baylor lost in the semifinals.

Championship margins

6 championship games have featured two teams from the same conference :
283 teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in at least one year starting with 1982. The results for all years are shown in this table below.
The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:
APP8283848586878889909192939495969798990001020304050607080910111213141516171819
School
Tennessee38''''''''
Stanford33''
Georgia33
Texas32'
UConn31'''''''''''
Louisiana Tech27''
Maryland27'
North Carolina27'
Vanderbilt27
Notre Dame26''
Purdue26'
LSU26
Iowa26
Old Dominion25'
Virginia25
Rutgers25
Ohio State25
Penn State25
North Carolina State25
Duke24
DePaul24
Louisville22
Auburn21
Oklahoma21
Montana21
Texas Tech20'
Western Kentucky20
Washington19
Baylor18'''
Florida State18
Iowa State18
George Washington18
Stephen F. Austin18
Green Bay18
Middle Tennessee18
Michigan State17
Ole Miss17
Arizona State17
Utah17
Liberty17
Southern California16''
South Carolina16'
Texas A&M16'
UCLA16
Clemson16
Kansas State16
Missouri State15
Kentucky15
Oregon15
Florida15
Oklahoma State15
Chattanooga15
California14
Nebraska14
Miami 14
UC Santa Barbara14
Colorado13
Drake13
Kansas13
Missouri13
BYU13
Saint Joseph's13
Long Beach State12
James Madison12
West Virginia12
Marquette12
Holy Cross12
Saint Francis 12
Mississippi State11
Syracuse11
Oregon State11
Arkansas11
Gonzaga11
Villanova11
Bowling Green11
Temple11
Tulane11
Alabama10
Minnesota10
Xavier10
St. John's10
Marist10
Tennessee Tech10
San Diego State9
Virginia Tech9
Georgia Tech9
TCU9
South Dakota State9
Maine9
Hampton9
Dayton8
Illinois8
UNLV8
Southern Miss8
New Mexico8
Michigan8
Toledo8
Princeton8
Boston College7
Arizona7
Memphis7
Creighton7
Northwestern7
SMU7
Wisconsin7
Saint Peter's7
Dartmouth7
Austin Peay7
Fresno State7
Colorado State6
Indiana6
Florida International6
South Florida6
Florida Gulf Coast6
Hartford6
Little Rock6
Harvard6
Albany6
Hawaii6
New Mexico State6
Santa Clara6
Vermont6
Oral Roberts6
Boise State6
Grambling6
Prairie View A&M6
Robert Morris6
Central Michigan5
Providence5
Quinnipiac5
Illinois State5
Houston5
Kent State5
Northern Illinois5
Howard5
Penn5
UCF5
Belmont5
Northwestern State5
Southern5
Georgetown4
Pittsburgh4
Southern Illinois4
Seton Hall4
Delaware4
San Francisco4
Cincinnati4
La Salle4
Idaho4
Jackson State4
Appalachian State4
Bucknell4
Cal State Northridge4
Fairfield4
Manhattan4
North Carolina A&T4
Pepperdine4
Portland4
Radford4
UT Martin4
Cheyney3
Louisiana–Monroe3
Buffalo3
Rice3
Youngstown State3
Fordham3
Richmond3
Wichita State3
Alabama State3
Alcorn State3
Army3
Coppin State3
East Tennessee State3
Georgia State3
Idaho State3
Lehigh3
Navy3
Ohio3
Sacred Heart3
San Diego3
Stetson3
Tennessee State3
Troy3
UC Riverside3
UNC Asheville3
Lamar2
St. Bonaventure2
UAB2
East Carolina2
Tulsa2
UTEP2
Cal State Fullerton2
Saint Mary's2
Western Michigan2
Charlotte2
South Dakota2
Massachusetts2
UTSA2
Western Illinois2
American2
Central Arkansas2
Cleveland State2
Eastern Kentucky2
Eastern Michigan2
Elon2
Evansville2
Florida A&M2
Furman2
Georgia Southern2
Loyola 2
McNeese State2
Mercer2
Milwaukee2
Montana State2
Mount St. Mary's2
Northern Iowa2
Oakland2
Portland State2
Samford2
Southeast Missouri State2
Texas State2
Texas–Arlington2
UC Davis2
Valparaiso2
Weber State2
Western Carolina2
Wright State2
Monmouth1
South Carolina State1
New Orleans1
Wake Forest1
Ball State1
Duquesne1
North Texas1
Eastern Washington1
South Alabama1
Eastern Illinois1
Washington State1
Brown1
UC Irvine1
Butler1
Rhode Island1
Marshall1
Detroit Mercy1
UNC Greensboro1
Northeastern1
Campbell1
Denver1
LIU1
Siena1
Norfolk State1
Boston University1
Colgate1
Lipscomb1
Loyola Marymount1
Canisius1
Florida Atlantic1
Northern Arizona1
Delaware State1
Louisiana1
UMBC1
Cornell1
Miami 1
Murray State1
Wyoming1
VCU1
Drexel1
Gardner–Webb1
Cal Poly1
North Dakota1
Akron1
Winthrop1
Savannah State1
St. Francis Brooklyn1
Iona1
Jacksonville1
Texas Southern1
Nicholls1
Northern Colorado1
Seattle1
Abilene Christian1
Bethune–Cookman1
Towson1

;Notes