NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament

NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
Current season, competition or edition:; Trine (2024; 1st title)
Most titles	North Park (5 titles)
TV partner(s)	CBS Sports Network
Official website	NCAA.com

The NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament (officially styled as "Championship" instead of "Tournament") is a tournament to determine the NCAA Division III national champion. It has been held annually from 1975 to 2019 & since 2022, but not played in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 issues.

From 1996 to 2012 and 2014 to 2018, the NCAA Division III men's basketball championship was held at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia. The event had been hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the City of Salem. From 2017 to 2020 & since 2022, the tournament has been a 64-team single-elimination tournament, with teams advancing from four sectionals to the semifinals and final in Fort Wayne.

For 2013, as part of the celebration of the

Randolph-Macon College and No. 2 Trine University, opted to play a self-organised mythical national championship game. Randolph-Macon won, 69-55.^[4]

Trine is the defending national champion, beating Hampden–Sydney 69–61 in the 2024 championship.

Qualification

Since 2023–24, a total of 64 bids have been available for each tournament:

42 automatic bids, awarded to the champions of all Division III conferences.
22 at-large bids.

Conference tournaments

Schools in italics are, as of the current 2023–24 basketball season, no longer members of that specific conference.

NCAA Division III men's conference tournaments
Conference	Tournament	Most titles	Current champion (2024)
Allegheny Mountain	Tournament	Penn State Behrend (6)	La Roche (6th)
American Rivers	Tournament	Buena Vista (7)	Loras (3rd)
American Southwest	Tournament	Texas–Dallas (5)	Texas–Dallas (5th)
Atlantic East	Tournament	Marymount (2)	Marymount (2nd)
Centennial	Tournament	Franklin & Marshall (8)	Swarthmore (4th)
CUNYAC	Tournament	Staten Island (15)	Baruch (6th)
Coast to Coast (C2C)	Tournament	Catholic (7)	Christopher Newport (6th)
CCIW	Tournament	Augustana (6)	Elmhurst (3rd)
CCS*	Tournament	Maryville (TN) (2)	Maryville (TN) (2nd)
Commonwealth Coast	Tournament	Endicott (7)	Roger Williams (3rd)
Empire 8	Tournament	St. John Fisher (8)	Utica (2nd)
Great Northeast	Tournament	Albertus Magnus (9)	Saint Joseph (CT) (3rd)
Heartland	Tournament	Hanover (6)	Anderson (2nd)
Landmark	Tournament	Scranton (8)	Catholic (3rd)
Liberty	Tournament	Skidmore (5)	Hobart (3rd)
Little East	Tournament	UMass Dartmouth (12)	Keene State (7th)
MASCAC	Tournament	Salem State (18)	Worcester State (3rd)
Michigan	Tournament	Hope (15)	Hope (15th)
MAC Commonwealth	Tournaments	Scranton (16)	Eastern (1st)
MAC Freedom	Tournaments	Scranton (16)	Stevens (3rd)
Midwest	Tournament	Ripon (8)	Illinois College (3rd)
Minnesota	Tournament	St. Thomas (9)	Gustavus Adolphus (4th)
NESCAC	Tournament	Amherst (8)	Trinity (2nd)
NEWMAC	Tournament	Babson & MIT (6)	Babson (6th)
NJAC	Tournament	Stockton (6)	TCNJ (2nd)
North Atlantic	Championship	Husson (9)	Husson (9th)
NCAC	Tournament	Wooster (16th)	Wabash (3rd)
NACC	Tournament	Aurora (5)	Wisconsin Lutheran (2nd)
Northwest	Tournament	Whitworth (16)	Whitworth (16th)
Ohio	Tournament	Wittenberg (14)	John Carroll (6th)
ODAC	Tournament	Hampden-Sydney (11)	Hampden-Sydney (11th)
Presidents	Tournament	Bethany (6)	Geneva (1st)
SLIAC	Tournament	Fontbonne (7)	Fontbonne (7th)
Skyline	Tournament	Farmingdale State (7)	Farmingdale State (7th)
SAA	Tournament	Berry (4)	Berry (4th)
SCIAC	Tournament	Claremont–Mudd–Scripps (7)	Claremont–Mudd–Scripps (7th)
SCAC	Tournament	Trinity (TX) (6)	Centenary (LA) (2nd)
SUNYAC	Tournament	Buffalo State (15)	New Paltz (1st)
United East	Championship	Morrisville State (5)	Penn State Harrisburg (3rd)
UAA	No tournament
UMAC	Tournament	Northwestern–St. Paul (13)	Bethany Lutheran (4rd)
USA South	Tournament	Christopher Newport (15)	Mary Baldwin
WIAC	Tournament	Wisconsin–Stevens Point (9)	Wisconsin–Platteville (4th)

Defunct conferences

Defunct NCAA Division III men's conference tournaments
Conference	Tournament	First year	Last year	Most titles
Colonial States	Tournament	1994	2023	Cabrini (13)
NECC	Tournament	2009	2023	Mitchell (4)

Summary

NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship
Year	Finals Site	Championship Game			Semifinalists	Tournament MOP (University)
Year	Finals Site	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Tournament MOP (University)
1975	Reading, Pennsylvania	LeMoyne–Owen	57–54	Glassboro State	Brockport	Bob Newman ( LeMoyne–Owen )
1976	Reading, Pennsylvania	Scranton	60–57 (OT)	Wittenberg	Plattsburgh State	Jack Maher ( Scranton )
1977	Rock Island, Illinois	Wittenberg	79–66	Oneonta State	Hamline	Rick White ( Wittenberg )
1978		North Park	69–57	Widener	Albion Stony Brook	North Park )
1979		North Park (2)	66–62	SUNY Potsdam	Centre	Michael Harper ( North Park )
1980		North Park (3)	83–76	Upsala	Wittenberg Longwood	Michael Thomas ( North Park )
1981		Potsdam State	67–65 (OT)	Augustana (IL)	Otterbein	Maxwell Artis ( Augustana–IL )
1982	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Wabash	83–62	Potsdam State	Stanislaus State	Pete Metzelaars (Wabash)
1983		Scranton (2)	64–63	Wittenberg	Roanoke Wisconsin–Whitewater	Bill Bessoir ( Scranton )
1984		Wisconsin–Whitewater	103–86	Clark (MA)	DePauw Upsala	Andre McKoy (Wisconsin–Whitewater)
1985		North Park (4)	72–71	Potsdam State	Widener	Earnest Hubbard ( North Park )
1986		Potsdam State (2)	76–73	LeMoyne–Owen	New Jersey City	Roosevelt Bullock ( Potsdam State )
1987		North Park (5)	106–100	Clark (MA)	Richard Stockton	Michael Starks ( North Park )
1988		Ohio Wesleyan	92–70	Scranton	Hartwick	Scott Tedder (Ohio Wesleyan)
1989	Springfield, Ohio	Wisconsin–Whitewater (2)	94–86	Trenton State	Centre	Greg Grant (Trenton State)
1990		Rochester	43–42	DePauw	Washington College Calvin	Chris Fite (Rochester)
1991		Wisconsin–Platteville	81–74	Franklin & Marshall	Ramapo	Shawn Frison (Wisconsin–Platteville)
1992		Calvin	62–49	Rochester	New Jersey City	Steve Honderd (Calvin)
1993	Buffalo, New York	Ohio Northern	71–68	Augustana (IL)	UMass–Dartmouth	Kirk Anderson ( Augustana–IL )
1994		Lebanon Valley	66–59 (OT)	NYU	Wittenberg St. Thomas (MN)	Lebanon Valley/NYU )
1995		Wisconsin–Platteville (2)	69–55	Manchester (IN)	Rowan Trinity (CT)	Ernie Peavy (Wisconsin–Platteville)
1996	Salem, Virginia	Rowan	100–93	Hope	Illinois Wesleyan Franklin & Marshall	Terrence Stewart ( Rowan )
1997		Illinois Wesleyan	89–86	Nebraska Wesleyan	Alvernia	Bryan Crabtree ( Illinois Wesleyan )
1998		Wisconsin–Platteville (3)	69–56	Hope	Wilkes	Ben Hoffmann (Wisconsin–Platteville)
1999		Wisconsin–Platteville (4)	76–75 (2OT)	Hampden–Sydney	William Paterson	Merrill Brunson (Wisconsin–Platteville)
2000		Calvin (2)	79–74	Wisconsin–Eau Claire	Salem State Franklin & Marshall	Sherm Carstensen ( Wisconsin-Eau Claire )
2001		Catholic	76–62	William Paterson	Ohio Northern	Pat Maloney (Catholic)
2002		Otterbein	102–83	Elizabethtown	Carthage Rochester	Otterbein )
2003		Williams	67–65	Gustavus Adolphus	Wooster Hampden–Sydney	Benjamin Coffin (Williams)
2004^[5]		Wisconsin–Stevens Point	84–82	Williams	Amherst	Nick Bennett (Wisconsin–Stevens Point)
2005		Wisconsin–Stevens Point (2)	73–49	Rochester	York (PA)	Jason Kalsow (Wisconsin–Stevens Point)
2006		Virginia Wesleyan	59–56^[6]	Wittenberg	Amherst	Ton Ton Balenga (Virginia Wesleyan)
2007		Amherst	80–67^[7]	Virginia Wesleyan	Wooster	Andrew Olson ( Amherst )
2008		Washington–St. Louis	90–68	Amherst	Ursinus	Troy Ruths (Washington–St. Louis)
2009		Washington–St. Louis (2)	61–52^[8]	Richard Stockton	Guilford Franklin & Marshall	Sean Wallis (Washington–St. Louis)
2010		Wisconsin–Stevens Point (3)	78–73^[9]	Williams	Randolph–Macon	Matt Moses (Wisconsin–Stevens Point)
2011		St. Thomas (MN)	78–54^[10]	Wooster	Middlebury Williams	Tyler Nicolai (St. Thomas–MN)
2012		Wisconsin–Whitewater (3)	63–60^[11]	Cabrini	Illinois Wesleyan MIT	Chris Davis (Wisconsin–Whitewater)
2013	Atlanta, Georgia^[a]	Amherst (2)	87–70^[12]	Mary Hardin–Baylor	North Central (IL)	Allen Williamson ( Amherst )
2014	Salem, Virginia	Wisconsin–Whitewater (4)	75–73^[13]	Williams	Illinois Wesleyan	K. J. Evans (Wisconsin–Whitewater)
2015		Wisconsin–Stevens Point (4)	70–54	Augustana (IL)	Babson Virginia Wesleyan	Austin Ryf (Wisconsin–Stevens Point)
2016		St. Thomas (MN) (2)	82–76	Benedictine	Amherst	Taylor Montero (St. Thomas-MN)
2017		Babson	79–78	Augustana (IL)	Whitman Williams	Joey Flannery ( Babson )
2018		Nebraska Wesleyan	78–72	Wisconsin–Oshkosh	Springfield	Cooper Cook ( Nebraska Wesleyan )
2019	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Wisconsin-Oshkosh	96–82	Swarthmore	Wheaton (IL)	Jack Flynn (Wisconsin–Oshkosh)
2020	Atlanta, Georgia^[b]	Abandoned after second round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Not held because insufficient number of Division III schools played a season because of pandemic. A Randolph-Macon defeated Trine, 69-55, on campus in Ashland, VA.^[14]
2022		Randolph-Macon	75–45	Elmhurst	Marietta Wabash	Buzz Anthony ( Randolph-Macon )
2023		Christopher Newport	74–72	Mount Union	Swarthmore	Trey Barber (Christopher Newport)
2024		Trine	69–61	Hampden–Sydney	Guilford Trinity (CT)	Cortez Garland ( Trine )
2025
2026

Source: ^[15]

Notes

^ Only the championship game was played in Atlanta. The semifinals were played at the then-traditional site of the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.
^ Only the championship game would have been played in Atlanta. The semifinals would have been played at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Locations

Reading, Pennsylvania 1975–1976
Rock Island, Illinois 1977–1981
Grand Rapids, Michigan 1982–1988
Springfield, Ohio 1989–1992
Buffalo, New York 1993–1995
Salem, Virginia 1996-2018 (semifinals only in 2013)
Atlanta 2013 (championship game only)
Fort Wayne, Indiana 2019, 2022–

Championships, by team

North Park

UWSP

UWW

UWP

Amherst

Calvin

Potsdam

Scranton

WashU

Babson

Catholic

CNU

IWU

LVC

LeMoyne–Owen

NWU

ONU

OWU

Ott.

RMC

Rochester

Rowan

Trine

Virginia Wesleyan

Wabash

Williams

Witt.

UWO

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National championships among active Division III programs:

5,

4,

3,

2,

1

Active programs

Team	Titles	Years
North Park	5	1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1987
Wisconsin–Stevens Point}	4	2004, 2005, 2010, 2015
Wisconsin–Whitewater	4	1984, 1989, 2012, 2014
Wisconsin–Platteville	4	1991, 1995, 1998, 1999
Amherst	2	2007, 2013
Calvin	2	1992, 2000
Scranton	2	1976, 1983
SUNY Potsdam	2	1981, 1986
Washington–St. Louis	2	2008, 2009
Trine	1	2024
Christopher Newport	1	2023
Randolph–Macon	1	2022
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	1	2019
Nebraska Wesleyan	1	2018
Babson	1	2017
Virginia Wesleyan	1	2006
Williams	1	2003
Otterbein	1	2002
Catholic	1	2001
Illinois Wesleyan	1	1997
Rowan	1	1996
Lebanon Valley	1	1994
Ohio Northern	1	1993
Rochester	1	1990
Ohio Wesleyan	1	1988
Wabash	1	1982
Wittenberg	1	1977

Former programs

Team	Titles	Years
St. Thomas (MN)^{[Note 1]}	2	2011, 2016
LeMoyne–Owen^{[Note 2]}	1	1975

Programs with at least 20 appearances in the Division III tournament

List below only includes teams that are currently in Division III.

Bids	School	Conference	First Bid	Most Recent
30	Hope	Michigan	1982	2024
30	Wittenberg	North Coast	1975	2020
29	Scranton	Landmark	1975	2023
29	Wooster	North Coast	1978	2020
27	Christopher Newport	Coast to Coast	1986	2024
26	Illinois Wesleyan	CCIW	1984	2022
25	Franklin & Marshall	Centennial	1975	2018
25	Salem State	MASCAC	1980	2019
25	Washington–St. Louis	UAA	1987	2024
23	Calvin	Michigan	1980	2024
22	Wisconsin–Whitewater	Wisconsin	1983	2023
20	Amherst	NESCAC	1994	2019
20	Maryville (TN)	CCS	1991	2019
20	Randolph–Macon	Old Dominion	1990	2024
20	Williams	NESCAC	1994	2024

Notes

^ As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division I.
^ As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division II.

References

^ "Success paves way for 75th celebration" (Press release). NCAA. May 10, 2012. Archived from the original on May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
^ "Preliminary round sites announced for 2014, 2015 NCAA tournaments". NCAA. December 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
^ "Combined championships for NCAA basketball planned" (Press release). NCAA. April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
^ "EDITORIAL: Randolph-Macon wins mythical national title". Fredricksburg.com. (Fredricksburg) Free Lance-Star.
^ Kalsow comes through for Pointers - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
^ Balenga leads Virginia Wesleyan to title - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
^ Amherst notches first D-III basketball championship - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
^ Washington University repeats as Division-III champion - ESPN
^ Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers rally to beat Williams College for DIII title - ESPN
^ St. Thomas pounds Wooster for NCAA Division III men's title - ESPN
^ Wisconsin-Whitewater wins D-III men's hoops crown - ESPN
^ 'Willy stuff' helps Amherst to Division III national title
^ "It's a family tradition at Whitewater; KJ Evans earns MOP, follows in uncle's footsteps". NCAA. NCAA.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
^ "Randolph-Macon runs out to win in showdown". D3Sports.com. Presto Sports. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
^ "Division III Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

External links

[12] Only the championship game was played in Atlanta. The semifinals were played at the then-traditional site of the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.

[15] Only the championship game would have been played in Atlanta. The semifinals would have been played at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

[CurrentDI-18] As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division I.

[CurrentDII-19] As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division II.

[1] "Success paves way for 75th celebration" (Press release). NCAA. May 10, 2012. Archived from the original on May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.

[For_2014,_the_NCAA_Division_III_men's_basketball_tournament_will_return_to_Salem.-2] "Preliminary round sites announced for 2014, 2015 NCAA tournaments". NCAA. December 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.

[3] "Combined championships for NCAA basketball planned" (Press release). NCAA. April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.

[4] "EDITORIAL: Randolph-Macon wins mythical national title". Fredricksburg.com. (Fredricksburg) Free Lance-Star.

[5] Kalsow comes through for Pointers - Men's College Basketball - ESPN

[6] Balenga leads Virginia Wesleyan to title - Men's College Basketball - ESPN

[7] Amherst notches first D-III basketball championship - Men's College Basketball - ESPN

[8] Washington University repeats as Division-III champion - ESPN

[9] Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers rally to beat Williams College for DIII title - ESPN

[10] St. Thomas pounds Wooster for NCAA Division III men's title - ESPN

[11] Wisconsin-Whitewater wins D-III men's hoops crown - ESPN

[13] 'Willy stuff' helps Amherst to Division III national title

[14] "It's a family tradition at Whitewater; KJ Evans earns MOP, follows in uncle's footsteps". NCAA. NCAA.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.

[16] "Randolph-Macon runs out to win in showdown". D3Sports.com. Presto Sports. Retrieved 2021-09-26.

[17] "Division III Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

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[6]

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[Note 1]

[Note 2]

v t e NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
Tournaments	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 ~~2021~~ 2022 2023 2024
Records	Appearances

v t e National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA	Awards Hall of Champions Conferences
Division I	Institutions Athletic directors Non-football programs Never sponsored football Realignment 1928–2009 2010– Baseball championship MCWS Basketball men women Cross country men women Field hockey championship Football FBS FCS Golf men women Ice hockey men Lacrosse men women Rowing women Soccer men women Softball championship WCWS Swimming and diving men women Tennis men women Track and field men's indoor and outdoor women's indoor and outdoor Volleyball women Wrestling championship
Division II	Institutions Baseball championship Basketball men women Cross country men women Field hockey championship Football championship Golf men women Gymnastics men women Ice hockey men Lacrosse men women Rowing women Soccer men women Softball championship Swimming and diving men women Tennis men women Track and field men's indoor and outdoor women's indoor and outdoor Volleyball women Wrestling championship
Division III	Institutions Baseball championship Basketball men women Cross country men women Field hockey championship Football championship Golf men women Ice hockey men women Lacrosse men women Rowing women Soccer men women Softball championship Swimming and diving men women Tennis men women Track and field Men's indoor and outdoor Women's indoor and outdoor Volleyball men women Wrestling championship
Single-division or National Collegiate sports and championships	Beach volleyball women Bowling women Boxing championship Fencing championship Ice hockey women Gymnastics men women Rifle championship Skiing championship Trampoline championship Volleyball men Water polo men women
Related topics	College athletics in the United States List of college athletics championship game outcomes
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