NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
Tournament to determine the NCAA Division III national champion
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 75th NCAA Division I tournament , the championship games in both the NCAA Division II and Division III tournaments were played at Philips Arena, now known as State Farm Arena , in Atlanta .[ 1] From 2014 to 2018, the final game returned to Salem.[ 2] Currently, the Final Four is held in Fort Wayne, Indiana at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum . For 2020 only, the national semifinals were to be played in Fort Wayne, but the championship game was to have returned to Atlanta, with the NCAA choosing to hold the championship games of both Divisions II and III as part of the festivities surrounding the men's Division I Final Four; however, the NCAA decided to abandon the tournament after the second round, 16 teams remaining.[ 3] The NCAA also canceled the 2021 tournament after a majority of D-III conferences chose not to play due to continued COVID-19 issues. Of teams and conferences that played, D3Hoops' top two ranked teams, No. 1 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.
Defunct conferences
Summary
NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship
Year
Finals Site
Championship Game
Semifinalists
Tournament MOP (University)
Winner
Score
Runner-up
1975
Reading, Pennsylvania
LeMoyne-Owen
57-54
Glassboro State
Augustana (IL) Brockport
Bob Newman (LeMoyne-Owen )
1976
Scranton
60-57 (OT )
Wittenberg
Augustana (IL) Plattsburgh State
Jack Maher (Scranton )
1977
Rock Island, Illinois
Wittenberg
79-66
Oneonta State
Scranton Hamline
Rick White (Wittenberg )
1978
North Park
69-57
Widener
Albion Stony Brook
Michael Harper (North Park )
1979
North Park (2)
66-62
SUNY Potsdam
Franklin & Marshall 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)
Ursinus Otterbein
Maxwell Artis (Augustana (IL) )
1982
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Wabash
83-62
Potsdam State
Brooklyn 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
Nebraska Wesleyan Widener
Earnest Hubbard (North Park )
1986
Potsdam State (2)
76-73
LeMoyne-Owen
Nebraska Wesleyan New Jersey City
Roosevelt Bullock (Potsdam State )
1987
North Park (5)
106-100
Clark (MA)
Wittenberg Richard Stockton
Michael Starks (North Park )
1988
Ohio Wesleyan
92-70
Scranton
Nebraska Wesleyan Hartwick
Scott Tedder (Ohio Wesleyan )
1989
Springfield, Ohio
Wisconsin-Whitewater (2)
94-86
Trenton State
Southern Maine Centre
Greg Grant (Trenton State )
1990
Rochester
43-42
DePauw
Washington College Calvin
Chris Fite (Rochester )
1991
Wisconsin-Platteville
81-74
Franklin & Marshall
Otterbein Ramapo
Shawn Frison (Wisconsin-Platteville )
1992
Calvin
62-49
Rochester
Wisconsin-Platteville New Jersey City
Steve Honderd (Calvin )
1993
Buffalo, New York
Ohio Northern
71-68
Augustana (IL)
Rowan UMass-Dartmouth
Kirk Anderson (Augustana (IL) )
1994
Lebanon Valley
66-59 (OT )
NYU
Wittenberg St. Thomas (MN)
Mike Rhoades /Adam Crawford (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
Williams Alvernia
Bryan Crabtree (Illinois Wesleyan )
1998
Wisconsin-Platteville (3)
69-56
Hope
Williams Wilkes
Ben Hoffmann (Wisconsin-Platteville )
1999
Wisconsin-Platteville (4)
76-75 (2OT )
Hampden-Sydney
Connecticut College 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
Illinois Wesleyan Ohio Northern
Pat Maloney (Catholic )
2002
Otterbein
102-83
Elizabethtown
Carthage Rochester
Jeff Gibbs (Otterbein )
2003
Williams
67-65
Gustavus Adolphus
Wooster Hampden-Sydney
Benjamin Coffin (Williams )
2004 [ 5]
Wisconsin-Stevens Point
84-82
Williams
John Carroll Amherst
Nick Bennett (Wisconsin-Stevens Point )
2005
Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2)
73-49
Rochester
Calvin York (PA)
Jason Kalsow (Wisconsin-Stevens Point )
2006
Virginia Wesleyan
59-56[ 6]
Wittenberg
Illinois Wesleyan Amherst
Ton Ton Balenga (Virginia Wesleyan )
2007
Amherst
80-67[ 7]
Virginia Wesleyan
Washington-St. Louis Wooster
Andrew Olson (Amherst )
2008
Washington-St. Louis
90-68
Amherst
Hope 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
Guilford 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
St. Thomas (MN) North Central (IL)
Allen Williamson (Amherst )
2014
Salem, Virginia
Wisconsin-Whitewater (4)
75-73[ 13]
Williams
Amherst 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
Christopher Newport Amherst
Taylor Montero (St. Thomas (MN) )
2017
Babson
79–78
Augustana (IL)
Whitman Williams
Joey Flannery (Babson )
2018
Nebraska Wesleyan
78-72
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Ramapo Springfield
Cooper Cook (Nebraska Wesleyan )
2019
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
96-82
Swarthmore
Christopher Newport 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 bowl-game style championship was organised by top two teams in D3Sports.com polls 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
Wisconsin-Whitewater Swarthmore
Trey Barber (Christopher Newport )
2024
Trine
69-61
Hampden-Sydney
Guilford Trinity (CT)
Cortez Garland (Trine )
2025
2026
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
Championships, by team
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
Programs with at least 20 appearances in the Division III tournament
List below only includes teams that are currently in Division III.
Notes
See also
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
NCAA men's college basketball tournaments
Division I
Early season Defunct Early season Conference postseason Defunct Conference postseason Postseason Defunct Postseason
Division II
Conference postseason Defunct Conference postseason Postseason
Division III
Conference postseason Defunct Conference postseason Postseason