The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament (officially styled by the NCAA as a "Championship" instead of a "Tournament") is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of schools in the United States (plus one school in Canada) that are generally smaller than the higher-profile institutions grouped in Division I. The tournament, originally known as the NCAA College Division Basketball Championship, was established in 1957, immediately after the NCAA subdivided its member schools into the University Division (today's Division I) and College Division. It became the Division II championship in 1974, when the NCAA split the College Division into the limited-scholarship Division II and the non-scholarship Division III, and added the "Men's" designation in 1982 when the NCAA began sponsoring a Division II women's championship.
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1957 |
| No. of teams | 64 (reduced to 48 for 2021 only) |
| Country | NCAA Division II (USA) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Minnesota State (1st title) (2024) |
| Most titles | Kentucky Wesleyan (8 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | CBS (Finals) CBS Sports Network (Semifinals) |
| Official website | NCAA.com |
Like all other NCAA basketball divisions for men and women, the champion is decided in a single-elimination tournament. The Division II tournament normally involves 64 teams. The Division II tournaments for men and women differ in a major respect from those in Divisions I and III. The finals of both Division II tournaments consist of eight teams, instead of the four in the other two divisions. The eight survivors of regional play meet in the Elite Eight at a predetermined site.
Qualification
editA total of 64 bids are normally available for each tournament: 23 automatic bids (awarded to the champion of each Division II all-sports conference) and 41 at-large bids. Due to COVID-19 issues, the 2020 tournament was canceled, and the 2021 tournament was reduced to 48 teams when nine all-sports conferences chose not to compete in men's basketball in 2020–21.
The bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West), all but one of which contain three of the 23 Division II conferences that sponsor men's basketball. The South Central region contains only two conferences. Each regional tournament involves an appropriate number of automatic qualifiers (teams that won their respective conference tournaments), with the remaining participants entering via at-large bids (which are awarded regardless of conference affiliation).
Conference tournaments
editSchools in italics are, as of the upcoming 2024–25 Division II basketball season, no longer members of that specific conference.
- ^ Also includes D-II independent Salem
- ^ Also includes D-II independents UPR Bayamón, UPR Mayagüez, and UPR Río Piedras
Results
edit- ^ Kentucky Wesleyan subsequently forfeited its 2003 runner-up status after it was revealed they had let two ineligible transfer players play.[1]
- ^ Philips Arena in Atlanta, now known as State Farm Arena, was the site of the championship game only. The rest of the Elite Eight was played at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
- ^ State Farm Arena was scheduled as the site of the championship game only. The Elite Eight quarterfinals and semifinals would have been played at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Records and statistics
editChampionships by school
editTeam appearances
edit
Sound
State
State
Lowell
State
State
8, 
5, 
4, 
3, 
2, 
1Former Division II champions now in other classes
editDivision I
editSource:[10]
| School | Championship(s) | Year moved | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 1958 | 2006 | The Summit League |
| Evansville | 1959 • 1960 • 1964 • 1965 • 1971 | 1977 | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Mount St. Mary's | 1962 | 1989 | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference |
| South Dakota State | 1963 | 2005 | The Summit League |
| Morgan State | 1974 | 1985 | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
| Old Dominion | 1975 | 1976 | Sun Belt Conference |
| Chattanooga | 1977 | 1977 | Southern Conference |
| North Alabama | 1979 • 1991 | 2018 | Atlantic Sun Conference |
| Wright State | 1983 | 1988 | Horizon League |
| Jacksonville State | 1985 | 1996 | Conference USA |
| Sacred Heart | 1986 | 1999 | Northeast Conference |
| UMass Lowell | 1988 | 2013 | America East Conference |
| North Carolina Central | 1989 | 2008 | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
| Bakersfield | 1993 • 1994 • 1997 | 2007 | Big West Conference |
| Southern Indiana | 1995 | 2022 | Ohio Valley Conference |
| UC Davis | 1998 | 2004 | Big West Conference |
| Kennesaw State | 2004 | 2006 | Atlantic Sun Conference (Conference USA in 2024–25) |
| Bellarmine | 2011 | 2020 | Atlantic Sun Conference |
Division III
editSource:[11]
| School | Championship(s) | Year moved | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheaton (IL) | 1957 | 1974 | College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin |
| Wittenberg | 1961 | 1974 | North Coast Athletic Conference |
| Roanoke | 1972 | 1976 | Old Dominion Athletic Conference |
| Puget Sound | 1976 | 1996 | Northwest Conference |
Broadcasting
editCBS Sports holds rights to the semi-final and final rounds of the Division II tournament, with the semi-final games broadcast on CBS Sports Network and the final on CBS (covered as part of the NCAA March Madness package). In 2015, CBS Sports reached a long-term deal to continue broadcasting the Division II men's semi-final on CBS Sports Network through 2024.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Kentucky Wesleyan Forfeits an Honor". The New York Times. August 7, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Ballarmine wins national championship". The Courier-Journal. March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Calm, cool and collected". April 7, 2013. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013.
- ^ Bowker, Paul D. (March 28, 2015). "Gutsy championship". NCAA.com. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ "Augustana wins 2016 NCAA Division II men's basketball championship". ncaa.com. NCAA. March 26, 2016.
- ^ "DII basketball: Northwest Missouri State handles Fairmont State to win first championship". ncaa.com. NCAA. March 25, 2017.
- ^ "DII men's basketball championship: Ferris State wins program's first title in thriller over Northern State". ncaa.com. NCAA. March 24, 2018.
- ^ "Division II Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). NCAA.
- ^ "Men's Basketball DII History - NCAA.com". NCAA.com.
- ^ "Division I Men's Basketball Institutions". NCAA Directory.
- ^ "Division III Men's Basketball Institutions". NCAA Directory.
- ^ "CBS Sports Network to televise Division II basketball semifinals through 2024". NCAA. October 22, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2017.