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I was reading the history of the NCAA Tournament and while I knew they had a pretty constrained number of teams and competed with the NIT, I didn't realize how limited the competition was. It's fair to downgrade championships from before that era.
Teams would decline NCAA bids to participate in the NIT as late as 1970.
The inclusion of multiple teams from a given conference wasn't allowed until 1975, and even then only permitted 2 per conference. That restriction was only lifted in 1980.
The Tournament finally reached its near-current form with a 64-team field in 1985.
Where do we draw the line? That's debatable, but I would argue that pre-1970 championships are clearly diminished in value, and post-1985 championships are clearly legit.
If we use the most generous criteria, post-1970 multiple champions are:
5 - UConn
5 - Duke
5 - UNC
5 - UCLA
4 - Kentucky
3 - Kansas
3 - Indiana
3 - Villanova
2 - Florida
2 - MSU
2 - Louisville (3rd vacated)
2- NC State
By the most restrictive criteria, post-1985 multiple champions are:
5 - UConn
5 - Duke
4 - UNC
3 - Kentucky
3 - Kansas
3 - Villanova
2 - Florida
Either way, this weekend, we have the opportunity to cement ourselves as the winningest program (championship-wise) of the modern era.
Teams would decline NCAA bids to participate in the NIT as late as 1970.
The inclusion of multiple teams from a given conference wasn't allowed until 1975, and even then only permitted 2 per conference. That restriction was only lifted in 1980.
The Tournament finally reached its near-current form with a 64-team field in 1985.
Where do we draw the line? That's debatable, but I would argue that pre-1970 championships are clearly diminished in value, and post-1985 championships are clearly legit.
If we use the most generous criteria, post-1970 multiple champions are:
5 - UConn
5 - Duke
5 - UNC
5 - UCLA
4 - Kentucky
3 - Kansas
3 - Indiana
3 - Villanova
2 - Florida
2 - MSU
2 - Louisville (3rd vacated)
2- NC State
By the most restrictive criteria, post-1985 multiple champions are:
5 - UConn
5 - Duke
4 - UNC
3 - Kentucky
3 - Kansas
3 - Villanova
2 - Florida
Either way, this weekend, we have the opportunity to cement ourselves as the winningest program (championship-wise) of the modern era.