Tracking the teams that have never made the men’s NCAA tournament
Tracking the teams that have never made the men’s NCAA tournament
In the long history of the NCAA tournament, a field that has now grown to 68 teams, there are still a surprising number of programs waiting to participate in their first madness in March.
Stetson and Grambling State are the latest teams that have come from this club. Both secured the NCAA tournament offers for the first time in 2024.
If you return to the tournament in 1939, thousands of total places were available. Yet, of the hundreds of male basketball teams that are currently in division I, some eligible programs have never played at the NCAA tournament. Note that more programs will be eligible after completing their transition to DI.
The state of Kennesaw left the list after qualifying for the NCAA 2023.
Two teams first qualified in 2022: Longwood and Bryant. In 2021, Grand Canyon and Hartford first performed a tournament.
Below is a complete list of teams that have never reached the NCAA tournament for men. The reminder, victory in the conference tournament provides an eligible team automatic offer for the NCAA tournament.
| School | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|
| Army | Patriot |
| Bellarmine* | Gear |
| Bethune-Cookman | Swac |
| Cal Baptist | WAC |
| Central Arkansas | Gear |
| Chicago State | Nec |
| Citadel | Continue |
| Denver | Summit League |
| Elon | Caa |
| High point | Big South |
| Embodied word | Soutyland |
| Kansas City | Summit League |
| Maine | America east |
| Maryland Eastern Shore | Mark |
| Merrimack | Nec |
| New Hampshire | America east |
| Njit | America east |
| North Alabama | Gear |
| Omha | Summit League |
| Presbyterian | Big South |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | Horizon League |
| Quinnipiac | Maac |
| State sacramento | Big sky |
| Sacred heart | Maac |
| Siue | Ohio Valley |
| Souther | Summit League |
| Tarleton State* | WAC |
| Uc riverside | Big West |
| UC San Diego* | Big West |
| Umass Lowell | America east |
| USC UPSTATE | Big South |
| Out Martin | Ohio Valley |
| UtrgV | Soutyland |
| Utah tech* | WAC |
| Utah Valley | WAC |
| Western Illinois | Ohio Valley |
| William & Mary | Caa |
| Youngstown State | Horizon League |
*For the first time after completing the transition to DI eligible for the first time for the 2024-25 season
Note: East Texas A & M, Le Moyne, Lindenwood, Mercyhurst, Queens, Southern Indiana, Stonehill, St. Thomas and West Georgia are not eligible for the 2025 tournament because they are still finishing the transition to DI.
The tournament grew from the initial eight teams, in 1951 it moved to 16 and then continued to grow until 1985, when it reached its well -known format 64.
Games in the play-in have appeared over the years, but have become a permanent accessory in 2001, when the total number of teams came across 65. In 2011, playing was expanded to create the first four, the opening round that helped fill the 64 years round. Since 2011, 68 teams each year performed the NCAA tournament.
Two teams performed the NCAA tournament, but they were not part of the holder, as most of us know. Houston Baptist made a preliminary round in 1984, when there were 53 teams in the tournament, but lost in Alcorn. Alabama A&M won SWAC in 2005 and earned a school lonely automatic offer, but in the tournament game dropped to Oakland 79-69.
This list includes another small but more impressive group – four teams that were eligible for each NCAA tournament, but couldn’t get into one.
In 2017, Northwestern gained a lot of attention, because Wildcats-will one of the five original teams that have never done the tournament-like qualified for his first tournament, but actually won victory and possibly won Gonzaga for his money in the second round.
Other four teams that were eligible for each tournament, not dance once, are the army, William & Mary and Citadel.
In 1968, the army actually qualified for the NCAA tournament, but coach Bobby Knight thought that black knights would have a better shot in the thread and refused the invitation. Army lost its first game in Nitre Dame.
