NCAA_Division_III_Women's_Basketball_Tournament

NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament

NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament

Annual tournament

The NCAA Division III women's basketball championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of women's NCAA Division III collegiate basketball in the United States. It was held annually from 1982, when the NCAA began to sponsor women's sports at all three levels, through 2019. No championship was held in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 issues.

Quick Facts Sport, Founded ...

Washington St. Louis has been the most successful program, with five national titles. The most recent champions are NYU, who won their second national title in 2024.

History

1982 Final Four

Held in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, the 1982 Women's Final Four Basketball Tournament was the first sponsored by the NCAA. Featuring host Elizabethtown College, Clark University (Massachusetts), Pomona College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the tournament was played in a classic field house over a three-day period. In the first game of the National Semi-Final Elizabethtown took control right from the tip-off against Clark and easily cruised to a 71–51 victory. In the second game of the Final Four Pomona took the lead early in the game, but UNC Greensboro battled back to tie the game at 56 with six minutes to play. UNC Greensboro then went on a run and pulled away for a 77–66 win. Elizabethtown and UNC Greensboro turned the championship game into an epic battle of lead changes and shifts in momentum. Last second heroics by UNC Greensboro sent the game into overtime, but Elizabethtown came up with the final stop in overtime to win 67–66 in overtime. Television coverage was provided by a fledgling ESPN while exclusive radio coverage was provided by KSPC Radio - Pomona College's tiny KSPC sports broadcasting group with Geoff Willis (Pomona '83) and James Timmerman (Pomona '82) providing the play by play and color. ESPN was so embryonic that the game was broadcast multiple times during the following two weeks and ESPN hired the KSPC Radio staff to help with background and color research about the players and the teams.

Results

More information Year, Finals Site ...

Championships

Washington
Washington
Amherst
Amherst
Hope
Hope
DePauw
DePauw
UWSP
UWSP
Capital
Capital
Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown
TMU
TMU
Transylvania
Transylvania
FDUF
FDUF
IWU
IWU
George Fox
George Fox
Howard Payne
Howard Payne
Trinity
Trinity
Concordia
Concordia
Rust
Rust
Central
Central
St. Thomas
St. Thomas
UWO
UWO
SalemState
Salem
State
NYU
NYU
Millikin
Millikin
Wilmington
Wilmington
Alma
Alma
Scranton
Scranton
North Central
North Central
Schools that have won the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship
5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Active programs

More information Team, Titles ...

Former programs

More information Team, Titles ...
  1. 2015 championship vacated by Thomas More, which returned to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in July 2019, but rejoined the NCAA in July 2022, that time as a Division II provisional member, albeit on a one-year dual membership with the NAIA.

Final Fours

Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III.

More information Appearances, School ...

See also

Footnotes

  1. [n 1]
    Only the final game was held in Indianapolis. The semifinals were held at Performance Arena at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.[10]
  2. [n 2]
    Only the final game was held in Dallas. The semifinals were held at Oosting Gymnasium on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.[15][16]
  1. [N 1]
    As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division II.
  2. [N 2]
    As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division I.
  3. [N 3]
    As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of the NAIA.

References

  1. [1]
    "Wooley's jump shot proves to be game-winner". ESPN. Associated Press. March 22, 2003. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  2. [2]
    "Lady Quakers win first national title". ESPN. AP. March 21, 2004. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  3. [3]
    "Ippel leads Millikin with 25 points". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2005. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  4. [4]
    "George Fox finishes perfect season". ESPN. AP. March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  5. [5]
    "Washington University wins fifth Division III title since 1998". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  6. [6]
    ESPNBoston.com (March 17, 2012). "Amherst College women lose consolation". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  7. [7]
    Bates, Greg (March 22, 2014). "Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham wins NCAA Division 3 women's national championship". Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  8. [8]
    "D3 team has to vacate a title because Randy Moss' daughter stayed with a coach while recovering from injury". SBNation. Vox Media. November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  9. [9]
    "Thomas More College vs. George Fox U." www.d3hoops.com. March 21, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  10. [10]
    "Women's basketball championship play dates decided" (Press release). NCAA. December 15, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  11. [11]
    "Thomas More caps off second-straight undefeated season with second-straight title". NCAA.com. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  12. [12]
    "Perfect Champions! Amherst Completes Undefeated Season as National Champs". Amherst College. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  13. [13]
    "No ESPN, no endorsement deals, no problem for Amherst College basketball champs". BostonGlobe.com. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  14. [14]
    Sarver, Troy (March 16, 2019). "Division III women's basketball: Thomas More wins national championship". Roanoke Times. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  15. [15]
    "Combined championships for NCAA basketball planned" (Press release). NCAA. April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  16. [16]
    "Future NCAA host site selections through 2026" (Press release). NCAA. October 22, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
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