Making History: UConn’s Claim to the Throne as the Greatest College Basketball Program

However, how successful has the Huskies’ run been? Do they qualify as a dynasty? Are they the best team ever assembled? We were compelled to develop a set of criteria to compare their performance to that of other teams in the past by their stunning display of dominance, which prompted us to pose these questions.

Final Four rate: NNumber of appearances in the Final Four divided by number of years in the run.

Title game rate: Divide the total number of title game appearances by the total number of run years.

Championship rate:divided by the total number of titles won over the course of the run.

In order to calculate how dominating a program has been over a period of 20 years, 15 years, 10 years, and 5 years—considering players coming and going owing to graduation and new variables like the transfer portal—we arrived at the aforementioned averages. Programs with several runs are what you will observe in order to more clearly identify the times when they were successful.

Therefore, even while it is still tough to call a team a “dynasty,” the viewpoint below should help you better understand how dominating a program has been over time.

For instance, even though UConn has won six titles in the past 25 years, the Huskies have still qualified for 28% of Final Fours and won an astounding 24% of titles throughout that time. Not to mention, they had a ton of NBA talent and three different head coaches. Let us examine each of the runs below:

Greatest run of the 20th century

UCLA (1962-1976)- 15 years

• 13 Final Four appearances (1962, 1964-65, 1967-1976)
• Final Four rate: 86.7%
• 10 title game appearances (1964-65, 1967-73, 1975)
• Title game rate: 66.7%
• 10 championships (1964-65, 1967-1973, 1975)
• Championship rate: 66.7%
• 50-6 overall record in the tournament
• 20-3 in Final Four and national championship games
• 10-0 in national championship
• Head coach: John Wooden
• Notable players: Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Marques Johnson, Walt Hazzard, Rich Washington, Henry Bibby, Dave Meyers, Keith Wilkes, Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe
• Also made Final Four in 1980 (Larry Brown) and won title in 1995 (Jim Harrick)

Greatest run of the 21st century

UConn (1999-present)- 25 years

*While the 21st century technically started in 2001, we included UConn’s first title in 1999 to give a more holistic view of their dominance. Additionally, we excluded the 2020 season from calculations as there was no tournament that year.

• 7 Final Four appearances (1999, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2023-24)
• Final Four rate: 28%
• 6 title game appearances (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023-24)
• Title game rate: 24%
• 6 championships (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023-24)
• Championship rate: 24%
• 51-11 overall record in tournament
• 12-1 all-time in Final Four and national championship games
• 6-0 in national championship
• Head coaches: Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie, Dan Hurley
• Notable players: Ben Gordon, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier, Emeka Okafor, Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Adam Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, Tristen Newton, Donovan Clingan

Best 20-year runs

Duke (1986-2005)

• 10 Final Four appearances (1986, 1988-1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004)
• Final Four rate: 50%
• 7 title game appearances (1986, 1990-92, 1994, 1999, 2001)
• Title game rate: 35%
• 3 championships (1991-92, 2001)
• Championship rate: 15%
• Head coach: Mike Krzyzewski
• Notable players: Christian Laettner, Shane Battier, Grant Hill, Jason Williams, Bobby Hurley, Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer, Danny Ferry, JJ Reddick, Phil Henderson, Mike Dunleavy
• Also won titles in 2010 and 2015 (Mike Krzyzewski)

North Carolina (1991-2010)

• 9 Final Four appearances (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997-98, 2000, 2005, 2008-09)
• Final Four rate: 45%
• 3 title game appearances (1993, 2005, 2009)
• Title game rate: 15%
• 3 championships (1993, 2005, 2009)
• Championship rate: 15%
• Head coaches: Dean Smith, Roy Williams
• Notable players: Tyler Hansrough, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Danny Green, Eric Montross, Rashad McCants, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Raymond Felton
• Also won title in 2017 (Roy Williams)

Kentucky (1993-2012)

• 6 Final Four appearances (1993, 1996-98, 2011-12)
• Final Four rate: 30%
• 4 title game appearances (1996-98, 2012)
• Title game rate: 20%
• 3 championships (1996, 1998, 2012)
• Championship rate: 15%
• Head coaches: Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, John Calipari
• Notable players: Tony Delk, Tayshaun Prince, Jamal Mashburn, Anthony Davis, Scott Padgett, Keith Bogans, Ron Mercer, Antoine Walker, Wayne Turner, Jeff Shephard, Nazr Mohammed
• Also made Final Four in 2014-15 (John Calipari)

Best 15-year runs

Louisville (1972-1986)

• 6 Final Four appearances (1972, 1975, 1980, 1982-83, 1986)
• Final Four rate: 40%
• 2 title game appearances (1980, 1986)
• Title game rate: 13.3%
• 2 championships (1980, 1986)
• Championship rate: 13.3%
• Head coach: Denny Crum
• Notable players: Milt Wagner, Darrell Griffith, Lancaster Gordon, Billy Thompson, Rodney McCray, Charles Jones, Derek Smith, Allen Murphy, Junior Bridgeman, Jim Price, Scooter McCray
• Also won title in 2013 (Rick Pitino)

Florida (1994-2008)

• 4 Final Four appearances (1994, 2000, 2006, 2007)
• Final Four rate: 26.7%
• 3 title game appearances (2000, 2006-07)
• Title game rate: 20%
• 2 championships (2006-07)
• Championship rate: 13.3%
• Head coaches: Lon Kruger, Billy Donovan
• Notable players: Corey Brewer, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey, David Lee, Matt Bonner, Brett Nelson, Teddy Dupay
• Also made Final Four in 2014 (Billy Donovan)

Kansas (2008-2022)

• 4 Final Four appearances (2008, 2012, 2018, 2022)
• Final Four rate: 26.7%
• 3 title game appearances (2008, 2012, 2022)
• Title game rate: 20%
• 2 championships (2008, 2022)
• Championship rate: 13.3%
• Head coach: Bill Self
• Notable players: Devonte’ Graham, Sherron Collins, Marcus Morris, Brandon Rush, Jeff Withey, Frank Mason, Tyshawn Taylor, Darrell Arthur, Christian Braun, Kelly Oubre Jr., Mario Chalmers

Best 10-year run

Kentucky (II) (1942-1951)

• 4 Final Four appearances (1942, 1948-49, 1951)
• Final Four rate: 40%
• 3 title game appearances (1948-49, 1951)
• Title game rate: 30%
• 3 championships (1948-49, 1951)
• Championship rate: 30%
• Head coach: Adolph Rupp
• Notable players: Alex Groza, Bill Spivey, Wallace Jones, Ralph Beard, James Line, Shelby Linville, Frank Ramsey, Cliff Barker, Skippy Whitaker, Bobby Watson, Cliff Hagan
• Also won title in 1958 (Adolph Rupp)

Best five-year run

Cincinnati (1959-63)

• 5 Final Four appearances (1959-1963)
• Final Four rate: 100%
• 3 title game appearances (1961-63)
• Title game rate: 60%
• 2 championships (1961-62)
• Championship rate: 40%
• Head coaches: George Smith, Ed Jucker
• Notable players: Oscar Robertson, Paul Hogue, Bob Wiesenhahn, Tom Thacker, Rob Bonham, George Wilson, Ralph Davis, Tony Yates, Dave Tenwick, Bill Whitaker, Carl Bouldin

Honorable Mentions

Ohio State (1944-1962)- 19 years

• 6 Final Four appearances (1944-1946, 1960-62)
• 3 title game appearances (1960-62)
• 1 championship (1960)
• Head coaches: Harold Olsen, Fred Taylor
• Notable players: Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, Larry Siegfried, Bob Knight, Mel Nowell, Arnold Risen, Paul Huston, Jack Underman, Robert Bowen, Don Grate, Joe Roberts
• Also made Final Four in 1939 and 1968

North Carolina (II) (1967-1982)- 16 years

• 7 Final Four appearances (1967-69, 1972, 1977, 1981-82)
• 4 title game appearances (1968, 1977, 1981-82)
• 1 championship (1982)
• Head coach: Dean Smith
• Notable players: Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Phil Ford, Charlie Scott, Rusty Clark, Al Wood, Walter Davis, Larry Miller, Bob McAdoo, Bill Bunting
• Also won title in 1957 (Frank McGuire)

Kansas (II) (1986-2003)- 18 years

• 6 Final Four appearances (1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2002-03)
• 3 title game appearances (1988, 1991, 2003)
• 1 championship (1988)
• Head coaches: Larry Brown, Roy Williams
• Notable players: Dan Manning, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, Rex Walters, Scot Pollard, Jacques Vaughn, Richard Scott, Raef LaFrentz, Adonis Jordan
• Also made Final Four in 1971 and 1974 (Ted Owens)

UCLA (II) (1995-2008)- 14 years

• 4 Final Four appearances (1995, 2006-08)
• 2 title game appearances (1995, 2006)
• 1 championship (1995)
• Head coaches: Jim Harrick, Ben Howland
• Notable players: Toby Bailey, J.R. Henderson, Darren Collison, Aaron Afflalo, Ed O’Bannon, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Matt Barnes, Charles O’Bannon, Luc Mbah a Moute, Tyus Edney
• Also made Final Four in 2021 (Mick Cronin)

Michigan State (1999-2019)- 21 years

• 8 Final Four appearances (1999-2001, 2005, 2009-10, 2015, 2019)
• 2 title game appearances (2000, 2009)
• 1 championship (2000)
• Most recent Big Ten team to win the title (2000)
• Head coach: Tom Izzo
• Notable players: Andre Hutson, Durrell Summers, Draymond Green, Morris Peterson, Mateen Cleaves, Raymar Morgan, A.J. Granger, Jason Richardson, Goran Suton, Zach Randolph, Kalin Lucas

Villanova (2009-22)- 14 years

• 4 Final Four appearances (2009, 2016, 2018, 2022)
• 2 title game appearances (2016, 2018)
• 2 championships (2016, 2018)
• Head coach: Jay Wright
• Notable players: Jalen Brunson, Jermaine Samuels Jr., Josh Hart, Ryan Arcidiacano, Donte DiVincenzo, Collin Gillespie, Kris Jenkins, Mikal Bridges, Phil Booth, Eric Paschall, Daniel Ochefu