The first four games of the 2023 March Madness Women’s tournament start Wednesday and Thursday, March 15-16. This will be the 42nd women’s tournament in NCAA history.
The first Division 1 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship tournament took place in 1982. The matchup was between Louisiana Tech, who ended up being crowned champion, and Cheyney State. It was not the first championship game to be played in the sport, but it was the first to be held under the auspices of the NCAA.
Cheyney State also made history, although, they didn’t quite know it yet. They were the only HBCU to make it to the championship game and to the Final Four. They remain the only HBCU to make it to the championship to this day.
Howard University and Jackson State also appeared in the 1982 tournament, but only Cheyney State made it to the last dance. Since then, 19 HBCU women’s basketball programs have played in the March Madness bracket. Hampton has the most appearances in the tournament for an HBCU with 9 appearances, but have yet to win a game.
The University of Tennessee and the University of Connecticut have dominated the championships with eight and 11 national titles, respectively.
| Year | Champion | Coach | Record | Runner-Up |
| 2022 | South Carolina | Dawn Staley | 35-2 | UConn |
| 2021 | Stanford | Tara VanDerveer | 31-2 | Arizona |
| 2020 | Canceled* | – | – | – |
| 2019 | Baylor | Kim Mulkey | 37-1 | Notre Dame |
| 2018 | Notre Dame | Muffet McGraw | 34-3 | Mississippi State |
| 2017 | South Carolina | Dawn Staley | 33-4 | Mississippi State |
| 2016 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 38-0 | Syracuse |
| 2015 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 38-1 | Notre Dame |
| 2014 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 40-0 | Notre Dame |
| 2013 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 35-4 | Louisville |
| 2012 | Baylor | Kim Mulkey | 40-0 | Notre Dame |
| 2011 | Texas A&M | Gary Blair | 33-5 | Notre Dame |
| 2010 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 39-0 | Stanford |
| 2009 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 39-0 | Louisville |
| 2008 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 36-2 | Stanford |
| 2007 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 34-3 | Rutgers |
| 2006 | Maryland | Brenda Frese | 34-4 | Duke |
| 2005 | Baylor | Kim Mulkey | 33-3 | Michigan State |
| 2004 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 31-4 | Tennessee |
| 2003 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 37-1 | Tennessee |
| 2002 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 39-0 | Oklahoma |
| 2001 | Notre Dame | Muffet McGraw | 34-2 | Purdue |
| 2000 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 36-1 | Tennessee |
| 1999 | Purdue | Carolyn Peck | 34-1 | Duke |
| 1998 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 39-0 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1997 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 29-10 | Old Dominion |
| 1996 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 32-4 | Georgia |
| 1995 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 35-0 | Tennessee |
| 1994 | North Carolina | Sylvia Hatchell | 33-2 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1993 | Texas Tech | Marsha Sharp | 31-3 | Ohio State |
| 1992 | Stanford | Tara VanDerveer | 30-3 | Western Kentucky |
| 1991 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 30-5 | Virginia |
| 1990 | Stanford | Tara VanDerveer | 32-1 | Auburn |
| 1989 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 35-2 | Auburn |
| 1988 | Louisiana Tech | Leon Barmore | 32-2 | Auburn |
| 1987 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 28-6 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1986 | Texas | Jody Conradt | 34-0 | USC |
| 1985 | Old Dominion | Marianne Stanley | 31-3 | Georgia |
| 1984 | Southern California | Linda Sharp | 29-4 | Tennessee |
| 1983 | Southern California | Linda Sharp | 31-2 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1982 | Louisiana Tech | Sonja Hogg | 35-1 | Cheyney |
*Canceled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
This coincides with the women’s college basketball coaches with the most wins in Division I, with legends Tara VanDerveer, Geno Auriemma, and Pat Summit, taking the top three spots.
* = Active coach
With the action shortly underway in this year’s tournament, we must take a moment to recognize and respect the history. This is only the second year the women’s tournament was given the rights to use the term March Madness in connection with their championship tournament, with much credit going to Oregon’ Sedona Prince and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley for bringing light to the inequity.
For years the NCAA only used the term March Madness, which is the intellectual property of the association, in relation to the men’s tournament. The influx of investment because of the use that the term March Madness brings to the women’s game cannot be understated.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced they had “sold out of in-game sponsorship opportunities for the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.” This continues to show more brands are flocking to the women’s game.
THE BRACKETS ARE BACK: The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back. $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket.
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