NCAA March Madness 2024: Do the winners get a championship ring?
UCONN defeated Purdue to win the NCAA March Madness final. Which teams have won the tournament before and what do they get for winning?
March Madness is one of the most anticipated and watched events in the sports world, and certainly in basketball.
The basketball tournament that has been played since 1939 is a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams that compete in seven rounds from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the national championship. This year’s men’s tournament saw the Connecticut Huskies defeat Purdue to take the title in the NCAA Championship game on Monday, April 8.
Since the tournament’s inception, 39 different teams have won a championship. UCLA comes in first with 11, 10 of which came in 12 years from 1964 to 1975. With UCONN’s win tonight, they’ve now made it to back-to-back championships with five total in school history. In addition, there are seven teams with two championships each: Cincinnati (1961, 1962), Florida (2006, 2007), Louisville (1980, 1986), Michigan State (1979, 2000), North Carolina State (1974, 1983), Oklahoma State (1945, 1946), and San Francisco (1955, 1956).
Which team has won the most NCAA championships?
- UCLA — 11
- Kentucky — 8
- North Carolina — 6
- UConn — 6
- Duke — 5
- Indiana — 5
- Kansas — 4
- Villanova — 3
- Cincinnati — 2
- Florida — 2
- Louisville — 2
- Michigan State — 2
- NC State — 2
- Oklahoma State — 2
- San Francisco — 2
What do teams get for winning NCAA March Madness?
The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship winners do get championship rings. The final Four rings are given to the other three teams in the Final Four.
The earliest championship rings for major professional sports were rather plain compared to those designed in the 1990s. They used to feature only a few diamonds or other precious stones, and since then, they have become more expensive with more intricate designs.
A typical championship ring now carries over a hundred diamonds.