NCAA March Madness 2025: Do the winners get a championship ring?
Houston takes on Florida in 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 will see the Houston Cougars face the Florida Gators in the NCAA Championship game on Monday, April 7.
Since the tournament’s inception, 40 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 in 2024, they’ve now made it to back-to-back championships with six 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.
Villanova Wildcats 2016 NCAA Basketball National Championship Ring - https:/ ... https://t.co/xqsYdDxIev pic.twitter.com/Vdusdha1H2
— The Big Game Rings (@biggamerings) November 15, 2019
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.
Why do teams cut down the nets?
The tradition goes back to nearly 100 years ago in Indiana. The legend is that basketball coach Everett Case started the tradition at the high school level, but then in 1947, while coaching NC State, the coach got on his players’ shoulders and cut down the nets to celebrate the Wolpack win in the Southern Conference tournament championship.
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