Every spring in college basketball, "March Madness" overtakes the nation during a three-week long tournament. The National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA's Division 1 men's basketball tournament is one of the most popular collegiate sporting events. Over the years, the number of teams has changed, but the tournament has kept many of the same features -- and the winner is crowned the national champion of college basketball.
Number of Teams
The NCAA decided to expand its men's basketball tournament to 68 teams for 2011, making it the largest field in tournament history, according to ESPN. The tournament began with eight teams in 1939 and kept that format through the 1950 season. The tournament then went two years with 16 teams before expanding to 22 to 25 until 1974. From 1975 to 1978, the competition featured 32 teams before expanding to 40 in 1979. It expanded to 48 from 1980 to 1982, and then featured 52 and 53 teams in 1983 and 1984. Finally, the tournament pushed to 64 teams from 1985 to 2000, before expanding to 65 from 2001 to 2010.
Format
The NCAA tournament is a three-week event, with a team potentially playing two games each weekend. To win the tournament, a team must win six games in most cases. The competing teams play games at neutral sites across the country, with teams split into four regions. In the earlier years of the event, some teams hosted home games in the preliminary rounds. Sites change each weekend, with teams moving after the first and second round to a regional site. If they keep winning, they will then move to the "final four" site. The event is a single-elimination tournament with no consolation rounds or games.
Champions
There have been 72 NCAA men's basketball tournament champions as of 2010. Fourteen colleges have won multiple NCAA tournament titles. UCLA leads the pack with 11 titles, followed by Kentucky with seven and Indiana and North Carolina with five each. Duke has won four championships, and Kansas owns three titles. Eight schools have won two titles each -- Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State and San Francisco.
Appearances and Wins
Kentucky has been the most successful team in terms of wins and appearances. The Wildcats have played in 51 tournaments and own 103 tournament victories, as of 2010. The Wildcats also have the most losses in the history of the tournament -- 46. Three other programs have at least 90 tournament wins, North Carolina with 102, Duke with 99 and UCLA with 94.
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