It’s that time of the year again. March Madness is back!
The 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship begins Wednesday and Thursday (March 18-19) in Dayton, Ohio, with the First Four games, and concludes with the National Championship Game on Sunday, April 5, in Phoenix.
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On the heels of winning the national title in 2025, the UConn Huskies remain unbeaten heading into this year’s tournament. Will any team stop them from running the table for a SEVENTH time and winning back-to-back titles?
Here is a look at the tournament’s history ahead of this year’s action.
Which team has won the most NCAA Division I women’s basketball championships all-time?
UConn leads the way with 12 national championships (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2025), including going undefeated in six of them (1995, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016).
After the Huskies, the Tennessee Volunteers have the second most with eight (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008) followed by three teams with three apiece in South Carolina Gamecocks, Stanford Cardinal, and Baylor Bears.
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Which teams have won consecutive NCAA Division I women’s basketball championships?
UConn, Tennessee, and USC have all earned consecutive women’s national titles. UConn has already done so on three different occasions (2002-2004, 2009-2010, 2013-2016) and the Huskies could do it for a fourth time if they cut down the nets in April. Tennessee has done so twice (1996-1998, 2007-2008). USC earned its back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984.
Which team has made the most Women’s Final Four appearances all-time?
Not surprising, UConn also has the most Final Four appearances all-time with 24. The Huskies are followed by Tennessee with 18, Stanford with 15, and Louisiana Tech with 10.
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What’s the lowest women’s seed ever to win March Madness?
Since the NCAA women’s basketball tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1994 (the field again expanded to its current 68 teams in 2022), the lowest seed to win the title is No. 3. It has happened on three occasions: North Carolina in 1994, Tennessee in 1997, and LSU in 2023.
In 1994, the first tournament since the expansion to 64 teams, No. 3 seed North Carolina won it all in dramatic fashion. Charlotte Smith’s buzzer-beater 3-pointer gave the Tar Heels a 60-59 win over Louisiana Tech in the National Championship game.
In 1997, No. 3 seed Tennessee won its fifth national title overall and its second of three straight national titles during the mid-1990s. The Lady Vols, led by future WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist Chamique Holdsclaw, weathered a second-half comeback by Old Dominion to win 68-59 in the National Championship game.
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In 2023, Angel Reese and No. 3 seed LSU won the program’s first-ever NCAA national title. Reese and the Tigers beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa, 102-85, in the National Championship game.
March Madness – Past women’s basketball title winners, year by year
2025 – UConn
2024 – South Carolina
2023 – LSU
2022 – South Carolina
2021 – Stanford
2020 – Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019 – Baylor
2018 – Notre Dame
2017 – South Carolina
2016 – UConn
2015 – UConn
2014 – UConn
2013 – UConn
2012 – Baylor
2011 – Texas A&M
2010 – UConn
2009 – UConn
2008 – Tennessee
2007 – Tennessee
2006 – Maryland
2005 – Baylor
2004 – UConn
2003 – UConn
2002 – UConn
2001 – Notre Dame
2000 – UConn
1999 – Purdue
1998 – Tennessee
1997 – Tennessee
1996 – Tennessee
1995 – UConn
1994 – North Carolina
1993 – Texas Tech
1992 – Stanford
1991 – Tennessee
1990 – Stanford
1989 – Tennessee
1988 – Louisiana Tech
1987 – Tennessee
1986 – Texas
1985 – Old Dominion
1984 – USC
1983 – USC
1982 – Louisiana Tech
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Which coaches have won the most March Madness women’s championships?
Geno Auriemma has won an NCAA-record 12 women’s national championships as head coach for UConn (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2025).
The late Pat Summitt is second on this list with eight women’s national championships as head coach for Tennessee (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008).
LSU head coach Kim Mulkey is next with four women’s national championships as a head coach. Mulkey previously led Baylor to three national titles (2005, 2012, 2019) before claiming her first title with the Tigers in 2023.
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South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and the retired Tara VanDerveer follow with three women’s national championships each.
Last season, Staley led the Gamecocks to a perfect 38-0 record and their third national title during her tenure in Columbia (2017, 2022, 2024).
VanDerveer, who retired in April 2024, claimed three national titles with Stanford (1990, 1992, 2021) and earned 1,216 career wins during her 45-year head coaching career.
VanDerveer’s 1,216 wins were the most by a head coach in college basketball history, women’s or men’s, until UConn’s Geno Auriemma passed her with his 1,217th career win on Nov. 20, 2024 (Auriemma’s win total has grown to 1,244 entering this year’s NCAA Tournament).
