It has been 20 years since the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams won the national title in the same year and a decade since they repeated that feat. While that accomplishment did not happen for the third time this season, college basketball fans still witnessed history.
Two schools, Connecticut being one of them, had both of their programs in the Final Four in the same season for the first time. Here is a list of every institution that has accomplished this feat and come close to sweeping the basketball national championships since 1995.
Writer’s Note: Both of a school’s basketball programs must have reached the Final Four in the same year to be included.
Louisville (2013)
The Louisville Cardinals have come the closest to doing what UConn has accomplished since 2004. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino and the No. 1 overall seed men’s team topped the Michigan Wolverines in Atlanta, Ga., for the national title. One day later, with Pitino in attendance, head coach Jeff Walz and the fifth-seeded women’s team sought history against Breanna Stewart and the Huskies in New Orleans. Louisville’s women’s team lost by 33 points to the Huskies, and the men’s team’s championship has since been vacated.
Duke (1999)
The Duke Blue Devils were almost the first school to make unprecedented college basketball history. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski and the men’s team won 34 games by double figures heading into their highly anticipated title tilt against UConn. Duke’s women’s team dethroned the three-time defending champion Tennessee Volunteers in the Elite Eight and bested the Georgia Bulldogs in the Final Four. However, head coach Carolyn Peck led the Purdue Boilermakers past the third-seeded Blue Devils, and Jim Calhoun and the Huskies shocked the world.
Syracuse (2016)
Connecticut and the Syracuse Orange have met twice in March Madness, with the second occurring this year. The first happened in 2016, when the fourth-seeded women’s team made their first championship game following consecutive wins over No. 7 seeds. Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck ended their collegiate careers with a 31-point victory over Syracuse. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim and the men’s team squeaked in as a No. 10 seed. The North Carolina Tar Heels bested the Orange in the Final Four.
South Carolina (2017)
Head coach Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks lost to the Orange in the Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed in 2016. South Carolina captured their first national title a year later, besting the Mississippi State Bulldogs, two days removed from snapping the Huskies’ NCAA-record 111-game winning streak. Frank Martin and the seventh-seeded men’s team, meanwhile, reached their first Final Four after knocking off the second, third and fourth seeds in the East. They fell to the eventual national runners-up, the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
LSU (2006)
The LSU Tigers are one of three schools in women’s basketball history to reach five straight Final Fours. The third of those consecutive national semifinal appearances came in Basketball Hall of Famer Seimone Augustus’ senior year, when the top-seeded Tigers fell to Duke in Boston. Glen Davis and Darrel Mitchell guided the fourth-seeded men’s team to their fourth Final Four after downing the Atlanta Region’s top two programs. The eventual runners-up UCLA Bruins handed LSU their first non-conference loss since they played UConn in January.
Michigan State (2005)
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo led the Michigan State Spartans to three Final Fours in his first nine years in East Lansing. With four players averaging double figures, Izzo celebrated his 10th season at Michigan State by advancing to his fourth national semifinals, where eventual champion North Carolina ended their run. Head coach Joanne P. McCallie led the women’s team to the national title game after knocking off Tennessee in the Final Four. All-American Sophia Young and the Baylor Bears left them empty-handed.
Texas (2003)
Both Texas Longhorns basketball teams made the Final Four for the third time in program history 21 years ago. Head coach Rick Barnes and the top-seeded men’s team surged through the San Antonio Regional. Despite picking up close wins in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, the third-seeded Orange prevented Barnes from coaching for a national title. The second-seeded women’s team upset Louisiana State in the West Region’s Elite Eight but fell by two points to Diana Taurasi and the eventual repeat-champion Huskies in Atlanta.
Oklahoma (2002)
With Hollis Price and Aaron McGhee, head coach Kelvin Sampson led the second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners to their first Final Four appearance since they were national runners-up in 1988. Although they were favored, the fifth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers halted Oklahoma’s chances at vengeance. Head coach Sherri Coale led the women’s team to their first championship game appearance after winning the West Region and downing Duke by 15 in the Final Four. However, Sue Bird and Swin Cash concluded their collegiate careers with a 12-point victory over Oklahoma.
North Carolina State (2024)
Kevin Keatts and the 11th-seeded men’s team went from twice being on the brink of elimination during the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament to the Final Four. Head coach Wes Moore and the women’s team began the season unranked. They used that as fuel, upsetting the Portland 4 Reigonal’s top two seeds en route to their first national semifinal appearance since 1998. Despite the university becoming a part of history this season, both teams’ campaigns ended in Final Four heartbreak against No. 1 seeds.
I originally came up with this idea in December, when the UConn men’s basketball team had five national titles. If the past four months are any indication, more universities will achieve this honor in the future.
While each addition may decrease the value of being in rarified air, it should not take away from the universities that have already made history. Their extraordinary seasons, like those of any program that sweeps the national championships, will be remembered for eternity.