The College Basketball Teams With The Most Championship Tournament Wins In All 31 Conferences

March Madness is officially in full swing as college basketball teams around the country get the chance to add the finishing touches to their résumé and gear up for the conference tournaments that play a key role in firming up the lineup for the NCAA Tournament.

Around half of the college basketball teams that punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament do so by winning the one organized by every conference after the regular season wraps up.

Finishing with the best record in the regular season gives you an advantage as far as seeding is concerned, and while plenty of teams who end up in that position will end up participating in The Big Dance, many others will see their year come to an end if they aren’t able to survive the conference championship gauntlet.

Here’s a look at the schools with the (men’s) teams that have managed to do exactly that more times than any other in every single one of the 31 DI conferences in the country.

ACC: Duke

A quick programming note: we’re going to kick things off with the conferences that comprise what is largely considered college basketball’s Power 5 before getting to the rest.

North Carolina has finished with the best regular season record in the ACC on 33 occasions since the conference was founded in 1954, but that success has only translated to a win in the tournament 18 times.

Duke, on the other hand, has only had the best record on 20 occasions but has managed to win the ACC Tournament 22 times, which makes them the team to beat.

Big Ten: Michigan State

Seven different teams have won the Big 10 championship since the first one was held in 1998, and you probably won’t be shocked to learn Michigan State is in first place with six wins thanks in no small part to the basketball mind of Tom Izzo, who has been at the helm for every single one.

Big 12: Kansas

The Big 12 has historically run through Lawrence, as Kansas has usually headed into the season as the team to beat based on its reputation as a blue blood.

The Jayhawks have won the conference tournament 12 times since winning the inaugural edition in 1997 (which marked the start of a three-peat).

Iowa State has recently emerged as a worthy competitor, but the Hawkeyes still have some work to do when it comes to making up the gap with six wins of their own.

Big East: Georgetown and UConn

The Big East is home to a handful of basketball powerhouses, but none of them have prevailed in the conference tournament as frequently as Georgetown and UConn.

Each of those teams has won it all eight times while having a fair amount of sustained success; the Hoyas won for the first time in 1980 and most recently in 2021, while the Huskies got their first in 1990 and enter the 2025 edition as the reigning champions.

SEC: Kentucky

Anyone who’s familiar with the SEC knew who was going to end up on top here, as teams in the conference have historically fallen into two categories: Kentucky and everyone else.

The Wildcats have won the SEC Tournament a whopping 32 times (more than anyone else on this list) since winning the first one held all the way back in 1933 (it’s worth noting there was a hiatus between 1953 and 1978 when regular season records were used to crown a champion).

If you’re curious, Alabama is a distant second with…six.

America East: Vermont

Boston University and Northeastern were initially the teams to beat in a conference that got off the ground in 1980, but that changed in a big way once the new millennium rolled around.

Vermont has since emerged as the juggernaut of the America East since winning the tournament for the first time in 2003, as the Catamounts have compiled 11 wins and are currently riding a three-year streak while emerging victorious in five of the past six.

American Athletic: Cincinnati and Houston

The AAC is a relatively new kid on the block, as the spiritual successor to the Big East didn’t get off the ground until 2014.

There’s been a fair amount of parity since then, as seven different teams have won at least one conference tournament. However, Houston and Cincinnati are currently the only ones with two to their name.

A10: Temple

The Atlantic 10 has held a conference tournament every single year since 1977, and Temple has won nine and boasts a fairly comfortable lead over UMass, which has the silver medal with 5.

The Owls won six of them during the tenure of the legendary John Chaney, and Fran Dunphy was able to add a few more since taking the reins in 2006. However, they haven’t managed to win one since 2010.

ASUN: Belmont

The Atlantic Sun was initially called the Trans America Athletic Conference when it was founded ahead of the 1978-79 season before rebranding in 2001, and we’ll be taking all of those tournaments into consideration here.

However, that’s a moot point when you consider Belmont leads the pack with five after getting its first in 2006 to kick off an ASUN dynasty that saw the Bruins win all of those in the span of seven years.

Big Sky: Montana

Montana was a founding member of the Big Sky Conference in 1963, but it took the Grizzlies a while to find their footing.

The team didn’t win its first conference tournament until 1990, but it’s done a pretty solid job making up for lost time by winning 11 in total; its most recent victory in 2019 broke a two-way tie with Weber State (which still has 10).

Big South: Winthrop

The Big South has a few teams that exist on a higher tier than the rest of the pack, and none of them stand out more than Winthrop.

The Eagles got their first conference tournament win in 1988 but had to wait more than a decade for their second. However, they’ve been the team to beat during a large chunk of the new millennium by securing 11 of the 13 wins they have since 2000.

Big West: UNLV

The Big West has also fallen victim to conference realignment since its founding in 1969, and we’ve got yet another case where the team with the most conference championships is no longer a member.

The squad in question is UNLV, which won seven times before departing to the WAC in 1996 (the Runnin’ Rebels are currently in the Mountain West); Long Beach State has the most among active members at six.

CAA: Old Dominion

Old Dominion used to be one of the best teams in the Coastal Athletic Association before leaving for the Sun Belt, and they’re still the team to beat as far as tourney wins are concerned with eight of them.

UNC Wilmington is in the lead when it comes to teams that are still with the CAA with six.

Conference USA: Memphis

Oh look, it’s another conference that’s gotten decimated by realignment.

Conference USA formerly boasted the likes of Louisville, Houston, Cincinnati, and Memphis—the last of which still has the most conference tournament championships with seven.

Only two of the 10 schools that currently comprise CUSA have won the tourney: Middle Tennessee leads the pack with two, while Western Kentucky won its first in 2024.

Horizon League: Butler

Sticking with the theme here…

Butler made the leap to the Big East in 2013 after Barry Collier orchestrated the turnaround that led to the Bulldogs bursting onto the scene in the late 1990s before Brad Stevens really helped the program take things to the next level.

Butler won the Horizon League tournament seven times between 1997 and 2011, and that number remains the mark to beat; Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky are the current members with the best chance to top it at some point with four each.

Ivy League: Yale

The Ivy League dragged its feat on the conference tournament front, as it used regular season records to determine which of its esteemed learning institutions would represent it at the NCAA Tournament before finally taking the plunge in 2017.

Yale has currently won the most with three, but Princeton (which has clinched a spot in March Madness more times than any other Ivy League school with 26 appearances) also has a couple to its name; UPenn is the only other school to win at least one.

MAAC: Iona

Iona won the first tournament the MAAC held in 1982, and the Gaels have firmly cemented themselves as the standout in the ensuing decades by emerging with a victory 14 times.

Three teams—Manhattan, Siena, and St. Peter’s—have done so five times, but they have their work cut out for them if they ever want to claim the top spot.

MAC: Ball State, Ohio, and Kent State

Not to be confused with the MAAC, the MAC held its first conference championship in 1980 and all but one of its current members (Bowling Green) have won it at least once.

However, none of them have won it more often than Ball State, Ohio, and Kent State, which are tied for the most at seven. With that said, the Cardinals haven’t had a tourney victory since 2000, so it seems pretty likely one of those other two will end up taking sole possession of first in the near future.

MEAC: North Carolina A&T

Not to be confused with the MAAC or MAC, the MEAC has been holding a conference tournament since 1972.

North Carolina A&T immediately emerged as the juggernaut by winning it 13 times in the span of 17 seasons, which included a seven-year streak that began in 1982.

The Aggies saw their dominance fade once the 1990s rolled around but managed to accrue 16 tourney wins before leaving for the CAA in 2022—which puts them well ahead of the six Hampton has to earn the second spot on the podium (Howard is third with five and leads active members).

Missouri Valley: Creighton

The first Missouri Valley Conference championship transpired in 1977 and was played in a different city each year before St. Louis became the permanent host starting in 1992 (only the Big East and Madison Square Garden boast a longer streak on that front).

Creighton won its first tourney the year after the first one was played and went on to do so 16 times before heading to the Big East in 2013; Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa are currently tied among active members with five.

Mountain West: San Diego State

The Mountain West has been largely dominated by San Diego State since the start of the millennium.

The Aztecs won their first conference tournament in 2002 but really came into their own once BYU left in 2010; SDSU has appeared in 14 of the last 16 championship games while winning five of the seven tourney victories they’ve notched overall.

Northeast: Robert Morris

Robert Morris joined the Horizon League ahead of the 2020-21 season after wrapping up its time in the Northeast Conference with its ninth tournament win.

Farleigh Dickinson and LIU have the best chance of surpassing them at some point, as they each have six as things currently stand.

Ohio Valley: Murray State

The Ohio Valley Conference has also become a bit of a shell of its former self due to realignment, as the teams with the first, second, and third-most conference championship wins have all departed.

Murray State leads the pack with the 18 it won before leaving for the Missouri Valley, which means Morehead State has a tall task if it wants to catch up when you consider it’s ahead of all other active members with five.

Patriot League: Colgate

Colgate won its first conference tournament in 1995 before defending the crown the following year, but the Raiders had to wait until 2019 for their third.

However, they’re currently sitting in first place with seven courtesy of the four-peat that could turn into a five-peat if they’re able to add another one to their collection in 2025 (which seems unlikely based on how they’ve looked this season).

Southern: Chattanooga

The Southern Conference tournament has a history stretching back to 1922, and while Chattanooga’s success is relatively recent, it’s more than enough to top everyone else.

The Mocs have won at least one tourney every decade since the 1980s and have 12 victories as of their most recent one in 2022.

Southland: Louisiana–Monroe

The Southland conference has also dealt with a ton of casualties thanks to realignment.

That includes the loss of Louisiana–Monroe, which still holds the top spot with six despite leaving for the Sun Belt close to 20 years ago.

Stephen F. Austin is ahead of every other active member with five, although there is a bit of an asterisk when you consider they had academically ineligible players on the roster for four of those wins.

SWAC: Texas Southern

It took the SWAC a couple of decades to embrace a conference tournament, as it used records to determine a championship before embracing the new format in 1977.

Texas Southern won its first in 1990 and has built a bit of a dynasty since getting its fourth in 2014, which marked the first of seven it’s won since to accumulate the 11 that’s good for first place.

Summit League: Valparaiso

14 different schools have won at least one Summit League conference tournament since 1984, but only three of them are still members.

That does not include Valparaiso, which won eight before leaving for the Horizon League in 2007 (they’ve since left for the Missouri Valley).

It seems like it’s only a matter of time until South Dakota State leapfrogs the Beacons, as the Jackrabbits have won seven since getting their first in 2012 and shown they have the ability to consistently attract the kind of talent you need to outlast the rest of the field.

Sun Belt: Western Kentucky

The Sun Belt has had a fair amount of turnover since coming into existence in 1976, as more than half of the teams that have won at least one tournament have departed to other conferences.

That includes Western Kentucky, which managed to win it all nine times before defecting to Conference USA in 2014; South Alabama and Louisiana are both tied for the most among active members with five.

West Coast: Gonzaga

Gonzaga is basically the Kentucky of the West Coast Conference, as the Bulldogs won their first conference tournament in 1999 and have appeared in the championship game every single year since then while racking up a whopping 21 victories.

Saint Mary’s has been able to get a handful of wins during that span, but they’re still tied with Pepperdine in second place with a paltry five.

WAC: New Mexico State

We’ve got another fairly recent success story in the WAC courtesy of New Mexico State, which won the tournament for the first time in 2007 and has won a total of ten with the help of the seven-year streak they kicked off in 2012.