The 11 Schools That Have Won A National Championship In Football And Basketball

Many colleges and universities have either a football or basketball team that tends to take precedence over the other. With that said, there are more than a few learning institutions that have managed to put together a pretty well-rounded athletic program, including the ones that can lay claim to at least one national championship in both of those sports.

These are the only schools with a football team that’s won a national championship and a basketball team that did the same

For the purpose of this list, I’m focusing on schools with men’s basketball teams that have reigned supreme in the NCAA Tournament, but if you’re curious, LSU, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and USC would also be included if you took women’s titles into consideration.

Arkansas

Arkansas won its only national championship when it split the title with Alabama and Notre Dame after going 11-0 in 1964. It had to wait another 30 years to join this club, as the  Razorbacks got their first and only March Madness win over Duke in 1994.

Cal

It’s been more than a century since the last time Cal won a national championship in football; the Golden Bears shared the title with Cornell in 1921 a year after they stood alone at the top of the sport.

They also have a lone title on the men’s basketball front: a one-point victory over West Virginia in the championship showdown in 1959.

Florida

Florida is the only school on this list that has won a national championship in football and basketball in the same academic year, and just one of two schools that have won multiple championships in both sports.

Billy Donovan led his squad to back-to-back titles on the hardwood in starting 2006, and Urban Meyer was at the helm when the Gators defeated the Buckeyes in the fall before Florida defended their March Madness crown.

Florida had previously won a national championship in football in 1996, and they notched their third in basketball with a win over Houston in 2025.

Indiana

Indiana has firmly been a Basketball School for the bulk of its existence, as the Hoosiers have racked up five national championships (the most recent of which came in 1987).

The football program was historically an afterthought to the point where it was kind of hard to imagine Indiana would ever end up on this list, but it became the most recent school to join these ranks after Curt Cignetti staged the most miraculous turnaround in college football history.

Maryland

It’s been a while since Maryland was the best team in college football, as they were named the consensus national champions for the 1954 season despite losing to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to finish at 10-1.

Their lone March Madness triumph came close to 50 years later, as the Terrapins defeated Indiana to earn the right to cut down the nets in 2002.

Michigan

Michigan has had a bit more success on the football field than the basketball court.

The Wolverines claim 12 titles stretching back to the one that ushered in a threepeat in 1901  (it’s worth noting the NCAA only recognizes ten of them), but their overtime victory over  Seton Hall in 1989 is the only time they’ve won the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State

Michigan State is the only other school on this list that has won multiple championships in both football and basketball.

The Spartans got their first one in the former in 1952 and then went back-to-back in 1965 and 1966 (although they split the first one with Alabama and shared the second with Notre Dame). The team got its first March Madness win over Indiana State in 1979, and added a second by besting Florida in 2000.

Ohio State

Ohio State is firmly a Football School, as the team has brought nine national championships back to Columbus since winning its first in 1942.

The Buckeyes have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s title game on five occasions (including the very first one in 1939), but their win over Cal in 1960 is the only time they’ve emerged as champions.

Stanford

It has now been exactly a century since Stanford won its first and only national title in football, as the Cardinal split the championship with Alabama all the way back in 1926.

It’s also been a while since they won the NCAA Tournament, as they became the fourth team to survive the gauntlet when they finished on top in 1942.

Syracuse

Syracuse is probably only to Indiana when it comes to the schools on this list where basketball has historically been the biggest sport on campus, although the championship run in 2003 is the only time the Orange have won a title.

They’re still waiting for their second, and they can only hope the drought won’t end up stretching as long as the one involving a football team that got its only national championship in 1959.

UCLA

No team has won the NCAA Tournament more times than UCLA. The Bruins have secured a title on 11 occasions thanks almost entirely to the ten John Wooden racked up in the span of twelve seasons starting in 1964 before Jim Harrick was able to add another for good measure in 1995.

The first win came a decade after UCLA’s football team got its only championship, which it shared with Ohio State University after going 9-0 in 1954.