Final Four History: 1981-2016

Take a look at the history of the Final Four from the NCAA Tournament’s inception in 1981 through 2016, including champions, runner-up finishes and more.

Year Champion Runner-Up National Semifinal National Semifinal
1981 USC UCLA San Diego State Pacific
1982 Hawaii USC San Diego State Stanford
1983 Hawaii UCLA Stanford Pacific
1984 UCLA Stanford Pacific San Jose State
1985 Pacific Stanford USC UCLA
1986 Pacific Nebraska Stanford Texas
1987 Hawaii Stanford Illinois Texas
1988 Texas Hawaii Illinois UCLA
1989 Long Beach State Nebraska Texas-Arlington UCLA
1990 UCLA Pacific LSU Nebraska
1991 UCLA Long Beach State LSU Ohio State
1992 Stanford UCLA Florida Long Beach State
1993 Long Beach State Penn State BYU Florida
1994 Stanford UCLA Ohio State Penn State
1995 Nebraska Texas Michigan State Stanford
1996 Stanford Hawaii Florida Nebraska
1997 Stanford Penn State Florida Long Beach State
1998 Long Beach State Penn State Florida Nebraska
1999 Penn State Stanford Long Beach State Pacific
2000 Nebraska Wisconsin Hawaii USC
2001 Stanford Long Beach State Arizona Nebraska
2002 USC Stanford Hawaii Florida
2003 USC Florida Hawaii Minnesota
2004 Stanford Minnesota Washington USC
2005 Washington Nebraska Tennessee Santa Clara
2006 Nebraska Stanford UCLA Washington
2007 Penn State Stanford California USC
2008 Penn State Stanford Texas Nebraska
2009 Penn State Texas Hawaii Minnesota
2010 Penn State California Texas USC
2011 UCLA Illinois USC Florida State
2012 Texas Oregon Michigan Penn State
2013 Penn State Wisconsin Washington Texas
2014 Penn State BYU Stanford Texas
2015 Nebraska Texas Minnesota Kansas
2016 Stanford Texas Nebraska Minnesota

Beyond the mere list, we broke it down further to look at the success of the 30 teams who have made the Final Four. Stanford and Penn State have won the most titles with seven apiece. The Cardinal also have eight runner-up finishes to their credit and boast 20 overall Final Four berths, the most of all programs.

Team Titles Runner-Up Final Fours Total Final Four Appearances
Stanford 7 8 5 20
Penn State 7 3 2 12
UCLA 4 4 4 12
Nebraska 4 3 6 13
Texas 2 4 6 12
USC 3 1 6 10
Hawaii 3 2 4 9
Long Beach State 3 2 3 8
Pacific 2 1 4 7
Washington 1 3 4
Wisconsin 2 2
Florida 1 6 7
Minnesota 1 4 5
California 1 1 2
Illinois 1 2 3
Oregon 1 1
BYU 1 1 2
San Diego State 2 2
LSU 2 2
Ohio State 2 2
Texas-Arlington 1 1
Michigan State 1 1
Arizona 1 1
Tennessee 1 1
Michigan 1 1
San Jose State 1 1
Santa Clara 1 1
Florida State 1 1
Kansas 1 1

Don't want to miss anything?

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our latest updates!