The 25 greatest NCAA men’s and women’s tournament coaches

Not only has this Connecticut legend recorded the most NCAA women’s titles (11) and tournament wins (137), he also happens to be the winningest coach — men or women — in Division I history with more than 1,240 victories (as of March 3, 2025). Entering the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament, Auriemma is also the career leader, among all D-I men’s and women’s coaches, in Final Four (23), Elite Eight (28) and Sweet 16 (31) appearances. From 2013-’16, Auriemma guided UConn to a record four consecutive women’s national championships.

A member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Barmore is one of the great coaches in the early years of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Barmore spent 35 years in the Louisiana Tech program, including co-head coach or head coach from 1982-2002. He guided the Lady Techsters to 20 straight NCAA tournament appearances, nine Final Four spots, which is tied or fourth-most in the women’s game, five title-game trips and the 1988 national championship, which included fellow Hall-of-Famer Teresa Weatherspoon.

The Syracuse coaching legend was one of the pioneers of the Big East conference, and guided the Orange to 34 NCAA Tournament appearances during his stellar tenure that ran from 1977-2023. And, five of those tournament trips featured a spot in the Final Four. Of course, there was that one memorable moment that came in 2003, when a star freshman named Carmelo Anthony handed Boeheim his only national championship. Entering the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Boeheim ranks fourth with 61 victories in the Big Dance. 

Calhoun certainly made the most of his opportunities when it came to Connecticut’s prominence in the NCAA Tournament. The man who essentially turned the middling program into a perennial power, Calhoun guided the Huskies to four Final Four appearances — and three ended with a national championship (1999, 2004, 2011). He’s one of six coaches to win at least three national titles, and entering the 2025 event, ranks eighth with 49 NCAA Tournament victories between his time at Northeastern (1973-’86) and UConn (1987-2012).

Should Calipari take Arkansas to the 2025 Big Dance, it will be the fourth school he took to the NCAA Tournament. He’s taken three teams to six total Final Fours — Kentucky four times (2011, ’12, ’14 and ’15) and those vacated trips by UMass (1996) and Memphis (2008). Of course, Coach Cal only has that 2012 title with the Wildcats on his national championship resume. Still Calipari ranks among the all-time leaders with 57 NCAA Tournament victories, the most by an active coach entering the 2025 event. 

The legendary Crum played for and coached under the college hoops icon John Wooden (more on him soon), so it’s no wonder he enjoyed his own success on the sidelines. Crum spent his entire head coaching career at Louisville (1972-2001). During his tenure, Crum’s Cardinals made the NCAA Tournament 23 times, including 16 trips to the Sweet 16, seven Elite Eight appearances and six Final Four berths, including in his first season of 1971-72. In 1980 and 86, the Cardinals were crowned national champions under the Hall-of-Fame coach. 

In Donovan’s two seasons coaching at Marshall, neither team made an NCAA Tournament appearance. Then he went to Florida and took the Gators to the Big Dance 14 times during his stint from 1997-2015. Just four seasons into that stay, Florida reached the national championship game. Then, of course, the Gators won back-to-back national titles under Donovan in 2006 and ’07. In all, Donovan, who then bolted to the NBA coaching ranks, made four Final Four appearances at Florida, and seven Elite Eight trips. 

Among the top-10 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history — men or women — with 1,023 wins and .716 victory percentage. Hatchell guided the North Carolina women’s program to 23 NCAA Tournament appearances during her Hall-of-Fame head coaching run from 1987-2019. That featured six trips to the Elite Eight, three to the Final Four, including back-to-back appearances in 2006, ’07, and a victory in the 1994 national championship game. 

Michigan State’s coach since 1995, Izzo ranks fifth all-time among men’s coaches with eight Final Four appearances — which are the most recognized by an active head coach. While his 2000 Michigan State squad is the only one to win it all, his 2009 group was national runner-up. In addition, Izzo has a chance in 2025 to increase his NCAA Tournament total of 56 victories in the Big Dance. Izzo’s Spartans teams have made 16 appearances in the Sweet 16, and since his first two seasons in charge of the program, he has not missed out on a tournament.  

Perhaps the most controversial coach in college basketball history, Knight is also one of the greatest in the profession. Though Knight’s true NCAA Tournament success came at Indiana (three national titles, five Final Fours, 14 appearances), he also took Texas Tech to four trips to the Big Dance in parts of six seasons. Knight’s 1975-76 squad with the Hoosiers is still the last to go an entire season undefeated (32-0). Of course, Knight’s antics on the court and in practice, plus his outspoken nature, ultimately led to a legacy that’s been tarnished in spots.

In terms of men’s college basketball goes, Coach K, who played collegiately at Army under Bob Knight, remains the king of the NCAA Tournament — when it comes to all-time victories (101) and Final Four appearances (13). Both are the most in the history of the men’s game, while his five national championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015) rank second all time, during a remarkable coaching run at Duke that spanned 1980-2022. During Krzyzewski’s legendary stint with the Blue Devils, only four of his teams failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Another coach, regardless of gender, who resides among the top 10 in career wins. The legendary Notre Dame coach, McGraw, who totaled 936 overall victories with a .762 winning percentage (1983-’19), is tied with the aforementioned Leon Barmore for fifth with nine women’s Final Four appearances. In addition, the Irish under McGraw reached the national championship game seven times from 2001-’19, and won titles in 2001 and ’18. From 1996-2019, Notre Dame reached the NCAA Tournament each season under the Hall of Famer.

Mulkey is the first coach in NCAA basketball history to win national title as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. And, the first to coach two different schools to a national championship– Baylor (2005, ’12, ’19) and LSU (2023). Entering the 2025 tournament, the fashionable Mulkey ranks fourth all time with those four national titles, and is tied for seventh with five Final Four appearances. Since beginning her head coaching career at Baylor in 2000-01, her teams have failed to make an NCAA Tournament just once, and reached the Elite Eight 12 times.

A Hall of Famer, Olson is one of those rare coaches to take more than one school to the Final Four. He did so with Iowa in 1980, then four times with Arizona (1988, ’94, ’97 and 2001). However, only one time did Olson’s team win it all, though it was quite memorable when that 1997 group of Wildcats, led by Mike Bibby and Miles Simon, took down mighty Kentucky for the program’s first national championship. Olson, whose Wildcats also lost to Duke in the 2001 national final, rank among the all-time leaders with 46 NCAA Tournament wins. 

Still going strong, now at St. John’s, Pitino was the first coach to guide three different schools (Providence, Kentucky, Louisville) to the Final Four. In all, seven of Pitino’s teams have reached the Final Four, with his 1996 Kentucky squad and 2013 Louisville group winning it all. However, the Final Four and title by those Cardinals has since been vacated, but under appeal by the university. Pitino has certainly had his controversies as a head coach, but including 2025, will have led six different schools (Boston University, Iona, St. John’s, also) to the Big Dance.

Outside of Big Blue Nation, Rupp might not be the most popular figure in college basketball history. However, he’s one of the most iconic and influential coaches in the history of the game. He won 876 games during his 41 years coaching at Kentucky (1931-’72) and guided the Wildcats to six Final Four appearances. Of those trips to the national semifinals, four times Kentucky won national titles (1948, ‘49, ‘51, ‘58). Those national championships rank third among all coaches. The Hall of Famer was also on the losing end of one of the most talked about title games in sports history — losing to Texas Western in 1966 — and survived the infamous 1951 point-shaving scandal.

When you’re the winningest coach at Kansas, and the only one to guide the storied program to two national titles (2008, ’22), then there’s obviously a spot on this list for Bill Self. Sitting fourth among active head coaches with four Final Four appearances, Self is also tied for second, with Tom Izzo, among current coaches entering the 2025 event, with 56 NCAA Tournament victories. He’s led three different schools to the Elite Eight (Tulsa, Illinois, Kansas) and since taking over the Jayhawks program in 2003-04, his teams have never failed to reach the Big Dance.

Sharp’s 1983 and ’84 USC squads became the first to win back-to-back NCAA Division I national championships in the NCAA Tournament era. Led by the legendary Cheryl Miller, Sharp’s Trojans of the day were the first dominant program in the early years of the women’s NCAA Tournament. In total, Sharp guided USC to three Final Four appearances, and a runner-up finish in 1986. Sharp’s Trojans made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and she won 277 games in charge of the program.

The stoic Smith ranks second all time with 65 NCAA Tournament victories, all while leading North Carolina from 1961-’97. He’s third when it comes to Final Four appearances, with 11, which include title runs in 1982 and ’93. Furthermore, Smith’s Tar Heels made 23 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1975-’97. From 1981-’93, North Carolina advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond in every season. His country tree includes fellow national championship coaches Larry Brown and Roy Williams (more on him in a bit).

Along with Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey, Staley is part of the elite among active women’s head coaches. Since beginning her head coaching career at Temple in 2000-01, Staley has guided 18 teams to the NCAA Tournament, including 12 appearances in a row at South Carolina, where she’s turned the Gamecocks into a national power. Staley, whose NCAA Tournament streak will continue in 2025, has guided South Carolina to national titles in three of the past seven tournaments. In addition, her Gamecocks have reached the eight Sweet 16 eight times and been to five Final Fours, entering the 2025 Big Dance. 

The legendary Summitt is no longer the winningest coach in women’s basketball, but is the reason the sport has risen to prominence over the years. A champion for the women’s game and its players, the late Summitt never endured a losing season or missed the NCAA Tournament while coaching Tennessee from 1974-2012. Her 18 Final Four appearances and eight national championships with the Lady Vols each rank second all time in the sport. Summitt’s Lady Vols were the first to win three straight women’s national titles (1996-’98). Her 1,098 victories rank fifth all time among NCAA Division I coaches of any gender.

Only Geno Auriemma has more victories among men’s and women’s NCAA Division I basketball coaches than VanDerveer’s 1,216. VanDerveer began her career as a head coach at Idaho in 1978-79, then after two seasons spent five at Ohio State. Then in 1985, she landed at Stanford, where she rebuilt the program into a perennial national power. She guided the Cardinal to 15 Final Four appearances, third-most among women’s coaches and won three national titles (1990, ’92, 2021) and finished runner-up twice. Stanford appeared in 27 straight NCAA Tournaments when VanDerveer retired after the 2023-24 campaign.

A coaching disciple of Dean Smith, Williams has achieved Hall-of-Fame success while guiding two of the most storied programs in NCAA basketball history. For 15 seasons (1989-2003), Williams coached at Kansas, where he took the Jayhawks to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments, four Final Four appearances and made the national final twice. From there, Williams spent 18 seasons back at North Carolina, where he finally won it all — three times (2005, ’09, ’17) — and went to five Final Fours. Williams ranks second all time with 77 NCAA Tournament victories and fourth with those nine Final Four trips.

Mike Krzyzewski might own the record for most NCAA Tournament wins and Final Four appearances, but when it comes to overall Big Dance dominance, John Wooden stands tall above the rest. His 10 national championships at UCLA are a record that probably won’t be broken any time soon. That, of course, includes seven consecutive titles from 1967-’73. Wooden’s 12 Final Four appearances with the Bruins rank second all time, and amid a run of dominance that may also never be seen again.

Compared to other names on this list, Wright’s coaching tenure was not lengthy (1995-2022). However, he accomplished more than most coaches dream. Between his seven seasons coaching at Hofstra and 21 at Villanova, Wright’s teams made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. He guided the Wildcats to four Final Fours and won a pair of national championships in 2016, via memorable fashion, and again in 2018. Going out on the top of his coaching game, Wright announced his retirement after Villanova’s 2022 Final Four loss to Kansas.