The definitive list of college basketball blue bloods

Many of the blue bloods actually wear blue. Actually, only one entry on this list from the Division I men’s side doesn’t have blue anywhere on their uniforms. UConn oddly wasn’t highly talked about as one of the wine-drinking, pinky-up programs as of late, provided that its last title was in 2014. But no one in college basketball has accomplished more and changed the outlook of its program nationwide in the 21st century.

The Huskies no doubt crossed over into the blue blood realm by winning a national title with a third head coach. Jim Calhoun brought the first three to Storrs with Kevin Ollie lifting the crown next and finally, Dan Hurley (pictured) with the victory over San Diego State. There is zero chance UConn will fade back into irrelevance after this latest run to the title. And only three programs have won more national titles.

I mean, you can’t do a blue bloods list without the team that’s won more national championships than anyone else in Division I. Yes, the Bruins have won one national title since 1975 and haven’t lifted the crown at all since the mid-90s. But 11 national titles speak for themselves, not to mention seven straight championships. Only one team has more than seven overall. (And we’ll get to them in a moment).

Without injuries to Adem Bona and Jaylen Clark (pictured), the Bruins could’ve been the greatest threat to UConn this season. With all of the program’s storied history, it could go another 30 years without winning a championship and would still be considered a blue blood. Nothing anyone will ever do in the sport will change that.

The Wildcats always appear to be in contention for a national championship and have won a title in nearly every era of college basketball, with their last crown coming in 2012. Kentucky has won eight national championships overall in five different decades. UK has always been close to the heart of college basketball and the current one-and-done factory under John Calipari (pictured) reloads with stars more often than not.

UK hasn’t made a Final Four since 2015 and an Elite Eight since 2019. Then there was losing to Saint Peter’s last year and a second-round exit to Kansas State this season. How quickly Kentucky wins another championship will come down to how well Calipari can adjust to the world of NIL and the transfer portal, which has been an influence in coaches like Jay Wright and Jim Boeheim leaving the sport.

The Tar Heels have won six national championships all-time, including three since the turn of the century, good enough for the third-most ever. Dean Smith won two titles and Roy Williams outdid one of the greatest coaches ever with three championships. Frank McGuire won UNC’s first national championship in 1957.

How quickly North Carolina wins another championship is more in flux than most other blue bloods. Hubert Davis (pictured) did take the Tar Heels to the national championship game and blew a huge lead in 2022, but went from AP Preseason No. 1 to missing the tournament completely this year. And Caleb Love is transferring away from Chapel Hill.

Of course, if North Carolina is on this list, Duke cannot be far behind. The Blue Devils are tied with UConn and another school on our countdown (up next) with five national titles. Duke might be the bluest of blue bloods due to being the first private school on our list and only one of two on the Division I men’s side.

Every blue blood has a legendary coach associated with their brand and for Duke, it’s Jon Scheyer (pictured)! Well, maybe one day. It’s obviously Mike Krzyzewski, who left the keys to his kingdom to a former assistant to keep up the traditions at such a prestigious institution. No matter who coaches Duke, with how it recruits, it should be in contention for a national title forever.

The only team to not wear blue among the group of blue bloods are the Hoosiers, tied with UConn and Duke with five national titles. If it feels like it’s been a while since Indiana has been within striking distance of a championship, it’s because its last time advancing beyond the Sweet 16 was in 2002 as national runners-up.

Still, the unique environment at Assembly Hall and what Bob Knight (pictured) created in Bloomington is as unique a college basketball brand as there is across America. And that by itself makes them a blue blood because the lack of national success over the last two decades hasn’t stopped the Hoosiers from being relevant.

Among the four core blue bloods that have become college basketball’s Mount Rushmore for being hated (alongside Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina) the Jayhawks might be the best regular-season team. They’ve also won the fewest national titles of that group (four) but won one more recently than anyone else in that quartet.

Allen Fieldhouse is a toilet, but it’s Kansas’ toilet where reporters sitting courtside consistently take Advil before games to avoid headaches from how loud the venue can get. Bill Self (pictured) and Roy Williams are two of the legendary coaches to patrol the sidelines in Lawrence to not have the building Kansas plays its home games in not named for them.

Rounding out the group on the Division I men’s side is the newest to be considered for the list. Villanova won its first championship in 1985. With the Wildcats’ pair of championships within the last decade, in 2016 and 2018, their status as a “new blood” is college basketball purists’ way of saying they belong. But it’s all the same thing. Villanova is a blue blood just like the rest.

The preppy private school on the outskirts of Philadelphia plays in a rinky-dink gym sometimes and Wells Fargo Center for bigger games. How Jay Wright (pictured) transformed the program in the latter years of his tenure truly brought Villanova from the outskirts of college basketball and into the most exclusive club. How the Wildcats can sustain it without him remains to be seen.

Of course, UConn and Tennessee on the women’s side are the two most obvious blue bloods. There are two other definite additions to be made with Stanford and Baylor joining the list due to the number of national titles each program has won and how consistent the Cardinal and Bears have been throughout the years. Kim Mulkey winning the national championship with LSU this past weekend only gives credence to how amazing her teams in Waco were.

A few programs just missed the cut of what you could consider a blue blood and to join such an exclusive list, you needed to be decisively on it. If there was doubt, it’s a no. Louisville and Michigan State are the two biggest culprits of that. The Cardinals have won three national titles — well, two that haven’t been vacated. Yet, their brand doesn’t stick as needed in the fraternity like the rest. Tom Izzo’s (pictured) bunch hasn’t won a national title since 2000 and only has two as a program overall. There needs to be a little bit more consistency in East Lansing to cross that threshold.