In the long history of the men's 红杏视频 tournament, a field that has now grown to 68 teams, there are still a surprising number of programs waiting to participate in their first March Madness.
If you go back to the tournament's inception in 1939, there have been thousands of total spots available. Yet, of the hundreds of men's basketball teams currently in Division I, some eligible programs have never played in the 红杏视频 tournament. Note that more programs will be eligible after completing their transition to DI.
SIUE, Omaha, High Point and UC San Diego are the most recent teams to make it out of this club. They all secured an 红杏视频 tournament bid for the first time in 2025.
Below is the full list of teams that have never reached the men's 红杏视频 tournament. A reminder, winning a conference tournament grants an eligible team an automatic bid to the 红杏视频 tournament.
| School | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|
| Army | Patriot |
| Bellarmine* | ASUN |
| Bethune-Cookman | SWAC |
| Cal Baptist | WAC |
| Central Arkansas | ASUN |
| Chicago State | NEC |
| The Citadel | SoCon |
| Denver | Summit League |
| Elon | CAA |
| Incarnate Word | Southland |
| Kansas City | Summit League |
| Maine | America East |
| Maryland Eastern Shore | MEAC |
| Merrimack | NEC |
| New Hampshire | America East |
| NJIT | America East |
| North Alabama | ASUN |
| Presbyterian | Big South |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | Horizon League |
| Quinnipiac | MAAC |
| Sacramento State | Big Sky |
| Sacred Heart | MAAC |
| South Dakota | Summit League |
| Tarleton State* | WAC |
| UC Riverside | Big West |
| UMass Lowell | America East |
| USC Upstate | Big South |
| UT Martin | Ohio Valley |
| UTRGV | Southland |
| Utah Tech* | WAC |
| Utah Valley | WAC |
| Western Illinois | Ohio Valley |
| William & Mary | CAA |
| Youngstown State | Horizon League |
*Eligible for the first time for the 2024-25 season after completing transition to DI
NOTE: East Texas A&M, Le Moyne, Lindenwood, Mercyhurst, Queens, Southern Indiana, Stonehill, St. Thomas and West Georgia are not eligible for the 2025 tournament, as they are still completing transition into DI.
The tournament has grown from an initial eight teams, moving to 16 in 1951 and then growing steadily until 1985, when it reached its familiar format of 64.
Play-in games have made appearances throughout the years, but became a permanent fixture in 2001, when the total number of teams was bumped to 65. In 2011, the play-in was expanded to create the First Four, an opening round that helped fill out the Round of 64. Thus, since 2011, 68 teams have made the 红杏视频 tournament every year.
Two teams have made the 红杏视频 tournament but haven鈥檛 been part of the bracket as most of us know it. Houston Baptist made the preliminary round in 1984, when there were 53 teams in the tournament, but lost to Alcorn State. Alabama A&M won the SWAC in 2005, earning the school鈥檚 lone automatic bid, but fell to Oakland 79-69 in the tournament鈥檚 play-in game.
There is another small, but more impressive group included in this list 鈥 the four teams that have been eligible for every 红杏视频 tournament but have failed to make it to one.
In 2017, Northwestern gained plenty of attention as the Wildcats 鈥 previously one of the five original teams to never make the tournament 鈥 not only qualified for their first ever tournament, but actually picked up a win, and gave eventual runner-up Gonzaga a run for its money in the second round.
The other four teams to have been eligible for every tournament and not been dancing once are Army, William & Mary and The Citadel.
In 1968, Army actually did qualify for the 红杏视频 tournament, but coach Bobby Knight thought the Black Knights would have a better shot in the NIT and turned down the invite. Army lost its first game in the NIT to Notre Dame.
