Best of the Mid-Majors

The NCAA tournament has eclipsed the MN State High School Basketball Tournament un popularity during my lifetime. Perhaps the best reason for this is that the high school tournament, with 2 and now 4-class play, no longer offers Cinderella stories. The NCAA tournament, meanwhile, provides exactly those kinds of stories and in abundance, as the mid-majors square off against the big bad BCS-type programs.

Here are the best of the mid-majors through the years, mid-major being defined as schools that are mid-majors today.

1900 Yale 9-6 rated #1 in the Premo Poll
1901 Bucknell 12-1 #1P... Yale 10-6 #1H
1902 Allegheny 12-1 #3P
1903 Yale 15-1 #1 in the Helms Foundation ranking
1904 Columbia 17-1 #1H and P
1905 Columbia 19-1 #1 H and P
1906 Wabash 17-1 #1P... Dartmouth 16-2 #1H
1907 Chicago 20-2 #1 H and P
1908 Wabash 24-0 #1P... Chicago 21-2 #1H
1909 Chicago 12-0 #1 H and P

So, during the 1900s 9 of 10 mythical national champions were schools that are today classified as mid-majors. The Ivy League, in particular, was regarded as the toughest conference in America. Yale and Columbia are 2 of 3 schools to win more than 1 title. Chicago, meanwhile, was then part of the Big 10. Bucknell, Allegheny and Wabash to the contrary notwithstanding, the concept of the mid-major isn't particularly meaningful at this time.

1910 Williams 11-0 #1P... Columbia 11-1 #1H
1911 Columbia 13-1 #2P
1912 Allegheny 11-1 #4P... Grove City 13-0 #3P
1913 Navy 9-0 #1H and P
1914 Navy 10-0 #3P... Denison 15-1 #2P
1915 Army 11-2 #2P
1916 Allegheny 10-1 #2P
1917 Wabash 19-2 #3P
1918 Penn 18-2 #4P
1919 Navy 16-0 #1P

The Ivy League still leads with 6 mythical mid-major "titles" but the service academies (Army and Navy) came on wrong with 4 (3 for Navy, 1 for Army). Columbia, Allegheny, Wabash and Navy lead with 3 titles each, Allegheny and Wabash qualify as the top Cinderellas of the period 1900-1920.

1920 Penn 22-1 #1H and P
1921 Penn 21-2 #1H and #2P
1922 Army 17-2 #3P
1923 Army 17-0 #1P
1924 Navy 15-3 #3P
1925 Princeton 23-2 #1 H and P
1926 Columbia 16-2 #1P
1927 Fordham 18-2 #4P
1928 Montana State 36-2 #2P
1929 Montana State 36-2 #1H and P

The Ivy League and service academies are "majors" at this time, winning 9 straight mythical "mid-major" titles. Columbia and Navy lead with 4 each.

1930 Furman 16-1 #9P
1931 Columbia 21-2 #4P
1932 CCNY 16-2 #5P
1933 Princeton 19-3 #5P
1934 Wyoming 26-3 #1H, #5P... Duquesne 19-2 #3P
1935 NYU 19-1 #1H, #2P... Richmond 20-0 #1P
1936 Long Island U. 25-0 #1 Premo
1937 Long Island U. 28-3 #3 Premo
1938 Temple 23-2 #1H and P, won NIT
1939 Long Island U. 23-0 #1P, won NIT

Eastern basketball and Madison Square Garden emerge with CCNY, NYU, LIU and Temple winning 6 "titles" among them. The Ivy League won in 1931 and 1933 for a total of 12, but will win only 1 more "title" in the coming years.

1940 Duquesne 20-3 #4P, 3rd in NCAA
1941 Long Island U. 25-2 #1P, won NIT
1942 Rice 22-5 #3P
1943 Wyoming 31-2 #2P, won NCAA
1944 Utah 21-4 #2P, won NCAA... Army 15-0 #1P
1945 Rice 20-1 #4P
1946 Rhode Island 21-3 #6P, 3rd in NIT
1947 Holy Cross 27-3 #2P, won NCAA
1948 St. Louis 24-3 #2, 2nd in NCAA
1949 St. Louis 22-4 #3 in final AP poll

Eastern basketball wins 4 "titles," but Western ball is moving up as Rice and St. Louis each win 2 and Utah 1.

1950 CCNY 24-5 Unranked, wins both the NCAA and NIT
1951 Columbia 23-1 #3AP
1952 Duquesne 23-4, #4AP, 4th in NCAA
1953 LaSalle 25-3 #2AP
1954 LaSalle 26-4 #10AP, won NCAA
1955 San Francisco 28-1 #1 AP, won NCAA
1956 San Francisco 29-0
1957 SMU 22-4 #4AP
1958 Temple 27-3 #5AP, 3rd in NCAA
1959 Bradley 25-4 #4 AP, 2nd in NIT

Eastern teams win 5 straight and 6 of 10. Columbia leads all with 6. The heyday of mid-major ball: 5 NCAA titles 1943-1955. 7 through 1966.

1960 Bradley 27-2 #4AP, won NIT
1961 St. Bonaventure 24-4 #3AP... St. Joseph's 25-5 3rd in NCAA
1962 Bowling Green 21-3, #8 AP... Bradley 21-7 #5AP
1963 Chicago Loyola 29-2 #3AP, won NCAA
1964 Wichita State 23-6 #5AP
1965 San Francisco 24-5 #10UPI...Princeton 3rd in NCAA... St. Joseph's #3AP
1966 Texas Western 28-1 #3AP, won NCAA
1967 Houston 27-4 #7AP, 3rd in NCAA... Dayton 2nd in NCAA... Princeton2-3 #5AP
1968 Houston 31-2 #1AP, 4th in NCAA
1969 Drake 26-5 #11AP, 3rd in NCAA... LaSalle 23-1 #2AP

Not much to say for Eastern ball. It's all West with Loyola and Texas Western winning it all, and Houston a powerhouse.

1970 Jacksonville 27-2, #4AP, 2nd in NCAA
1971 Western Kentucky 24-6, #7AP, 3rd NCAA... Penn 28-1 #7AP
1972 Long Beach State 25-4 #5AP... Penn 25-3 #3AP
1973 Memphis State #12AP, 2nd NCAA... Long Beach State 26-3 #3AP
1974 Oral Roberts 23-6 #18AP... Long Beach State 24-2 #10AP
1975 UNLV 24-5 #17AP
1976 UNLV 29-2 #3AP
1977 UNLV 29-3 #4AP, 3rd in NCAA
1978 San Francisco 23-6 #11AP
1979 Indiana State 33-1 #1AP, 2nd NCAA

UNLV 1st ever 3-peat. Larry Bird and Indiana State made a run at the NCAA title in 1979. But overall mid-major ball in decline as indicated by those #12 and #18 and #17 mid-major "champions."

1980 Iona 29-5 #19AP... BYU 24-5 #12AP
1981 Utah 25-5 #14AP
1982 Memphis State 24-5 #9AP... Houston made it to NCAA semis
1983 Houston 31-3 #1AP, 2nd NCAA
1984 Houston 32-5 #5AP, NCAA semis
1985 Memphis State 31-5 #5AP, NCAA semis
1986 UNLV 33-5 #11AP
1987 UNLV 37-2 #1AP, NCAA semis
1988 Temple 32-2 #1AP
1989 UNLV 29-8 #15AP

East gets 1st "titles" since 1961 but UNLV catches Columbia with its 6th and Houston catches San Francisco, Long Island U and Navy with 4.

1990 UNLV 35-5 #2AP, won NCAA
1991 UNLV 34-1 #1AP, NCASA semis
1992 UNLV 26-2 #7AP
1993 Massachusetts 24-7 #14AP
1994 Massachusetts 28-7 #8AP
1995 Massachusetts 29-5 #7AP
1996 Massachusetts 35-2 #1AP, NCAA semis
1997 Utah 29-4 #2AP
1998 Utah 30-4 #7AP, 2nd NCAA
1999 Utah 28-5 #6AP

UMass brings Eastern ball back to the top, matching UNLV's record of 4 straight "titles." UNLV leads Columbia overall 9-6 but Utah moves into 3rd with 5 "titles." The decade of the mega-dynasties as just 3 schools won 11 in a row and 13 of 14.

2000 Tulsa 32-5 #18AP... Temple 32-5 #5AP
2001 St. Joseph's 26-7 #22AP
2002 Gonzaga 29-4 #6AP
2003 Xavier 26-6#12AP
2004 St. Joseph's 30-2 #5AP... Gonzaga 28-3 #3AP
2005 Gonzaga 26-5 #10AP
2006 Memphis 33-4 #4AP
2007 Memphis 33-4 #5AP
2008 Memphis 38-2 #1AP, 2nd in NCAA
2009 Memphis 33-4 #9USAT

Suddenly Memphis is 2nd to UNLV with 7 "titles" and St. Joe's shows again that Eastern ball is not quite dead. Columbia is still 3rd with 6 "titles," Utah has 5, UMass, USF, Houston, LIU and Navy have 4. Allegheny, Wabash, Penn, Army and Temple have 3.

2010 Butler 33-5 #11AP, 2nd in NCAA
2011 Butler 28-10 unranked, 2nd in NCAA
2012 Murray State 31-2 #9Coaches

I thought it interesting that Temple, 1938-1988, goes 51 years. Columbia, 1904-1951, has a spread of 48 years. Utah, 1944-1981, 37 years.

Top coaches are Jerry Tarkanian, Long Beach State (1) and UNLV (9) with 10, and John Calipari (4 each at UMass and Memphis) with 8. Clair Bee (LIU) and Guy Lewis (Houston) have 4 each.