DII men’s basketball programs with the most NCAA DII national championships

Welcome to the club, Minnesota State. In defeating Nova Southeastern in the last second in a memorable 2024 national title game, the Mavericks became part of the exclusive national champions club. It was the second DII men’s basketball season in a row with a first-time champion hoisting the trophy. 

2024 RECAP: How Minnesota State won the 2024 national championship

Wheaton (Ill.) won the first DII men’s basketball title in 1957, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan 89-65. Wheaton has never been back to the championship game, but Kentucky Wesleyan has advanced to 12 more title games, winning an unprecedented eight along the way. 

Let’s take a look at the programs with the most national championships in DII basketball.

Kentucky Wesleyan, 8 (1966, 1968-69, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999, 2001)

NCAA Photos

The Panthers are the benchmark when it comes to DII men’s basketball. They have lost as many championship games (5) as the next closest has won. Kentucky Wesleyan’s resume is as impressive as any program at any level. The Panthers have made 19 appearances in the Elite Eight, 17 appearances in the national semifinals, and have registered 87 tournament wins along the way. Only UCLA has more national championships in college basketball than the Panthers.

Evansville, 5 (1959-60, 1964-65, 1971)

Evansville Athletics

Not only have the Aces won five titles, but the same head coach also hoisted the trophy every time. No head coach in DII men’s basketball has more titles than Evansville’s Arad McCutchan, and that evidently paid off on his players. Jerry Sloan helped lead the Aces to back-to-back titles in 1964 and ’65 before going on to a storied NBA coaching career himself. The Aces were the first team to go back-to-back in DII history and are one of four DII programs to finish a championship season undefeated. 

Northwest Missouri State, 4 (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022)

The current dynasty in DII men’s basketball is Northwest Missouri State. The Bearcats have won four of the last five championships, and became the first team to repeat as champions since Cal State Bakersfield in 1994. In 2022, the Bearcats became the first DII men’s basketball team made history as the first to win three in a row. Ben McCollum, a graduated of Northwest Missouri State, has led his alma mater to all of its titles.

Cal State Bakersfield, 3 (1993-94, 1997)

Cal State Bakersfield Athletics

A large part of the 1990s belonged to the Roadrunners, making six appearances in the national semifinals and winning three of their four national championship appearances in the decade. Head coach Pat Douglass led them to all three titles, with their 1993, 33-0 season one of the best in DII basketball history. 

Virginia Union, 3 (1980, 1992, 2005)

The school that produced well-known NBA big men Charles Oakley and Ben Wallace also pumped out three national championship teams. The Panthers like to leave their mark across the decades, the only team to win one in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. 

Teams with two

Five teams have won two titles. Florida Southern picked up its second title in 2015, 34 years after winning its first. Central Missouri won its second title in 2014, 30 years after winning its first back in 1984, holding both of its opponents to 77 points. Winona State went to three-straight title games between 2006 and 2008, winning twice. What are the chances two Roadrunners appear on the list? Enter Metro State who played Kentucky Wesleyan in the championship game three times in four years, winning in both 2000 and 2002. And lastly, North Alabama won twice, once in 1979 before winning again in 1991.

MORE: These are the highest scoring seasons in DII history

Here is the complete history of the DII men’s basketball championship game. Note that there was no winner in 2020, as the tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.