Precious few college basketball coaches have won more than one NCAA tournament title
photo by: Nick Krug
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski congratulates Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) after the Jayhawks' 77-75 win.
You likely have heard it uttered about Jim Boeheim, John Calipari, Tom Izzo or Bill Self, if not all four, at least once: “Yeah, but he’s only won one national title.”
As if coaches who have won multiple titles are walking all over the place at the Final Four.
Before reading the next paragraph, close your eyes and see if you can guess how many active college basketball coaches have won multiple national titles.
Now open them. The answer is three: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (five), North Carolina’s Roy Williams (three) and Villanova’s Jay Wright.
There are only seven active coaches who have won at least one.
| Coach | School | NC Years |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Krzyzewski (5) | Duke | 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 |
| Roy Williams (3) | North Carolina | 2005, 2009, 2017 |
| Jay Wright (2) | Villanova | 2016, 2018 |
| Tom Izzo | Michigan St. | 2000 |
| Jim Boeheim | Syracuse | 2003 |
| Bill Self | Kansas | 2008 |
| John Calipari | Kentucky | 2012 |
In addition to the three active college coaches with multiple NCAA tournament titles, 11 coaches who are either deceased, retired or working in the NBA have won more than once.
| Coach | School | NC Years |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Iba | Oklahoma St. | 1945, 1946 |
| Adolph Rupp | Kentucky | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958 |
| Branch McCracken | Indiana | 1940, 1953 |
| Ed Jucker | Cincinnati | 1961, 1962 |
| John Wooden | UCLA | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975 |
| Denny Crum | Louisville | 1980, 1986 |
| Bob Knight | Indiana | 1976, 1981, 1987 |
| Dean Smith | North Carolina | 1982, 1993 |
| Jim Calhoun | Connecticut | 1999, 2004, 2011 |
| Billy Donovan | Florida | 2006, 2007 |
| Rick Pitino | Kentucky/Louisville | 1996, 2013 |