North Carolina A&T and Southern broke NCAA tournament ground when they made the first appearance by an HBCU in the DI men's basketball tournament's round of 64 in 1985, the first year of the expanded bracket. Since then, a total of 19 HBCU men's basketball programs have played in the first round of the March Madness bracket.
Let's dive in to the past performance of the HBCU programs during the first round.
School breakdown
Texas Southern has the most round of 64 appearances of any HBCU men's basketball program, but has yet to win a game. The Tigers last appeared in the round of 64 in 2022. Grambling State became the latest HBCU to make its debut appearance in the round of 64 during the 2024 season.
Here's a look at the appearance of HBCUs in the round of 64.
| # of Appearances | HBCU |
|---|---|
| 8 | Texas Southern |
| 7 | North Carolina A&T, Southern |
| 5 | Hampton, South Carolina State |
| 4 | Mississippi Valley State |
| 3 | Coppin State, Jackson State, Norfolk State |
| 2 | Alabama State, Florida A&M, Howard, Morgan State, Tennessee State |
| 1 | Alcorn State, Delaware State, Grambling State North Carolina Central, Prairie View A&M |
The only HBCUs to win a round of 64 game are Southern, Coppin State, Hampton and Norfolk State. Alcorn State does have a first-round win, but that came in 1980 when there were only 32 teams in the bracket. Every other HBCU men's NCAA tournament win came in the opening or First Four round.
Here's a look at the records of HBCUs, by school, in the round of 64.
| School | Record | Win % | Last APP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State | 0-2 | .000 | 2004 |
| Alcorn State | 0-1 | .000 | 1999 |
| Coppin State | 1-2 | .333 | 1997 |
| Delaware State | 0-1 | .000 | 2005 |
| Florida A&M | 0-2 | .000 | 2004 |
| Grambling State | 0-1 | .000 | 2024 |
| Hampton | 1-4 | .200 | 2016 |
| Howard | 0-2 | .000 | 2023 |
| Jackson State | 0-3 | .000 | 2007 |
| Mississippi Valley State | 0-4 | .000 | 2008 |
| Morgan State | 0-2 | .000 | 2010 |
| Norfolk State | 1-2 | .333 | 2022 |
| North Carolina A&T | 0-7 | .000 | 2013 |
| North Carolina Central | 0-1 | .000 | 2014 |
| Prairie View A&M | 0-1 | .000 | 1998 |
| South Carolina State | 0-5 | .000 | 2003 |
| Southern | 1-6 | .142 | 2013 |
| Tennessee State | 0-2 | .000 | 1994 |
| Texas Southern | 0-8 | .000 | 2022 |
Conference breakdown
Here's a breakdown of NCAA tournament performance by HBCU conference.
| Conference | appearances | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEAC | 31 | 3 | 28 | .096 |
| SWAC | 27 | 1 | 26 | .037 |
| Tennessee State (OVC) | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Total | 58 | 4 | 54 | .069 |
Seeding
HBCUs have typically been seeded towards the bottom of the bracket since the round of 64 began. Of the 60 times HBCUs have participated in the round of 64, they have been seeded 16th — the lowest possible seed — 34 times.
The best seed any HBCU has had entering the Round of 64 has been No. 13, held by Southern in 1993. The Jaguars won their first round game with a 93-78 win over No. 4 Georgia Tech.
| Seed | Total seeds | % Seeded | Seed Record | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 | 1 | .017 | 1-0 | 1.000 |
| No. 14 | 4 | .069 | 0-4 | .000 |
| No. 15 | 21 | .362 | 3-18 | .143 |
| No. 16 | 34 | .567 | 0-34 | .000 |
Game results
Here are the results from every round of 64 game from an HBCU men's basketball program
| Year | School | Seed | Opponent | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Grambling State | No. 16 | No. 1 Purdue | L | 78-50 |
| 2023 | Howard | No. 16 | No. 1 Kansas | L | 68-96 |
| 2022 | Texas Southern | No. 16 | No. 1 Kansas | L | 56–83 |
| Norfolk State | No. 16 | No. 1 Baylor | L | 49–85 | |
| 2021 | Texas Southern | No. 16 | No. 1 Michigan | L | 66–82 |
| Norfolk State | No. 16 | No. 1 Gonzaga | L | 55–98 | |
| 2018 | Texas Southern | No. 16 | No. 1 Xavier | L | 83–102 |
| 2017 | Texas Southern | No. 16 | No. 1 North Carolina | L | 64–103 |
| 2016 | Hampton | No. 16 | No. 1 Virginia | L | 45–81 |
| 2015 | Texas Southern | No. 15 | No. 2 Arizona | L | 72–93 |
| Hampton | No. 16 | No. 1 Kentucky | L | 56–79 | |
| 2014 | North Carolina Central | No. 14 | No. 3 Iowa State | L | 75–93 |
| 2013 | Southern | No. 16 | No. 1 Gonzaga | L | 58–64 |
| North Carolina A&T | No. 16 | No. 1 Louisville | L | 48–79 | |
| 2012 | Norfolk State | No. 15 | No. 2 Missouri | W | 86–84 |
| 2011 | Hampton | No. 16 | No. 1 Duke | L | 45–87 |
| 2010 | Morgan State | No. 15 | No. 2 West Virginia | L | 50–77 |
| 2009 | Morgan State | No. 15 | No. 2 Oklahoma | L | 54–82 |
| 2008 | Mississippi Valley State | No. 16 | No. 1 UCLA | L | 29–70 |
| 2007 | Jackson State | No. 16 | No. 1 Florida | L | 69–112 |
| 2006 | Southern | No. 16 | No. 1 Duke | L | 54–70 |
| 2005 | Delaware State | No. 16 | No. 1 Duke | L | 46–57 |
| 2004 | Alabama State | No. 16 | No. 1 Duke | L | 61–96 |
| Florida A&M | No. 16 | No. 1 Kentucky | L | 76–96 | |
| 2003 | South Carolina State | No. 16 | No. 1 Oklahoma | L | 54–71 |
| 2002 | Hampton | No. 15 | No. 2 Connecticut | L | 67–78 |
| 2001 | Alabama State | No. 16 | No. 1 Michigan State | L | 35–69 |
| Hampton | No. 15 | No. 2 Iowa State | W | 58–57 | |
| 2000 | Jackson State | No. 16 | No. 1 Arizona | L | 47–71 |
| South Carolina State | No. 16 | No. 1 Stanford | L | 65–84 | |
| 1999 | Alcorn State | No. 15 | No. 2 Stanford | L | 57–69 |
| Florida A&M | No. 16 | No. 1 Duke | L | 58–99 | |
| 1998 | Prairie View A&M | No. 16 | No. 1 Kansas | L | 52–110 |
| South Carolina State | No. 15 | No. 2 Kentucky | L | 67–82 | |
| 1997 | Jackson State | No. 16 | No. 1 Kansas | L | 64–78 |
| Coppin State | No. 15 | No. 2 South Carolina | W | 78–65 | |
| 1996 | Mississippi Valley State | No. 15 | No. 2 Georgetown | L | 56–93 |
| South Carolina State | No. 15 | No. 2 Kansas | L | 54–92 | |
| 1995 | Texas Southern | No. 15 | No. 2 Arkansas | L | 78–79 |
| North Carolina A&T | No. 16 | No. 1 Wake Forest | L | 47–79 | |
| 1994 | Texas Southern | No. 15 | No. 2 Duke | L | 70–82 |
| Tennessee State | No. 14 | No. 3 Kentucky | L | 70–83 | |
| North Carolina A&T | No. 16 | No. 1 Arkansas | L | 79–94 | |
| 1993 | Southern | No. 13 | No. 4 Georgia Tech | W | 93–78 |
| Tennessee State | No. 15 | No. 2 Seton Hall | L | 59–81 | |
| Coppin State | No. 15 | No. 2 Cincinnati | L | 66–93 | |
| 1992 | Mississippi Valley State | No. 16 | No. 1 Ohio State | L | 56–83 |
| Howard | No. 16 | No. 1 Kansas | L | 67–100 | |
| 1990 | Texas Southern | No. 14 | No. 3 Georgetown | L | 52–70 |
| Coppin State | No. 15 | No. 2 Syracuse | L | 48–70 | |
| 1989 | Southern | No. 15 | No. 2 North Carolina | L | 79–93 |
| South Carolina State | No. 15 | No. 2 Duke | L | 69–90 | |
| 1988 | Southern | No. 15 | No. 2 Kentucky | L | 84–99 |
| North Carolina A&T | No. 14 | No. 3 Syracuse | L | 55–69 | |
| 1987 | Southern | No. 15 | No. 2 Temple | L | 56–75 |
| North Carolina A&T | No. 15 | No. 2 Alabama | L | 71–88 | |
| 1986 | Mississippi Valley State | No. 16 | No. 1 Duke | L | 78–85 |
| North Carolina A&T | No. 16 | No. 1 Kansas | L | 46–71 | |
| 1985 | Southern | No. 16 | No. 1 St. John's | L | 59–83 |
| North Carolina A&T | No. 16 | No. 1 Oklahoma | L | 83–96 |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff's 2010 season was vacated for NCAA violations
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