NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship has been conducted since 1957. Like all other NCAA basketball divisions for men and women, the champion is decided in a single-elimination tournament. However, the Division II tournaments for men and women differ in one major respect from those in Divisions I and III. The finals of both Division II tournaments consist of eight teams, instead of the four in the other two divisions. The eight survivors of regional play meet in the Elite Eight (an NCAA registered trademark) at a predetermined site.

The following is a list of champions:

• 1957 Wheaton 89-65 Kentucky Wesleyan
• 1958 South Dakota 75-53 St. Michael's
• 1959 Evansville 83-67 Southwest Missouri State
• 1960 Evansville 90-69 Chapman
• 1961 Wittenberg 42-38 Southeast Missouri State
• 1962 Mount St. Mary's 58-57 (OT) Sacramento State
• 1963 South Dakota State 44-42 Wittenberg
• 1964 Evansville 72-59 Akron
• 1965 Evansville 85-82 (OT) Southern Illinois
• 1966 Kentucky Wesleyan 54-51 Southern Illinois
• 1967 Winston-Salem State 77-74 Southwest Missouri State
• 1968 Kentucky Wesleyan 63-52 Indiana State
• 1969 Kentucky Wesleyan 75-71 Southwest Missouri State
• 1970 Philadelphia 76-65 Tennessee State
• 1971 Evansville 97-82 Old Dominion
• 1972 Roanoke 84-72 Akron
• 1973 Kentucky Wesleyan 78-76 (OT) Tennessee State
• 1974 Morgan State 67-52 Southwest Missouri State
• 1975 Old Dominion 76-74 New Orleans
• 1976 Puget Sound 83-74 Chattanooga
• 1977 Chattanooga 71-62 Randolph-Macon
• 1978 Cheyney 47-40 Wisconsin-Green Bay
• 1979 North Alabama 64-50 Wisconsin-Green Bay
• 1980 Virginia Union 80-74 New York Tech
• 1981 Florida Southern 73-68 Mount St. Mary's
• 1982 District of Columbia 73-63 Florida Southern
• 1983 Wright State 92-73 District of Columbia
• 1984 Central Missouri State 81-77 St. Augustine's
• 1985 Jacksonville State 74-73 South Dakota State
• 1986 Sacred Heart 93-87 Southeast Missouri State
• 1987 Kentucky Wesleyan 92-74 Gannon
• 1988 UMass Lowell 75-72 Alaska-Anchorage
• 1989 North Carolina Central 73-46 Southeast Missouri State
• 1990 Kentucky Wesleyan 93-79 Cal State Bakersfield
• 1991 North Alabama 79-72 Bridgeport
• 1992 Virginia Union 100-75 Bridgeport
• 1993 Cal State Bakersfield 85-72 Troy State
• 1994 Cal State Bakersfield 92-86 Southern Indiana
• 1995 Southern Indiana 71-63 UC Riverside
• 1996 Fort Hays State 70-63 Northern Kentucky
• 1997 Cal State Bakersfield 57-56 Northern Kentucky
• 1998 UC Davis 83-77 Kentucky Wesleyan
• 1999 Kentucky Wesleyan 75-60 Metro State
• 2000 Metro State 97-79 Kentucky Wesleyan
• 2001 Kentucky Wesleyan 72-63 Washburn
• 2002 Metro State 80-72 Kentucky Wesleyan
• 2003 Northeastern State 75-64 Kentucky Wesleyan
• 2004 Kennesaw State 84-59 Southern Indiana