The 1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in

single-elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

play to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

. It began on March 13, 1976, and ended with the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

on March 29 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third-place game.

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, coached by

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

, won the national title with an 86–68 victory in the final game over

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, coached by Johnny Orr.

Kent Benson Michael Kent Benson (born December 27, 1954) is an American former collegiate and professional basketball player. Benson was a two time All-American at Indiana University, winning the 1976 Helms Foundation Player of the Year and helping lead t ...

of Indiana was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Notably, this was the first time that two teams from the same conference (the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

) played in the title game. Also, this was the last men's Division I tournament to date to feature two unbeaten teams, as both Indiana and

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

entered the tournament unbeaten. To date, Indiana is the last team to go the entire season undefeated at 32–0. Both advanced to the Final Four, with Indiana winning the title and Rutgers losing to Michigan in the semifinals and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in the third-place game. This had been the last tournament both Duke and Kentucky missed in the same year until 2021. This tournament was also the first since the creation of the NCAA men's tournament in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

in which no regional third-place games were played. In the first two NCAA tournaments (1939 and 1940), the West Regional held a third-place game, but the East (the only other regional of that day) did not. The East began holding its own third-place game in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

, and from that point through 1975 each regional held a third-place game. This was the second year of the 32-team field, and the NCAA announced the selections several days prior to the end of the regular As site of the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

and signing of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

also served as host for the 1976 NBA All-Star Game, the 1976 National Hockey League All-Star Game, and the

1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 47th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1976 ...

at which President Ford threw out the first pitch. The 1976 Pro Bowl was an exception and was played in New Orleans, likely due to weather concerns.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1976 tournament: First round *March 13 **East Region ***

Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles' Coliseum (which was called Charlott ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

***

Providence Civic Center The Amica Mutual Pavilion (originally Providence Civic Center and formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the emerging Providence College men's ba ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

**Mideast Region ***

University of Dayton Arena University of Dayton Arena (commonly known as UD Arena) is a 13,409-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dayton, Ohio. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. From 2001 to 2010, the facility host ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

***

Athletic & Convocation Center The Joyce Center, formerly the Athletic & Convocation Center, is a 9,149-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend. The arena opened its doors in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish baske ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

**Midwest Region ***

UNT Coliseum The UNT Coliseum is a 9,797-seat multi-purpose arena located in Denton, Texas, United States, built in 1973. While the arena's formal name is the UNT Coliseum, the building is more commonly referred to as the Super Pit, a nickname derived from ...

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

***

Allen Fieldhouse Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks men's and women's basketball teams. The arena is named after Phog Allen, a former player and head coach for the Jayhaw ...

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

**West Region ***

McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena. Also known as "The Pit" or " ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

*** ASU Activity Center,

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 18 and 20 **East Regional, Greensboro Memorial Coliseum,

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

**Mideast Regional,

LSU Assembly Center The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,215-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The arena opened in 1972. It is home to the Louisiana State University Tigers and Lady Tigers basketball teams, the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

**Midwest Regional,

Freedom Hall Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

**West Regional,

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship) *March 27 and 29 ** The Spectrum,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Philadelphia became the 15th city, and the Spectrum the 16th venue, to host a Final Four. It was just the third active

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

arena to host a Final Four, after the old Madison Square Garden and the

Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...

. Like the majority of previous Final Four venues, this was the Spectrum's first time hosting tournament games of any kind, a practice which mostly died shortly after; the NCAA made it a practice to have Final Four venues have at least a "test run" hosting earlier games the year before by the 1980s. Other than the Spectrum, only one other arena made its debut in 1976. The

made its debut in the 1976 tournament, the first time the city of Baton Rouge hosted games, and the first time since 1942 that the state of Louisiana hosted. All the venues in the tournament saw action since this tournament, although this would mark the final time for the Charlotte Coliseum to host a regional round; it would only host sub-regionals afterwards. Baton Rouge hosted the Mideast Regional even though it is west of Louisville, the Midwest Regional host. This was because

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

was (and still is) a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

, whose champion was automatically assigned to the Mideast, and

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

was a member of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

when it was named to host this regional (the Cardinals moved to the brand-new

Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did n ...

for the 1975-76 season, and remained until it disbanded in 1995); the champions of the MVC and Metro were automatically assigned to the Midwest. Beginning in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, the NCAA no longer automatically assigned conference champions to their natural geographic region in order to have the flexibility to balance the four regional brackets.

Teams

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region – Greensboro, North Carolina

Midwest region – Louisville, Kentucky

Mideast region – Baton Rouge, Louisiana

West region – Los Angeles

Final Four – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

References

{{1976 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Ncaa The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Basketball in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1976

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...