The 1966
NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 36 schools playing in a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
to determine the national champion of men's
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
College Division
The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
as a culmination of the 1965–66 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by
Kentucky Wesleyan College
Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students.
History
Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kentucky Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It ...
, with Kentucky Wesleyan's Sam Smith named Most Outstanding Player.
Increase in number of participating teams
In September 1965, the NCAA granted the
State University of New York Athletic Conference
The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, consisting of schools in the State University of New York ...
(SUNYAC) an automatic berth in the NCAA College Division tournament. Tommy Niland, head coach of
Le Moyne, which had received an at-large berth to each of the previous two NCAA tournaments, said that he was generally in favor of automatic qualification for the tournament, but, with one less at-large bid available, and the NCAA limiting how many teams from each area of the country enter the tournament, it would now be more difficult for teams in the northeast to be selected. Niland pointed out that none of the schools in the SUNYAC had ever been selected to play in the NCAA tournament in the past and that the conference might not be strong enough to merit an automatic bid. The SUNYAC joined the
Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and the Tri-State Collegiate Basketball League as conferences with automatic tournament bids. This left five at-large bids available for the nearly 200 teams in the northeast, designated by the NCAA as District 1, since teams from this area generally participated in either the Northeast or East Regionals, each of which comprised four teams. Since the MASCAC was very large, with more than 20 teams, it split into two divisions: the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) North Division and the MAC South Division, and each division applied for and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. This left only four at-large bids available for teams from the northeast. After considering the large number of teams in District 1, particularly high-quality teams without access to an automatic bid, the NCAA decided that instead of two regions of four teams each as had previously been the case, District 1 would have 12 bids with regional games played at three sites. The winner emerging from one of these sites would go directly to the national quarterfinals, while the other two winners would play each other for a quarterfinal berth. One site would feature the two MAC teams and two at-large teams. The second site would have the Tri-State League champion and three at-large teams. The SUNYAC champion and three at-large teams would play at the third site.
The expansion of the tournament would make it less likely that overflow District 1 teams would need to be sent to the Mideast Regional, as had been the case with Le Moyne and
Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
, and
Buffalo
Buffalo most commonly refers to:
* True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo
* Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo
* Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...
in
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
.
Regional participants
*indicates a tie
Regionals
Northeast
*Division B Consolation March 2 - Le Moyne 86, Potsdam State 63
*Division A Consolation March 3 - American International 96, Springfield 94*
;Notes:
* The right to host the regional final was given to the Division A winner, which was Assumption.
* American International College and Springfield College are both located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College was the host school for Division A.
South -
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
Location: McClendon–McDougald Gym Host:
North Carolina College at Durham
*Third Place - Winston-Salem 85, South Carolina State 81
East -
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...
Location:
Bollman Center
Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1856 and had an enrollment of 1,652 students as of fall 2023.
History
Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when "Union Semina ...
Host:
Albright College
Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1856 and had an enrollment of 1,652 students as of fall 2023.
History
Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when "Union Sem ...
*Third Place - Albright 78, Drexel 61
Mideast -
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...
Location: Memorial Hall Host:
Municipal University of Akron
*Third Place - Youngstown State 94, Randolph–Macon 63
Pacific Coast -
Fresno, California
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
Location: North Gym Host:
Fresno State College
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
*Third Place - Nevada 74, San Diego 71
Great Lakes -
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most po ...
Location:
SIU Arena
Banterra Center (formerly SIU Arena) is an 8,284-seat multi-purpose arena, on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Construction on the arena began in the spri ...
Host:
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...
*Third Place - Lamar 93, Indiana State 78
Southwest -
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of ...
Location: Indian Fieldhouse Host:
Arkansas State College
Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...
*Third Place - Arkansas State 84, Jackson State 77
Midwest -
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...
Location:
Hyslop Sports Center
Hyslop Sports Center is an indoor arena on the campus of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The arena holds 4,500 spectators and opened in 1951. Hyslop Sports Center is named in honor of William Kenneth Hyslop (1885†...
Host:
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...
Note: The first-round game between North Dakota and Colorado State College was delayed a day to March 6; the Valparaiso/Saint Procopius game was played in Moorhead, Minnesota on March 5; and the third-place game was cancelled entirely. These occurrences were due to inclement weather.
*denotes each overtime played
National Finals -
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...
Location:
Roberts Municipal Stadium
Roberts Municipal Stadium was a multi-purpose arena in Evansville, Indiana, for sports, public events, and concerts. The arena was built in 1956. It seated up to 12,732 spectators and featured four locker rooms and a press room. On June 13, 1972 ...
Host:
Evansville College
The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differe ...
*Third Place - Akron 76, North Dakota 71
*denotes each overtime played
All-tournament team
*
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...
(North Dakota)
* David Lee (Southern Illinois)
* George McNeil (Southern Illinois)
* Clarence Smith (Southern Illinois)
*
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
See also
*
1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
The 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national men's basketball champion of the NCAA University Division, now Division I. It began on March 7 a ...
*
1966 NAIA Basketball Tournament
The 1966 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 29th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. This tournament featured the gam ...
References
Sources
2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Records and Statistics: Division II men's basketball Championship1966 NCAA College Division Men's Basketball Tournament jonfmorse.com
{{NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament navbox
NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
NCAA College Division basketball tournament
NCAA College Division basketball tournament