The 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 28, 1980, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the

1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1981, and ended with the championshi ...

championship game on March 30, 1981, at The Spectrum in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 63–50 victory over the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

Rule Changes

* On free throw attempts, players can now enter the free-throw lane after the foul shooter releases the ball. Previously, players had to wait until the ball touched either the rim or backboard before entering the lane. * The time allotted to replace a disqualified (fouled out) player was reduced from 60 to 30 seconds. * Conferences were allowed to experiment with the

three-point shot A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

in conference games only. The

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

was the first to use the shot in their conference games, adopting a distance of 22 feet.

Season headlines

* The

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

played its first season as a Division I conference. * At 7:06 p.m. on November 29, 1980, Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina scored a field goal against Middle Tennessee State. Not counting shots made during a February 1945 game between Columbia and Fordham that experimented with the

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

, Carr became the first player to score on a three-point shot. The three-pointer was used as an experiment by several conferences until the rule was adopted nationally for the 1986-87 season. * After a nearly even first half, the

pulled away from the

to clinch the school's fourth national championship, 63–50, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The win marked Hoosiers had coach

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

's second championship and marked North Carolina head coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...

's sixth trip to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

without a championship. A dominant second half by sophomore

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III ( ; born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player who is head coach of the Saginaw Soul of the Basketball Super League, and also an analyst for NBA TV and Fox Sports. H ...

led Indiana to the championship. * The possibility of postponing or cancellng the March 30 NCAA championship game arose after an assassination attempt in which John Hinckley Jr., shot

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

that day in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Once it was confirmed that Reagan would survive, the game was played as scheduled. * The NCAA used the

Rating Percentage Index The rating percentage index, commonly known as the RPI, is a quantity used to rank sports teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. It is one of the sports rating systems by which NCAA basketball, baseball, softbal ...

(RPI), a computer ranking system, for the first time as an aid in evaluating teams for at-large selections and seeding in the NCAA tournament. * Two No. 1 seeds (

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

) advanced to the NCAA tournament

for the first time. * The NCAA tournament included a national third-place game — pitting the two teams that lost in the semifinals against one another — for the last time. The NCAA tournament had included a national third-place game since

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

. * For the last time, the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT) included a third-place game between the two teams that lost in the semifinals. The tournament had included a third-place game since the first NIT in

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

. * The NCAA Final Four was held in Philadelphia and the Final Four logo included a depiction of the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

. It was the first time that a Final Four logo incorporated an image specific to the Final Four venue. * Oregon State senior Steve Johnson set an

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. ...

record for season

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

with a .746 mark. Johnson graduated with the NCAA career field goal percentage record (.678) *

Nolan Richardson Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is an American former basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tourn ...

led

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

to a 15-game improvement over the previous year in his first year at the helm. The Golden Hurricane went 26–7 and won the 1981 National Invitation Tournament. Richardson came to Tulsa fresh off of a 1980 NJCAA Championship and brought four of his former Western Texas College starters to Tulsa, including Paul Pressey.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP and UPI polls during the pre-season.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Note: From

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

to 1981, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1981 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the

in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

s did. The ECAC North was a separate, conventional conference.Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
/ref>

Conference standings

Division I independents

A total of 46 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, DePaul (27–2) had both the best

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

(.931) and the most wins.

Informal championships

All five teams finished with a 2–2 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

won its fourth NCAA title with a 63–50 win over

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and coach

. Precocious sophomore

was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player in a title game delayed due to the shooting of

Final Four

Played at The Spectrum in

National Invitation tournament

Coach

led

to the NIT Championship in his first year as a Division I head coach – an 86–84 win over Syracuse. The Golden Hurricane's Greg Stewart was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

NIT Semifinals and Finals

Played at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York City

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award:

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

, BYU * Naismith Award:

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

* Helms Player of the Year:

Mark Aguirre Mark Anthony Aguirre ( ; born December 10, 1959) is a Mexican-American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Aguirre was chosen as the List of first overall NBA draft picks, first overall pick of th ...

, DePaul * Associated Press Player of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Virginia * UPI Player of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Virginia *

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball across the three largest college athletic associations in the United States. Th ...

: Danny Ainge, BYU *

Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...

( USBWA): Ralph Sampson, Virginia * Adolph Rupp Trophy: Ralph Sampson, Virginia * ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year:

, DePaul

Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Ralph Miller, Oregon State *

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...

( USBWA): Ralph Miller, Oregon State *

NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...

: Jack Hartman, Kansas State & Ralph Miller, Oregon State * UPI Coach of the Year: Ralph Miller, Oregon State * CBS/

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Coach of the Year: Dale Brown,

* ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: Dale Brown, LSU

Other major awards

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

(Best player under 6'0): Terry Adolph, West Texas State * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): John Pinone, Villanova * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

metro area): Gary Springer, Iona

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979-80 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season