Fansided

College basketball blue bloods ranked by all-time legacy

By Mike Phillips

Michael Jordan is all smiles along with coach Dean Smith as Jordan announces at a 1984 press conference that he will forgo his senior year in college to play professional basketball. (Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images)
Michael Jordan is all smiles along with coach Dean Smith as Jordan announces at a 1984 press conference that he will forgo his senior year in college to play professional basketball. (Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images) /
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26 MAR 1973: UCLA’s coach John Wooden shakes hands with Bill Walton after winning the NCAA National Basketball Championship game by defeating Memphis State 87-66 in St. Louis, MO, St Louis Arena. Walton received the Most Outstanding Player award with 30 rebounds and 58 points for the tournament. Rich Clarkson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
26 MAR 1973: UCLA’s coach John Wooden shakes hands with Bill Walton after winning the NCAA National Basketball Championship game by defeating Memphis State 87-66 in St. Louis, MO, St Louis Arena. Walton received the Most Outstanding Player award with 30 rebounds and 58 points for the tournament. Rich Clarkson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images /

What defines a blue blood in college basketball? FanSided ranks the 20 college basketball blue bloods based on their legacy and all-time performance.College athletics is often a case of the haves and the have-nots, specifically the programs playing in the so-called “power conferences” and those who fight for relevance in mid or low major leagues. There is even further stratification at the top of the sport, as some programs have established traditions of excellence that put them at the top of the mountain.

This is where the idea of blue bloods comes in, but who exactly qualifies as a blue blood? Schools with a long history of success, like Duke and Kansas, certainly qualify, but what of programs like Michigan State and Syracuse, who have been excellent at times but not quite to the level of a UCLA or Kentucky?

The blue blood question also applies to some of the more modern programs that have begun to win at high rates, like Villanova and Florida. Both schools have a pair of national championships and are regulars at the NCAA Tournament, but does that earn them a place at the blue blood table?

With that in mind, FanSided has sat down and taken a stab at the 20 bluest blue bloods in college basketball today. Going from 347 programs down to the 20 best certainly was a challenge, and it will absolutely lead to some debate.

Let’s start our countdown with modern blue blood, Gonzaga.