March Madness is a sacred period on the sports calendar. There's nothing else like it. College hoops are messy, chaotic, and utterly transfixing when the stakes are elevated to their highest possible point — do or die, single elimination, with 68 teams vying for one trophy. None of that bowl game garbage; it's all or nothing, and anything can happen.
We are lucky enough to still have many of the greatest coaches in college basketball history walking the sideline. Names like John Calipari, Bill Self, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, Mark Few — they carry a certain weight. So many schools, so many players, so many fans have deep personal connections to those guys.
There isn't a more intimate fandom than "your school." Whether you're an alum, an active student, or simply along for the ride, college sports fanaticism occupies a special niche in sports culture. And those coaches, who sit so high above the rest, feed into that.
In the annals of NCAA Tournament history, the winningest coaches of all time are legends of the sport. Mike Krzyzewski's legacy extends beyond Duke. He coached Team USA and developed relationships across the basketball world. He also holds the record with 101 March Madness wins. His longtime UNC rival, Roy Williams, is appropriately second all-time with 77.
As for the active head coaches on the list ...
Most NCAA Tournament wins among active college basketball head coaches
Order | Name | Schools | NCAAT wins |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Calipari | UMass, Memphis Kentucky, | 57 |
T-2 | Tom Izzo | Michigan State | 55 |
T-2 | Bill Self | Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois, Kansas | 55 |
4 | Rick Pitino | Boston, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona, St. John's | 54 |
5 | Mark Few | Gonzaga | 41 |
6 | Rick Barnes | Providence, Clemson, Texas, Tennessee | 27 |
T-7 | Kelvin Sampson | Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana, Houston | 24 |
T-7 | Thad Matta | Butler, Xavier, Ohio State | 24 |
9 | Sean Miller | Xavier, Arizona | 21 |
10 | Scott Drew | Valpo, Baylor | 19 |
There is a looooot of intertwined history at the top of this list.
Bill Self won his first national title in 2008 when Kansas beat John Calipari's Memphis. Then, Cal won his first ring in 2012, when his Kentucky squad beat ... yes, Self's Kansas.
We know Cal and Pitino are practically connected at the hip as (now both former) Kentucky coaches with complicated reputations in Big Blue Nation. Calipari left on uneven terms with the fanbase. Pitino left and went on to coach Louisville, becoming the Wildcats' No. 1 Enemy of the State for a time. (He won a 'chip with both programs, to be fair.)
This year's tournament has a chance to really shake things up. Nine of the 10 names on this list, excluding Butler's Thad Matta, will dance. Cal will face Self in the Round of 64, with the winner (probably) slated to face Rick Pitino's St. John's in the second round, assuming the Johnnies can get past 15-seed Omaha.
Meanwhile, the basketball nerd community waits in eager anticipation for the potential second-round bout between Kelvin Sampson's Houston and Mark Few's Gonzaga. The Bulldogs need to get past another Bulldogs squad (9-seed UGA) first, but the Zags finished ninth in KenPom's net rating and feel much more dangerous than their 8-seed billing. Houston is a popular pick to win it all, but Few is a different beast in March. Gonzaga is D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S.
Izzo's Michigan State feels like a potential Final Four team. St. John's has a pretty easy corner of the bracket on paper. Let's say Self and Cal are both done by the first weekend, potentially by Pitino's hand. This list could have a new leader by the time March Madness wraps up.
So buckle in, folks. History is on the line.