NCAA Basketball: Ranking the top 25 programs of all time

Best NCAA Basketball programs of all-time: 20. Florida basketball

Another program that accomplished most of its feats during a single era (shout out Billy Donovan), Florida is our first multi-time national champion to make the list. Those titles famously came in back-to-back seasons in 2006 and 2007, marking the last time a college basketball program has won consecutive titles.

Those two magical seasons – led by the star core of Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer – highlight the program’s five trips to the Final Four, four of which came under Donovan and all of which have come since 1994. The Gators have made the Elite Eight on a rather consistent basis as well, reaching that mark nine times in school history and seven times over the last 14 seasons.

Coincidentally, this late rise has been a trend throughout Florida basketball’s history. Norm Sloan was the first full-time head coach for the Gators, and he wasn’t hired until 1960 – Florida had been fielding a basketball team since 1915. They didn’t win an SEC title until 1989 despite being one of the conference’s founding members in 1932. Heck, they didn’t even make an NCAA Tournament until 1987, and their first two appearances (1987, 1988) have been vacated by the NCAA.

But Florida has been one of the country’s most dominant programs since then, as shown by their success in the NCAA Tournament. And, with a preseason top 10 team in the fold coming into the new year, the Gators may be on their way to adding even more accolades.