Several schools currently find themselves in the midst of an NCAA Tournament drought, including several historically strong programs that have stumbled upon rough times. It's not uncommon for most power conference schools to have a multi-year NCAA Tournament drought, but in the case of several schools, that drought has extended far beyond a multi-year drought.
In recent years, several high major programs snapped their NCAA Tournament droughts. For example, Rutgers snapped a 30-year NCAA Tournament drought in 2021, Washington State and Nebraska respectively snapped a 16 year and 10 year drought in 2024, and Georgia snapped a 10-year drought this year.
As things stand, there are several active high major NCAA Tournament droughts that currently sit at a decade or longer, while several others are coming close to hitting double digits. With that being said, here are some of the more embarassing active NCAA Tournament droughts.
DePaul
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2004 (21 years)
As things stand, DePaul has by far the longest NCAA Tournament drought, which has lasted over two decades and spans back to 2004, when the Blue Demons were still in the C-USA. Since then, the Blue Demons have rarely even come close to making it back to the big dance, and in their roughly 20 seasons since joining the Big East ahead of the 2005-06 season, DePaul has finished in last place (or tied for last) in more than half of those seasons across the original and present Big East. DePaul has seen several coaches come in looking to turn the ship around, but so far, none have been able to succeed, at least in getting the Blue Demons back in the NCAA Tournament.
Most recently, DePaul hired Chris Holtmann after the 2023-24 season, after the team went 3-29 overall while going 0-20 in the Big East. With that being said, the Blue Demons did seem to make some meaningful progress in year 1 under Chris Holtmann, and if they can continue sustaining that improvement, there are reasons to believe DePaul's tournament drought could come to an end within the next few seasons.
Boston College
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2009 (16 years)
Boston College has the second-longest NCAA Tournament drought of any power conference program, with its last appearance coming back in 2009 under head coach Al Skinner. Since then, the Eagles have been largely uncompetitive, often finishing near the bottom of the ACC, and have made just three NIT appearances since 2009. Boston College last made the NIT just one year ago in 2024, where they advanced to the second round, but they failed to build off that, going 12-19 overall this year while finishing 17th in the 18-team ACC, missing out on the ACC Tournament altogether.
The Eagles have plenty of question marks entering year 5 under head coach Earl Grant, and it remains to be seen if Grant can accomplish what several of his predecessors were unable to do and lead Boston College back to the NCAA Tournament.
Stanford
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2014 (11 years)
Stanford is the third and final high-major program with a tournament drought spanning over a decade. The Cardinal were last in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 under head coach Johnny Dawkins, and since then, they've only made two coaching changes, with Jerrod Haase replacing Dawkins and Kyle Smith replacing Haase last year.
After several years of being largely uncompetitive, Stanford seemed to make forward progress this year in head coach Kyle Smith's first season with the team, finishing 21-14 overall and reaching the NIT. Kyle Smith was the same coach who snapped Washington State's 16-year NCAA Tournament drought in 2024, so he certainly has the potential to do the same with the Cardinal. Time will tell, but if Stanford can find some continued stability in a weaker ACC, their tournament drought will likely end sooner rather than later.
UNLV
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2013 (12 years)
They may not be a high major program, but UNLV is a historically strong program, having won a National Championship in 1990 while playing in a Mountain West Conference that often sees multiple teams earn at-large bids, especially in recent seasons. However, the Runnin' Rebels have been unable to take advantage of those opportunities, and as things stand, they currently have an NCAA Tournament drought that sits at 12 years. UNLV has made only one postseason appearance since 2013, with that coming in the 2024 NIT, where the Runnin' Rebels reached the quarterfinals.
UNLV underwent a coaching change this offseason, firing Kevin Kruger and hiring former Georgia Tech & Memphis head coach Josh Pastner. Pastner & co appear to be off to a strong start, having already put together a solid roster. The days of the Mountain West being a multi-bid conference may be numbered given the expected departure of several schools after next season, but should UNLV remain in the conference, they may have the opportunity to build one of the stronger foundations in the new MWC.
Utah
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2016 (9 years)
Tough times have fallen upon the Utes as of late, as their NCAA tournament drought currently sits at nine seasons. Since they last appeared in the big dance, Utah has made four postseason appearances, with three NIT appearances on top of playing in the inaugural College Basketball Crown this past season. For much of the 2023-24 season, it looked as though Utah would snap their tournament drought, but a late-season collapse relegated them to the NIT, where they did reach the semifinals.
The Utes will have a new head coach next season, as former Utah forward and Dallas Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen will replace Craig Smith as head coach. It remains to be seen how Jensen will fare as the Utes' head coach, but it's a bold hire that has plenty of potential. Time will tell if Jensen will be the man to snap the longest active NCAA Tournament drought in the Big 12 Conference.
Cal
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2016 (9 years)
Like Utah, Cal last made the NCAA Tournament in 2016, back when they had Jaylen Brown on their team, and their drought is nearing a decade. The Golden Bears have undergone several coaching changes since 2016, and are currently entering year 3 under head coach Mark Madsen. Cal struggled in their first season in the ACC, finishing 6-14 in a down year for the ACC as a whole, and coupled with back-to-back 19-loss seasons under Madsen, this upcoming season will be crucial for the program and where they may stand in the ACC moving forward.
Wake Forest
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2017 (8 years)
Despite being an NCAA Tournament fixture for much of the 90s and 2000s, the Demon Deacons currently find themselves in the midst of an NCAA Tournament drought that is creeping up towards a decade, having last made the NCAA Tournament in 2017, where they lost in the First Four. That being said, Wake Forest has come close to getting over the hump in 2022, 2024, and in 2025, but squandered away the opportunity in each of those years and ultimately missed the big dance.
Wake Forest has remained one of the more consistent teams in the ACC in recent years, but has nothing to show for it at the moment. The 2025-26 season could prove to be a make or break year for Forbes, and it may take the Demon Deacons finally getting over the hump and making the big dance for Forbes to cool his seat off.
Butler
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2018 (7 years)
Butler was an NCAA Tournament regular for much of the 2010s, which included back-to-back National Championship game appearances. But the Bulldogs have seemingly fallen off in recent years, with their last NCAA Tournament appearance coming in 2018. Outside of the 2019-20 season, where Butler was effectively a tournament lock before Covid-19 canceled the event, they have rarely even been within striking distance of the tournament bubble, having finished below .500 in all but one season since the 2019-20 season.
This year marks Thad Matta's fourth year at the helm, in what could prove to be a make-or-break year for him and his staff after three subpar seasons. The Bulldogs have some solid talent coming in this year, and it may very well be enough to end their tournament drought, but time will tell.
Minnesota
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2019 (6 years)
Though their drought only stands at six years, the Golden Gophers are tied for the longest NCAA Tournament drought of any Big Ten team, with Washington, a team that spent most of those seasons in the PAC-12, being the team they are tied with. Since their last appearance in 2019, the Gophers have seen plenty of struggles, with several last-place finishes, two coaching changes, and never really coming close to snapping their streak, with their 19-15 mark in the 2023-24 campaign marking their best season since 2019.
The Gophers will have a new coach at the helm this coming season, as Minneapolis native Niko Medved will return to his alma mater at Minnesota after leading Colorado State for close to a decade. It remains to be seen if Medved can guide the Gophers back to the big dance, but bringing in a coach who is very familiar with the school while having a strong track record of winning is a good start for Minnesota.
Georgetown
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2021 (4 years)
Georgetown's tournament drought isn't as long as the other list, but that being said, the Hoyas are very much in the midst of a dry spell. The Hoyas won the 2021 Big East Tournament in rather shocking fashion, giving them the Big East autobid to the NCAA Tournament, despite having been nowhere near the NCAA Tournament bubble entering the event. That being said, the Hoyas' last at-large bid to the Tournament came a decade ago in 2015, and in the years since then, Georgetown has rarely been close to the NCAA tournament bubble, and had it not been for their aforementioned lightning in a bottle run in 2021, the situation would be vastly different for the Hoyas.
Nonetheless, one tournament appearance in ten years, coupled with years upon years on uncompetitiveness, doesn't cut it for a proud, historical program like Georgetown. This past season, the Hoyas seemed to make some strong improvements in year 2 of the Ed Cooley era, but still found themselves well outside of the tournament bubble. It remains to be seen whether Georgetown will continue trending in the right direction, but if they do, they should be able to get back on track relatively soon; however, if they don't, there will be plenty of additional reasons for concern.