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The collegiate level has produced some of the best basketball minds on the planet. From a full-court press to signature offensive plays, NCAA coaches dial it all up.
Sparked by a tweet from College Basketball, here's a look at the top five college coaches out of the past 10 who've won national titles.
That span starts in 2012, because there was no NCAA Tournament in 2020 (COVID-19) and because Jay Wright won two titles (2018 and 2016).
Note that UConn has won three titles since 2011 under three coaches: Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie and Dan Hurley. If Louisville's vacated 2013 championship under Rick Pitino isn't included, then Calhoun, a Hall of Famer with three NCAA titles, four Final Four appearances and 917 wins, would have made the top five.
It's an elite list. Each of the top five coaches is a Hall of Famer. And they have combined for 13 national titles, 36 Final Four appearances and 4,324 wins. Plus, they have combined for at least 20 national coach of the year awards by various entities.
Top five college basketball coaches to win national titles
#5, Jay Wright, Villanova Wildcats
Jay Wright led Villanova to two national titles and four Final Four appearances. Wright, who was 642-282 at Hofstra and Villanova, was the Naismith College Coach of the Year twice and Big East Coach of the Year four times.
After nearly a decade as an assistant coach at Division III and Division I schools, Wright got his first job as a head coach at Division I Hofstra. There, he led the Flying Dutchmen to steady success and two NCAA Tournament appearances in seven years. He was named America East Coach of the Year twice.
In 2001, Wright returned to Villanova, where he had been an assistant from 1987-92.
Wright led Villanova to great heights. The Wildcats went to the Sweet 16 in 2005 and 2008 and reached the Elite Eight in 2005 and the Final Four in 2009. He won his first NCAA title with a team of six future NBA players in 2016. Two years later, the Wildcats won another title, and Villanova also reached the 2022 Final Four, after which he retired.
#4, John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats
John Calipari (790-251) took Kentucky to the 2012 national title and has led three programs to six Final Fours, although his 1996 appearance with UMass and 2008 appearance with Memphis, have been vacated by the NCAA.
Calipari started as an assistant for six years at Kansas before moving to the University of Massachusetts for eight years. He then coached the NBA's New Jersey Nets for four years (1996-99). In 2000, he took over the Memphis Tigers, where he had a successful run, finishing as the 2008 national runner-up, along with two Elite Eight appearances and a Sweet 16 finish in nine seasons.
Calipari then moved to Kentucky and started with an Elite Eight appearance in his first season.
The next year, Calipari led UK to the 2011 Final Four. Finally, in his third season, Calipari won an NCAA title.
#3, Bill Self, Kansas Jayhawks
Bill Self (787-232) has coached Kansas to two national titles (and a runner-up finish) and four Final Four appearances while being named the Associated Press Coach of the Year twice and the Big 12 Coach of the Year six times.
Self is the only active coach with more than one NCAA championship.
Bill Self also started his career as an assistant coach at Kansas (1985-86) before becoming an assistant at Oklahoma from 1986-93. In 1993, Self became a head coach for the first time at Oral Roberts before moving to Tulsa after four years at ORU. His first year coaching the Golden Hurricane was the last time he was not seen in the NCAA Tournament.
After leading Tulsa to a 32-5 mark and the Elite Eight in 1999, Self coached the Illinois Fighting Illini for three seasons, leading them to the Elite Eight in his first season and the Sweet 16 the next season.
Self then moved to Kansas, taking over for Roy Williams.
The Jayhawks made an Elite Eight appearance in 2004, his first season, and 2007 and then won the national title in 2008, his fourth, beating John Calipari's Memphis Tigers in overtime.
The following years saw constant tournament appearances, with the Jayhawks reaching the Elite Eight three times, the Sweet 16 twice, a runner-up finish in 2012 and the 2018 Final Four. In 2022, Self and the Jayhawks won another title after making an insane 16-point comeback versus North Carolina.
#2, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels
Roy Williams (903-264), who retired in April 2021, had one of the most successful coaching careers in college basketball history, winning three national titles, all at North Carolina, and making nine Final Fours (four at Kansas, five at UNC).
Williams started off coaching under Dean Smith at North Carolina in 1978 and played a crucial role in recruiting one of the most anticipated prospects in the early 1980s, Michael Jordan.
He moved to Kansas in 1988 and took the Jayhawks to the Final Four in 1991, 1993, 2002 and 2003. In his final year at Kansas (2003), KU played in the national championship game, losing to Carmelo Anthony's Syracuse team.
Williams then moved back to UNC, winning a national title in his second year with the Tar Heels (2005) and again in 2009. In 2016 and 2017, Williams led the Tar Heels to two consecutive championship games, winning his third title in 2017.
#1, Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils
Mike Krzyzewski, a former U.S. Army captain, is the most recognized college basketball coach.
Krzyzewski, who also retired in 2022, took the Duke Blue Devils to 13 Final Fours (the most Final Four appearances by one coach) and five national titles (second only to John Wooden's 10). He also has the most wins of any college coach (1,202-368) and led Team USA to three Olympic gold medals.
Famously known as Coach K, Krzyzewski coached Army before becoming the the Duke Blue Devils coach.
In 1986, his sixth season at Duke, Krzyzewski led the team to the national championship game. Four years later, the Blue Devils missed out on the title again. In 1991, he won his first NCAA title, and Duke repeated the following year. Nearly a decade later, in 2001, Duke won its third title.
In 2010, the Blue Devils won another title, Krzyzewski's fourth. In 2015, he won his last title and became the first coach to win 1,000 Division I basketball games.
