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North Carolina A&T and Southern broke NCAA tournament ground when they made the first appearance by an HBCU in the DI men’s basketball tournament’s round of 64 in 1985, the first year of the expanded bracket. Since then, a total of 19 HBCU men’s basketball programs have played in the first round of the March Madness bracket.
Let’s dive in to the past performance of the HBCU programs during the first round.
School breakdown
Texas Southern has the most round of 64 appearances of any HBCU men’s basketball program, but has yet to win a game. The Tigers last appeared in the round of 64 in 2022. Grambling State became the latest HBCU to make its debut appearance in the round of 64 during the 2024 season.
Here’s a look at the appearance of HBCUs in the round of 64.
# of Appearances
HBCU
8
Texas Southern
7
North Carolina A&T, Southern
5
Hampton, South Carolina State
4
Mississippi Valley State, Norfolk State
3
Alabama State, Coppin State, Jackson State
2
Florida A&M, Howard, Morgan State, Tennessee State
1
Alcorn State, Delaware State, Grambling State
North Carolina Central, Prairie View A&M
The only HBCUs to win a round of 64 game are Southern, Coppin State, Hampton and Norfolk State. Alcorn State does have a first-round win, but that came in 1980 when there were only 32 teams in the bracket. Every other HBCU men’s NCAA tournament win came in the opening or First Four round.
Here’s a look at the records of HBCUs, by school, in the round of 64.
School
Record
Win %
Last APP
Alabama State
0-3
.000
2025
Alcorn State
0-1
.000
1999
Coppin State
1-2
.333
1997
Delaware State
0-1
.000
2005
Florida A&M
0-2
.000
2004
Grambling State
0-1
.000
2024
Hampton
1-4
.200
2016
Howard
0-2
.000
2023
Jackson State
0-3
.000
2007
Mississippi Valley State
0-4
.000
2008
Morgan State
0-2
.000
2010
Norfolk State
1-4
.250
2025
North Carolina A&T
0-7
.000
2013
North Carolina Central
0-1
.000
2014
Prairie View A&M
0-1
.000
1998
South Carolina State
0-5
.000
2003
Southern
1-6
.142
2013
Tennessee State
0-2
.000
1994
Texas Southern
0-8
.000
2022
Conference breakdown
Here’s a breakdown of NCAA tournament performance by HBCU conference.
Conference
appearances
Wins
Losses
Win %
MEAC
32
3
29
.094
SWAC
28
1
27
.036
Tennessee State (OVC)
2
0
2
.000
Total
58
4
54
.069
Seeding
HBCUs have typically been seeded towards the bottom of the bracket since the round of 64 began. Of the 62 times HBCUs have participated in the round of 64, they have been seeded 16th — the lowest possible seed — 36 times.
The best seed any HBCU has had entering the Round of 64 has been No. 13, held by Southern in 1993. The Jaguars won their first round game with a 93-78 win over No. 4 Georgia Tech.
Seed
Total seeds
% Seeded
Seed Record
Win %
No. 13
1
.016
1-0
1.000
No. 14
4
.065
0-4
.000
No. 15
21
.339
3-18
.143
No. 16
36
.581
0-36
.000
Game results
Here are the results from every round of 64 game from an HBCU men’s basketball program
Year
School
Seed
Opponent
Result
Score
2025
Alabama State
No. 16
No. 1 Auburn
L
83-63
Norfolk State
No. 16
No. 1 Florida
L
95-69
2024
Grambling State
No. 16
No. 1 Purdue
L
78-50
2023
Howard
No. 16
No. 1 Kansas
L
68-96
2022
Texas Southern
No. 16
No. 1 Kansas
L
56–83
Norfolk State
No. 16
No. 1 Baylor
L
49–85
2021
Texas Southern
No. 16
No. 1 Michigan
L
66–82
Norfolk State
No. 16
No. 1 Gonzaga
L
55–98
2018
Texas Southern
No. 16
No. 1 Xavier
L
83–102
2017
Texas Southern
No. 16
No. 1 North Carolina
L
64–103
2016
Hampton
No. 16
No. 1 Virginia
L
45–81
2015
Texas Southern
No. 15
No. 2 Arizona
L
72–93
Hampton
No. 16
No. 1 Kentucky
L
56–79
2014
North Carolina Central
No. 14
No. 3 Iowa State
L
75–93
2013
Southern
No. 16
No. 1 Gonzaga
L
58–64
North Carolina A&T
No. 16
No. 1 Louisville
L
48–79
2012
Norfolk State
No. 15
No. 2 Missouri
W
86–84
2011
Hampton
No. 16
No. 1 Duke
L
45–87
2010
Morgan State
No. 15
No. 2 West Virginia
L
50–77
2009
Morgan State
No. 15
No. 2 Oklahoma
L
54–82
2008
Mississippi Valley State
No. 16
No. 1 UCLA
L
29–70
2007
Jackson State
No. 16
No. 1 Florida
L
69–112
2006
Southern
No. 16
No. 1 Duke
L
54–70
2005
Delaware State
No. 16
No. 1 Duke
L
46–57
2004
Alabama State
No. 16
No. 1 Duke
L
61–96
Florida A&M
No. 16
No. 1 Kentucky
L
76–96
2003
South Carolina State
No. 16
No. 1 Oklahoma
L
54–71
2002
Hampton
No. 15
No. 2 Connecticut
L
67–78
2001
Alabama State
No. 16
No. 1 Michigan State
L
35–69
Hampton
No. 15
No. 2 Iowa State
W
58–57
2000
Jackson State
No. 16
No. 1 Arizona
L
47–71
South Carolina State
No. 16
No. 1 Stanford
L
65–84
1999
Alcorn State
No. 15
No. 2 Stanford
L
57–69
Florida A&M
No. 16
No. 1 Duke
L
58–99
1998
Prairie View A&M
No. 16
No. 1 Kansas
L
52–110
South Carolina State
No. 15
No. 2 Kentucky
L
67–82
1997
Jackson State
No. 16
No. 1 Kansas
L
64–78
Coppin State
No. 15
No. 2 South Carolina
W
78–65
1996
Mississippi Valley State
No. 15
No. 2 Georgetown
L
56–93
South Carolina State
No. 15
No. 2 Kansas
L
54–92
1995
Texas Southern
No. 15
No. 2 Arkansas
L
78–79
North Carolina A&T
No. 16
No. 1 Wake Forest
L
47–79
1994
Texas Southern
No. 15
No. 2 Duke
L
70–82
Tennessee State
No. 14
No. 3 Kentucky
L
70–83
North Carolina A&T
No. 16
No. 1 Arkansas
L
79–94
1993
Southern
No. 13
No. 4 Georgia Tech
W
93–78
Tennessee State
No. 15
No. 2 Seton Hall
L
59–81
Coppin State
No. 15
No. 2 Cincinnati
L
66–93
1992
Mississippi Valley State
No. 16
No. 1 Ohio State
L
56–83
Howard
No. 16
No. 1 Kansas
L
67–100
1990
Texas Southern
No. 14
No. 3 Georgetown
L
52–70
Coppin State
No. 15
No. 2 Syracuse
L
48–70
1989
Southern
No. 15
No. 2 North Carolina
L
79–93
South Carolina State
No. 15
No. 2 Duke
L
69–90
1988
Southern
No. 15
No. 2 Kentucky
L
84–99
North Carolina A&T
No. 14
No. 3 Syracuse
L
55–69
1987
Southern
No. 15
No. 2 Temple
L
56–75
North Carolina A&T
No. 15
No. 2 Alabama
L
71–88
1986
Mississippi Valley State
No. 16
No. 1 Duke
L
78–85
North Carolina A&T
No. 16
No. 1 Kansas
L
46–71
1985
Southern
No. 16
No. 1 St. John’s
L
59–83
North Carolina A&T
No. 16
No. 1 Oklahoma
L
83–96
Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s 2010 season was vacated for NCAA violations
Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track & Field Championships and Men’s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman. You can follow him on Twitter @stan_becton.
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