College Basketball: Ranking the Nine “Blue Blood” programs

The age-old debate of whether a certain college basketball program is a “blue blood” program will go on but we are going to rank the nine most commonly considered blue blood programs.

In college basketball, the term “blue bloods” is used in reference to Division I basketball programs considered to be among the most elite, either contemporaneously or historically. There is no official definition of what constitutes a blue blood, but the term is generally applied to programs that have a long history of success, a strong fan base, and a national reputation.

These are the nine most commonly cited Blue Bloods in men’s college basketball. They are in alphabetical order:

Connecticut (UConn) Huskies
Duke Blue Devils
Indiana Hoosiers
Kansas Jayhawks
Kentucky Wildcats
North Carolina Tar Heels
Michigan State Spartans
UCLA Bruins
Villanova Wildcats

These programs have all won multiple national championships, and they have consistently been ranked among the top teams in the country. They also have large and passionate fan bases, and they are often featured often in national media coverage.

There is some debate about which other programs should be considered blue blood programs. UConn, for example, has won five national championships since 1999, but it has not been as consistently ranked as the other six programs on a yearly basis. However, UConn with its five national championships has earned the right to be called a Blue Blood program.

Then there are programs considered to be “traditional Blue Blood” programs like Indiana, UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina and then there are the “new blue blood” programs like Villanova, Michigan State, and UConn. No matter if the program is considered a traditional or new blue blood program, these nine programs deserve the title of being called a blue blood program.

Here is a brief summary of the blue blood college basketball programs:

History: These programs have a long history of success, with some dating back to the early days of college basketball.

Fan base: These teams have large and passionate fan bases that follow the team closely.

National reputation: These programs are known throughout the country, and they are often featured in national media coverage.

NCAA Tournament: These teams have, for the most part, made multiple deep runs in the tournament and continue to be strong contenders to make it to Elite Eight and Final Four appearances.

National championships: These programs have won multiple national championships.

The blue blood college basketball programs are the most elite programs in the country. They have a long history of success, a strong fan base, and a national reputation. These programs are always contenders for the national championship, and they are always exciting to watch every season with few exceptions.

Below is the criteria and scoring breakdown to determine the ranking of the top Blue Bloods in division one basketball programs of all time.

Criteria and Scoring Breakdown

50 points for National Championships since 1960

40 points for National Championships prior to 1960

30 points for Final Four Appearances since 1960

25 points for Final Four Appearances prior to 1960

20 points for Regular Season Conference Championships since 1950

15 points for Conference Tournament Championships since 1990

10 points for Elite Eights Appearances

6 points for Sweet Sixteen Appearances

5 points for every season with 30 or more wins since 1970

4 points for every season with 20 or more wins since 1970

2 points for every NCAA Tournament berth

The nine teams’ total scores are tallied and ranked from number nine to number one in this ranking of college basketball blood programs.

When fans, sports on-air personalities, podcasters, writers, and people alike put together sports ranking lists such as ranking collegiate programs in football and basketball, for example, it is most likely highly subjective and or somewhat biased in a good portion of cases.

Though this list is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and the point system used in this ranking of blue blood programs is not flawless, it provides math-based analysis and analytical in a valid attempt to eliminate the subjective factors that many lists are comprised of.