Power Seven Conferences
Power Seven Basketball Conferences, sometimes called the Premier Seven, P7, or simply Multi-Bid Conferences are NCAA Division I basketball conferences that have historically placed the majority of the teams into the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. While some mid-major conferences do, from time to time, earn multiple bids to the event, the conferences included in this group typically experience more than a few programs being included in the championships on a regular basis. Though they are only seven of the 32 conferences, they account for over half the bids to the post season and nearly all of the at-large selections to the NCAA tournament. This group also receives many selections to the National Invitation Tournament. It is the diversity in programs that make up the post season field and find success that distinguishes this group from some other top heavy conferences like the American Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, West Coast Conference and Mountain West Conference that also may have multiple bids to the NCAA tournament on any given year but have only a few programs typically finding success at the national level.
This group of conferences, includes the football centric Power Five conferences in addition to the premier basketball centric conferences: Atlantic 10 Conference and Big East Conference which primarily comprise private schools with rich basketball traditions.
The Power Seven distinction has been made, primarily, since the early-2010s NCAA conference realignment.
Post Season Selections from the Power Seven
NCAA Tournament Selections[1]
A ^ indicates that a team from that conference won the national championship, while a * indicates that a team from that conference made it to the Final Four of the tournament. Note that automatic bids are awarded to each of the 32 conferences, so at least 25 bids will go to non-Power Seven conferences.
| Year | ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC | Others Non-Auto |
Others Auto |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7* | 3 | 7* | 5^* | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 25 |
| 2015 | 6^ | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7** | 4 | 5* | 5 | 25 |
| 2014 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 6* | 6 | 3** | 5^ | 25 |
| 2013 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7^* | 7* | 5 | 3 | 4* | 25 |
| Total | 23 | 17 | 29 | 22 | 27 | 22 | 14 | 18 | 100 |
| Final Fours | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Championships | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
NIT Selections [2]
| Conference | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Atlantic 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Big 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Big East | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Big Ten | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Pac-12 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| SEC | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Total | 13 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 51 |
Furthest Advancing Program
| Conference | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | North Carolina (1st) Finals |
Duke (2nd) National Champion |
Virginia (1st) Sweet 16 |
Duke (2nd) Elite 8 |
| Atlantic 10 | Saint Joseph's (4th) VCU (1st) Round of 32 |
Dayton (2nd) Round of 32 |
Dayton (6th) Elite 8 |
La Salle (4th) Sweet 16 |
| Big 12 | Oklahoma (3rd) Final 4 |
Oklahoma (3rd) West Virginia (4th) Sweet 16 |
Baylor (6th) Iowa State (3rd) Sweet 16 |
Kansas (1st) Sweet 16 |
| Big East | Villanova (1st) National Champion |
Xavier (6th) Sweet 16 |
Creighton (2nd) Villanova (1st) Round of 32 |
Louisville (1st)[n 1] National Champion[n 2] |
| Big Ten | Indiana (1st) Maryland (3rd) Wisconsin (3rd) Sweet 16 |
Wisconsin (1st) Finals |
Wisconsin (2nd) Final 4 |
Michigan (4th) Finals |
| Pac-12 | Oregon (1st) Elite 8 |
Arizona (1st) Elite 8 |
Arizona (1st) Elite 8 |
Arizona (2nd) Oregon (3rd) Sweet 16 |
| SEC | Texas A&M (1st) Sweet 16 |
Kentucky (1st) Final 4 |
Kentucky (2nd) Finals |
Florida (1st) Elite 8 |
| All other Division I conferences (25 of 32 conferences) |
Gonzaga (WCC 1st) Sweet 16 |
Gonzaga (WCC 1st) Elite 8 |
Connecticut (American 3rd) National Champion |
Wichita State (MVC 2nd) Final 4 |
( ) Number in parenthesis is the team's regular season finish in the conference standings.
- Notes
- ↑ Following the 2012–13 season, the Big East split into two leagues. The so-called "Catholic 7", consisting of the Big East schools that did not play FBS football, left the league to form a new basketball-focused conference that assumed the Big East name and basketball history. The conference charter was maintained by the FBS schools that are now known as the American Athletic Conference. Louisville spent only one season in The American before joining the ACC in 2014.
- ↑ Among schools that would remain in the reconfigured Big East, Marquette, which tied for the regular-season Big East title, advanced the farthest, making the Elite Eight..
See also
- List of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Final Four participants
- NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by school
- NCAA Men's Division I Tournament bids by school and conference