In women’s college basketball, Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies are now, unquestionably, the greatest and most iconic program in the sport. UConn has captured 12 national titles spread across four decades of excellence, produced countless awesome players and went to 14 consecutive Final Fours between 2008 and 2022.
But what about the other terrific and super successful programs in the sport, like the Notre Dames and Tennessees and Stanfords? Who else belongs in the group of Blue Bloods in women’s college basketball?
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What does and doesn’t define a Blue Blood is completely arbitrary and up for debate. In men’s basketball, some think Indiana still belongs even though the Hoosiers haven’t won a national title since 1987 and have missed six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments. Meanwhile, some still overlook UConn’s men’s team even though it has won six titles since 1999. Blue Blood status can be even more difficult to decipher in college football, but you know it when you see it: Alabama and Ohio State are absolutely part of that group, but what about the Fighting Irish, who haven’t won a national championship since before the dawn of the BCS? Should Clemson be in that group?
We’ll save those arguments for another day. This is all about women’s college basketball.
Here’s my incredibly unscientific criteria for Blue Bloods in women’s hoops:
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At least one NCAA national championship. Apologies to Duke, Iowa, N.C. State, Green Bay and Louisville.
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Top 30 program in all-time win percentage (the latest NCAA record book is updated through the 2023-24 season). South Carolina just made the cut here — those pre-Dawn Staley years were rough at times. Not making the cut are former national champions Texas Tech, Purdue and Texas A&M.
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Success in the modern era. We’ll define this a few ways:
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If a team has missed five consecutive NCAA Tournaments (obviously excluding 2020) within the last 15 years, they are not a Blue Blood. Farewell multiple-time national champs Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech and USC.
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In the last 15 years, if a team went five consecutive seasons without finishing a year ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll, they are not a Blue Blood. Sorry, North Carolina, LSU and Texas.
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To retain Blue Blood status, a team has to have been to multiple Final Fours within the past 15 years or won at least one of its national titles within the past 20 years. You’re safe for now, Tennessee and Maryland, but the clock is ticking.
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With that criteria in mind, we have seven programs who currently have Blue Blood status in women’s college basketball. For the programs left out, there’s a way back to claim that status, just like there are ways that some of these teams can fall out. If the Trojans, Tar Heels, Tigers or Longhorns win a second national title sometime soon, they’re back in the mix. The road back to relevancy is longer for the likes of Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech, but we should fondly look back at their dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, and remember them as the first Blue Bloods of the sport.
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Here’s a closer look at our women’s college basketball Blue Blood club, listed alphabetically:
Baylor
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Program win percentage: .675 (20th)
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National titles: 3 (2005, 2012, 2019)
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Final Fours: 4 (2005, 2010, 2012, 2019)
Kim Mulkey turned Baylor into a powerhouse, missing the NCAA Tournament just once in 21 seasons in Waco. Since she left for LSU, Nicki Collen has kept things rolling, going 102-36 — a .739 winning percentage — in her four seasons leading the Lady Bears. The program has produced three winners of the Wade Trophy in the past 15 years, from Brittney Griner to Odyssey Sims to NaLyssa Smith. They continue to be a contender in a new-look Big 12.
Maryland
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Program win percentage: .708 (10th)
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National titles: 1 (2006)
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Final Fours: 5 (1982, 1989, 2006, 2014, 2015)
It’s been a while since Maryland has competed for a national championship, and it’s the only program here with just a single title, but few programs have been more consistent than Brenda Frese’s Terps since she took the reins in College Park in 2002. Since missing the NCAA Tournament in 2010, Maryland hasn’t had a losing record in conference play, has been to every March Madness since, has finished the season ranked inside the AP top 10 seven times, and has captured seven Big Ten tournament crowns. The Terps continue to be one of the sport’s consistently great programs — a standard set by former coach Chris Weller when she was piling up ACC Tournament trophies decades ago.
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Notre Dame
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Program win percentage: .742 (5th)
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National titles: 2 (2001, 2018)
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Final Fours: 9 (1997, 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)
Like Baylor under Mulkey, Notre Dame became a national power in women’s basketball during the 2000s and 2010s under the guidance of Muffet McGraw. Between 1996 and 2019, an NCAA Tournament wasn’t played without the Fighting Irish, a program that has produced iconic players and national award winners like Ruth Riley, Skylar Diggins and Arike Ogunbowale. Since finishing runner-up to Baylor in 2019, the Irish haven’t advanced past the Sweet 16. It’s up to Niele Ivey to uphold McGraw’s standard now.
South Carolina
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Program win percentage: .656 (30th)
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National titles: 3 (2017, 2022, 2024)
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Final Fours: 7 (2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
One could easily make the case that no program has been as successful as South Carolina in the last decade. In addition to seven Final Four trips and three titles, the Gamecocks went 167-9 from 2020 through 2024, notching the best win percentage in the country over that stretch. South Carolina was an afterthought in women’s basketball for many years, and then Dawn Staley arrived in 2008 and proceeded to transform the Gamecocks into one of the sport’s Death Stars with all-time awesome players like A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso.
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Stanford
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Program win percentage: .776 (3rd)
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National titles: 3 (1990, 1992, 2021)
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Final Fours: 15 (1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2022)
No NCAA Tournament was played without Stanford in it from 1988 through 2024. That streak, which dated back to the Reagan Administration, ended this past season — Kate Paye’s first year on the job after taking over for the legendary Tara VanDerveer. As Stanford and the sport enter a new era, where the Cardinal are in the ACC and dealing with the House Settlement and transfer portal, its long-term status as a Blue Blood seems to be fragile. Can the Cardinal continue to win at a high level and compete for national championships in this new era? We’ll see.
Tennessee
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Program win percentage: .793 (2nd)
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National titles: 8 (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008)
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Final Fours: 18 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008)
While eight national championships and 18 Final Fours are incredibly impressive, all of those heights were reached by the Lady Vols when the late Pat Summitt was the head coach. Since her retirement, Tennessee has struggled to put itself in position to compete for national championships. With the rise of South Carolina and LSU, the SEC is a lot tougher now too. Things looked promising this past season under first-year head coach Kim Caldwell, as the Lady Vols embraced her style of play, beat rival UConn and advanced to the Sweet 16. Tennessee being a consistent national contender again would be a good thing for the sport.
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UConn
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Program win percentage: .801 (1st)
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National titles: 12 (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2025)
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Final Fours: 24 (1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025)
A lot of folks were ready to sign UConn’s death certificate after it went — *gasp!* — eight years without winning a national title as parity in the sport increased following Breanna Stewart’s dominant run with the Huskies. But Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong put the Huskies back on top this past spring in Tampa, powering UConn to its 12th championship under Geno Auriemma. Unlike some of its past contemporaries and rivals from the 1990s and 2000s, we know that UConn is equipped to compete for more championships in this new era of women’s college basketball. Even though Auriemma is 71, the Huskies show no signs of slowing down.
