Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and UCLA are the college basketball teams most often associated with the term “blue blood.”
There is, however, an ongoing debate about the most deserving blue bloods and what blue blood actually means.
What’s a College Basketball Blue Blood?
According to the NCAA, the first reference of a blue blood was in the Brooklyn Times-Union on Jan. 3, 1927. It was used again in other publications throughout the 1940s and 1950s, appearing to reference an undefined elite class of college basketball programs.
There is no concrete history for the current application of the term, nor is there a consensus on which teams are blue bloods.
Despite periods of national irrelevance over the last two decades, Indiana and UCLA are often considered blue bloods. The Bruins, for example, have three more national championships (11) than the next closest team (Kentucky) but they haven’t won a title since 1995.
There seems to be wider agreement on the other four teams: Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky.
UConn is increasingly considered a blue blood of the sport, as the Huskies have won five national championships since 1999. No one else has won more than three over that same stretch.
College Basketball Blue Bloods
| Team | NCAA Bids Since 1985 | Last Championship | Total Men's NCAA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 28 | 1995 | 11 |
| Kentucky | 31 | 2012 | 8 |
| UConn | 22 | 2024 | 6 |
| UNC | 34 | 2017 | 6 |
| Duke | 36 | 2015 | 5 |
| Indiana | 27 | 1987 | 5 |
| Kansas | 36 | 2022 | 4 |
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