Which teams have never been in March Madness? Tracking first-time NCAA Tournament hopefuls

Here are the 45 teams that have never been in March Madness. Will any of them make the 2022 NCAA Tournament?

One of the joys of March is following schools that have not yet played in the NCAA Tournament and hearing their name called on Selection Sunday.

In 2021, both Hartford and Grand Canyon made their NCAA Tournament debuts while the 2019 Big Dance featured first-time tickets by Gardner-Webb and Abilene Christian.

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If you’re looking to follow along with the teams that have never been in March Madness, you’ve come to the right place.

Several first-time hopefuls have a legitimate shot at a 2022 NCAA Tournament invite.

Bryant and Longwood are the teams to watch.

The Bryant Bulldogs out of the NEC have had their best season in program history. Jared Grasso’s team enters the NEC Tournament with a 19-9 record and a regular-season conference title for the first time ever. His up-tempo group is led by Peter Kiss, the nation’s leading scorer at 25.1 points per game.

Longwood, meanwhile, has had a breakout season over in the Big South. A conference often dominated by Winthrop — Longwood’s primary contender this season — the Lancers are 23-6 overall and dropped just one conference game. Head coach Griff Aldrich, an oil company founder who worked in the private sector for nearly two decades, has rebuilt a Longwood program that ranks 18th nationally in 3-point percentage.

Teams that never been in March Madness

Team	Conference	Conference Tournament Result	First Season
Army	Patriot	Lost quarterfinals vs. Lehigh	1903
Bethune Cookman	SWAC	Not eligible for SWAC Tournament	1981
Bryant	NEC	Won quarterfinals vs. Central Connecticut Won semifinals vs. Mount St. Mary’s Won championship vs. Wagner	2011
Central Arkansas	ASUN	Won first round vs. Stetson Lost quarterfinals vs. Jacksonville	2011
Chicago State	WAC	Lost first round vs. Utah Valley	1985
The Citadel	SoCon	Won first round vs. ETSU Lost quarterfinals vs. Chattanooga	1913
Denver	Summit	Lost quarterfinals vs. North Dakota St.	1904
Elon	CAA	Lost quarterfinals vs. UNCW	2000
Grambling	SWAC	Won quarterfinals vs. Southern Lost semifinals vs. Texas Southern	1978
High Point	Big South	Won first round vs. Hampton Lost quarterfinals vs. Winthrop	2000
Incarnate Word	Southland	Lost first round vs. Houston Baptist	2014
Kansas City	Summit	Lost quarterfinals vs. South Dakota	1990
Kennesaw State	ASUN	Won first round vs. Eastern Kentucky Lost quarterfinals vs. Jacksonville St.	2010
Longwood	Big South	Won quarterfinals vs. N.C. A&T Won semifinals vs. USC Upstate Won championship vs. Winthrop	2008
Maine	America East	Not eligible for America East Tournament	1904
Maryland Eastern Shore	MEAC	Lost quarterfinals vs. N.C. Central	1974
UMass Lowell	America East	Lost quarterfinals vs. UMBC	1906
New Hampshire	America East	Lost quarterfinals vs. Binghamton	1927
NJIT	America East	Lost quarterfinals vs. Vermont	2010
Omaha	Summit	Lost quarterfinals vs. South Dakota St.	2013
Presbyterian	Big South	Lost first round vs. Campbell	2011
Purdue Fort Wayne	Horizon	Won quarterfinals vs. UIC Lost semifinals vs. Northern Kentucky	2003
Quinnipiac	MAAC	Won first round vs. Marist Won quarterfinals vs. Siena Lost semifinals vs. St. Peter’s	1999
Sacramento State	Big Sky	Won first round vs. Idaho Lost quarterfinals vs. Montana St.	1992
Sacred Heart	NEC	Lost quarterfinals vs. LIU	2000
St. Francis Brooklyn	NEC	Lost quarterfinals vs. Mount St. Mary’s	1902
SIUE	OVC	Lost first round vs. Tennessee St.	2011
South Dakota	Summit	Won quarterfinals vs. Kansas City Lost semifinals vs. South Dakota St.	2011
Stetson	ASUN	Lost first round vs. Central Arkansas	1972
UC Riverside	Big West	Lost quarterfinals vs. Hawaii	2002
USC Upstate	Big South	Won quarterfinals vs. Charleston Southern Lost semifinals vs. Longwood	2011
UT Martin	OVC	Not eligible for OVC Tournament	1993
UTRGV	WAC	Lost first round vs. Cal Baptist	1969
Utah Valley	WAC	Won first round vs. Chicago St. Lost quarterfinals vs. Abilene Christian	2010
Western Illinois	Summit	Lost quarterfinals vs. Oral Roberts	1982
William & Mary	CAA	Lost first round vs. Northeastern	1906
Youngstown State	Horizon	Lost first round vs. Robert Morris	1948

There are also eight active Division-I teams that are not yet eligible for the NCAA Tournament: Bellarmine, Cal Baptist, Dixie State, Merrimack, North Alabama, St. Thomas, Tarleton and UC San Diego.

Header image courtesy of Longwood Athletics.