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The 1966 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 36 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division basketball as a culmination of the 1965–66 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Kentucky Wesleyan College, with Kentucky Wesleyan's Sam Smith named Most Outstanding Player.

Increase in number of participating teams

In September 1965, the NCAA granted the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) an automatic berth in the NCAA College Division tournament. Tommy Niland, head coach of Le Moyne, which had received an at-large berth to each of the previous two NCAA tournaments, said that he was generally in favor of automatic qualification for the tournament, but, with one less at-large bid available, and the NCAA limiting how many teams from each area of the country enter the tournament, it would now be more difficult for teams in the northeast to be selected. Niland pointed out that none of the schools in the SUNYAC had ever been selected to play in the NCAA tournament in the past and that the conference might not be strong enough to merit an automatic bid. The SUNYAC joined the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and the Tri-State Collegiate Basketball League as conferences with automatic tournament bids. This left five at-large bids available for the nearly 200 teams in the northeast, designated by the NCAA as District 1, since teams from this area generally participated in either the Northeast or East Regionals, each of which comprised four teams. Since the MASCAC was very large, with more than 20 teams, it split into two divisions: the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) North Division and the MAC South Division, and each division applied for and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. This left only four at-large bids available for teams from the northeast. After considering the large number of teams in District 1, particularly high-quality teams without access to an automatic bid, the NCAA decided that instead of two regions of four teams each as had previously been the case, District 1 would have 12 bids with regional games played at three sites. The winner emerging from one of these sites would go directly to the national quarterfinals, while the other two winners would play each other for a quarterfinal berth. One site would feature the two MAC teams and two at-large teams. The second site would have the Tri-State League champion and three at-large teams. The SUNYAC champion and three at-large teams would play at the third site.

The expansion of the tournament would make it less likely that overflow District 1 teams would need to be sent to the Mideast Regional, as had been the case with Le Moyne and Ithaca in 1964, and Buffalo in 1965.

Regional participants

*indicates a tie

Regionals

Northeast

• Division B Consolation March 2 - Le Moyne 86, Potsdam State 63
• Division A Consolation March 3 - American International 96, Springfield 94*

Notes

• The right to host the regional final was given to the Division A winner, which was Assumption.
• American International College and Springfield College are both located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College was the host school for Division A.

South - Durham, North Carolina

Location: McClendon–McDougald Gym Host: North Carolina College at Durham

• Third Place - Winston-Salem 85, South Carolina State 81

East - Reading, Pennsylvania

Location: Bollman Center Host: Albright College

• Third Place - Albright 78, Drexel 61

Mideast - Akron, Ohio

Location: Memorial Hall Host: Municipal University of Akron

• Third Place - Youngstown State 94, Randolph–Macon 63

Pacific Coast - Fresno, California

Location: North Gym Host: Fresno State College

• Third Place - Nevada 74, San Diego 71

Great Lakes - Carbondale, Illinois

Location: SIU Arena Host: Southern Illinois University

• Third Place - Lamar 93, Indiana State 78

Southwest - Jonesboro, Arkansas

Location: Indian Fieldhouse Host: Arkansas State College

• Third Place - Arkansas State 84, Jackson State 77

Midwest - Grand Forks, North Dakota

Location: Hyslop Sports Center Host: University of North Dakota

Note: The first-round game between North Dakota and Colorado State College was delayed a day to March 6; the Valparaiso/Saint Procopius game was played in Moorhead, Minnesota on March 5; and the third-place game was cancelled entirely. These occurrences were due to inclement weather.

*denotes each overtime played

National Finals - Evansville, Indiana

Location: Roberts Municipal Stadium Host: Evansville College

• Third Place - Akron 76, North Dakota 71

*denotes each overtime played

All-tournament team

• Phil Jackson (North Dakota)
• David Lee (Southern Illinois)
• George McNeil (Southern Illinois)
• Clarence Smith (Southern Illinois)
• Sam Smith (Kentucky Wesleyan)

See also

• 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
• 1966 NAIA Basketball Tournament

References

1. "Niland Displeased". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. September 22, 1965. p. 51. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
2. "SUNY Cagers Given NCAA Tourney Berth". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. September 22, 1965. p. 51. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
3. "KWC in Contention for NCAA Meet Bid". Messenger & Inquirer. Owensboro, Kentucky. January 27, 1966. p. 14-A. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
4. "Maroons and Huskies Play Key Cage Tilt". Daily News. Springfield, Massachusetts. January 18, 1966. p. 24. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
5. Radding, Jerry (January 22, 1966). "The Good and the Bad". The Springfield Union. p. 25. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
6. "Springfield Teams Out of Tournament". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. March 3, 1966. p. 16. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
7. "NCAA Cage Meet Opens Tomorrow". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. February 28, 1966. p. 14. Retrieved January 31, 2024.

Sources

• 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Records and Statistics: Division II men's basketball Championship
• 1966 NCAA College Division Men's Basketball Tournament jonfmorse.com

• NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1965–66 NCAA College Division men's basketball season
• 1966 in sports in Indiana
• March 1966 sports events in the United States