UConn record in national championship games: Huskies miss chance to pass North Carolina on list of most titles
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UConn record in national championship games: Huskies miss chance to pass North Carolina on list of most titles originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
UConn entered the Final Four with the most distant national championship odds of the four remaining teams, but the Huskies were one of the last two teams standing on Monday night.
Dan Hurley's squad punched its ticket to the championship game for the third time in four seasons, with the chance to extend a run of perfection in title games.
If UConn won, the program would have passed one of college basketball's most prestigious blue bloods by claiming another national championship. Instead, the Huskies fell to Michigan 69-63 in Indianapolis.
Here's what you need to know about UConn's record in the national championship game and how the Huskies could have made more history.
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UConn record in national championship games
UConn is now 6-1 in national championship games. Before 2026, the Huskies had never lost when playing for a title, picking up wins in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023 and 2024. That had fans feeling positive entering Monday night's game despite UConn entering as an underdog against Michigan, but the Wolverines prevailed to damage the Huskies' perfect mark.
UConn national titles
UConn has won six national championships, all since 1999:
| Year | Championship game | Coach |
| 1999 | UConn 77, Duke 74 | Jim Calhoun |
| 2004 | UConn 82, Georgia Tech 73 | Jim Calhoun |
| 2011 | UConn 53, Butler 41 | Jim Calhoun |
| 2014 | UConn 60, Kentucky 54 | Kevin Ollie |
| 2023 | UConn 76, San Diego State 59 | Dan Hurley |
| 2024 | UConn 75, Purdue 60 | Dan Hurley |
The Huskies haven't always been favored to win their titles. UConn entered the championship game as a sizable underdog against Duke in 1999, and the 7-seeded Huskies were slight underdogs against Kentucky in 2014.
MORE:NBA scouting report for UConn's Braylon Mullins
Teams with most national titles
| School | Championships | Years |
| UCLA | 11 | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017 |
| UConn | 6 | 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024 |
| Duke | 5 | 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 |
| Indiana | 5 | 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987 |
| Kansas | 4 | 1952, 1988, 2008, 2022 |
UConn's six national championships rank third all-time and already exceed blue bloods Duke and Kansas. Another giant could be next, even though a title wasn't in the cards in 2026.
A win on Monday would have put the Huskies ahead of North Carolina, giving UConn its seventh title. Instead, the wait continues.
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How many national titles does Dan Hurley have?
Hurley has won two national championships, which puts him in rare company even at an early stage of his career. He is one of 17 coaches to win multiple titles and one of three active coaches, alongside Bill Self and Rick Pitino.
A third would put Hurley up there with basketball royalty. Only six head coaches have won three or more national championships: John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Adolph Rupp, Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun and Bob Knight. One more win would make Hurley the seventh.
