The NCAA Division III women's basketball championship is the annual tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the national champions of women's collegiate basketball among its Division III members in the United States. It has been held every year since 1982 (when the NCAA began to sponsor women's sports at all three levels), except for 2020 and 2021, due to COVID-19.

Washington St. Louis has been the most successful program, with five national titles.

The most recent champions are Denison, who won their first national title in 2026.

History 1982 Final Four Held in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, the 1982 Women's Final Four Basketball Tournament was the first sponsored by the NCAA. Featuring host Elizabethtown College, Clark University (Massachusetts), Pomona College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the tournament was played in a classic field house over a three-day period. In the first game of the National Semi-Final Elizabethtown took control right from the tip-off against Clark and easily cruised to a 71–51 victory. In the second game of the Final Four Pomona took the lead early in the game, but UNC Greensboro battled back to tie the game at 56 with six minutes to play. UNC Greensboro then went on a run and pulled away for a 77–66 win. Elizabethtown and UNC Greensboro turned the championship game into an epic battle of lead changes and shifts in momentum. Last-second heroics by UNC Greensboro sent the game into overtime, but Elizabethtown came up with the final stop to win 67–66 in overtime. Television coverage was provided by a fledgling ESPN while exclusive radio coverage was provided by KSPC Radio - Pomona College's tiny KSPC sports broadcasting group with Geoff Willis (Pomona '83) and James Timmerman (Pomona '82) providing the play-by-play and color. ESPN was so embryonic that the game was broadcast multiple times during the following two weeks, and ESPN hired the KSPC Radio staff to help with background and color research about the players and the teams.

Results NCAA Division III Women's Basketball ChampionshipYear Finals siteArenaChampionship gameSemifinalistsWinner ScoreRunner-up 1982Details Elizabethtown, PA Thompson Gymnasium Elizabethtown 67–66(OT) UNC Greensboro Pomona-Pitzer, Clark1983Details Worcester, MA Kneller Athletics Center North Central (IL) 83–71 Elizabethtown Knoxville, Clark1984Details Scranton, PA John Long Center Rust 51–49 Elizabethtown Salem St, North Central1985Details De Pere, WI Schuldes Sports Center Scranton 68–59 New Rochelle Millikin, St. Norbert1986Details Salem, MA Twohig Gymnasium Salem State 89–85 Bishop (TX) Capital, Rust1987Details Scranton, PA John Long Center UW–Stevens Point 81–74 Concordia–Moorhead Scranton, Kean1988Details Moorhead, MN Memorial Auditorium Concordia–Moorhead 65–57 St. John Fisher UNC-Greensboro, Southern Maine1989Details Danville, KY Alumni Gymnasium Elizabethtown 66–65 Cal State Stanislaus Centre, Clarkson1990Details Holland, MI Holland Civic Center Hope 65–63 St. John Fisher Heidelberg, Centre1991Details St. Paul, MN Schoenecker Arena St. Thomas (MN) 73–55 Muskingum Eastern Connecticut, Washington St. Louis1992Details Bethlehem, PA Johnston Hall Alma 79–75 Moravian Luther, Eastern Connecticut St1993Details Pella, IA Kuyper Gymnasium Central (IA) 71–63 Capital Scranton, St. Benedict1994Details Eau Claire, WI W.L. Zorn Arena Capital 82–63 Washington St. Louis UW-Eau Claire, Wheaton (MA)1995Details Columbus, OH Alumni Gymnasium Capital 59–55 UW–Oshkosh St. Thomas, Salem State1996Details Oshkosh, WI Kolf Sports Center UW–Oshkosh 66–50 Mount Union St. Thomas, New York University1997Details New York City, NY Coles Sports Center NYU 72–70 UW–Eau Claire Capital, Scranton1998Details Gorham, ME Warren Hill Gymnasium Washington St. Louis 77–69 Southern Maine Mount Union, Rowan1999Details Danbury, CT O'Neill Center Washington St. Louis 74–65 St. Benedict Salem State, Scranton2000Details Washington St. Louis 79–33 Southern Maine St. Thomas, Scranton2001Details Washington St. Louis 67–45 Messiah Ohio Wesleyan, Emmanuel2002Details Terre Haute, IN Hulbert Arena UW–Stevens Point 67–65 St. Lawrence DePauw, Marymount2003Details Trinity (TX) 60–58 Eastern Connecticut State UW-Eau Claire, Rochester2004Details Virginia Beach, VA Jane P. Batten Student Center Wilmington (OH) 59–53 Bowdoin Rochester, UW–Stevens Point2005Details Millikin 70–50 Randolph–Macon Southern Maine, Scranton2006Details Springfield, MA Springfield Civic Center Hope 69–56 Southern Maine Scranton, Hardin–Simmons2007Details DePauw 55–52 Washington St. Louis Mary Washington, NYU2008Details Holland, MI DeVos Fieldhouse Howard Payne 68–54 Messiah UW–Whitewater, Oglethorpe2009Details George Fox 60–53 Washington St. Louis TCNJ, Amherst2010Details Bloomington, IL Shirk Center Washington St. Louis 65–59 Hope Amherst, Rochester2011Details Amherst 64–55 Washington St. Louis Christopher Newport, Illinois Wesleyan2012Details Holland, MI DeVos Fieldhouse Illinois Wesleyan 57–48 George Fox St. Thomas, Amherst2013Details DePauw 69–51 UW–Whitewater Williams, Amherst2014Details Stevens Point, WI Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse FDU–Florham 80–72 Whitman UW-Whitewater, Tufts2015Details Grand Rapids, MI Van Noord Arena Thomas More (vacated) 83–63 George Fox Montclair State, Tufts2016Details Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life FieldhouseThomas More63–51 Tufts Amherst, Wartburg2017Details Grand Rapids, MI Van Noord Arena Amherst 52–29 Tufts Christopher Newport, St Thomas2018Details Rochester, MN Mayo Civic Center Amherst 65–45 Bowdoin Thomas More, Wartburg2019 DetailsSalem, VACregger CenterThomas More81–67BowdoinScranton, St. Thomas (MN) 2020Details Columbus, OH Capital University Performance Arena Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021DetailsSalem, VACregger Center 2022Details Pittsburgh, PA UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Hope 71–58 UW–Whitewater Amherst, Trine 2023Details Dallas, TX American Airlines Center Transylvania 57–52 Christopher Newport Smith, Rhode Island College 2024Details Columbus, OH Capital University Performance Arena NYU (2) 51–41 Smith Transylvania, Wartburg 2025Details Salem, VA Cregger Center NYU (3) 77–49 Smith UW–Oshkosh, UW–Stout 2026<br/ >Details Denison (1) 55–41 Scranton NYU, UW–Oshkosh 2027 Cedar Rapids, IA Alliant Energy PowerHouse 2028Salem, VACregger Center

Championships

Active programs Team Titles Years 5 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010 3 2011, 2017, 2018 3 1990, 2006, 2022 3 1997, 2024, 2025 2 2007, 2013 2 1987, 2002 2 1994, 1995 2 1982, 1989 1 2026 1 2023 1 2014 1 2012 1 2009 1 2008 1 2005 1 2004 1 2003 1 1996 1 1993 1 1992 1 1988 1 1986 1 1985 1 1983

Former programs Team Titles Years 2 , 2016, 2019 1 1991 1 1984

Final Fours Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III. AppearancesSchool10Washington St. Louis8Amherst, Scranton6 St. Thomas (MN)5Capital, Southern Maine, NYU4Elizabethtown, Salem State, Thomas More, Tufts, UW–Oshkosh, UW-Whitewater3Christopher Newport, DePauw, Eastern Connecticut, George Fox, Hope, Rochester, UW–Eau Claire, UW–Stevens Point2Bowdoin, Centre, Clark, Concordia–Moorhead, Illinois Wesleyan, Messiah, Millikin, Mount Union, North Central (IL), Rust, Saint Benedict, St. John Fisher, Smith, UNC Greensboro, Wartburg

See also NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament NAIA women's basketball championship

Footnotes

References

External links D3 Hoops.com Women's tourney history Attendance history (archived) Division III Women's Basketball Championships record books (through 2021) (archived)