At the conclusion of the regular Big Ten season, a tournament is held to determine the conference winner, who receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

On March 17, 2012, the Women's ice hockey team, after finishing the regular season with a record of 28-1-1, won its first NCAA Division III national championship, defeating the defending champion Norwich University 4-1.

In 2009, the Morgan State men's basketball team won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship and qualified for the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

In 2010, the Morgan State men's basketball team again won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship and qualified for the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, again as a 15 seed.

He passed for 3, 902 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season, and his 71. 3 % completion percentage set an NCAA single-season record.

The Retrievers won their first regular season American East Men's Basketball title in 2007-08, and also qualified for their first NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

The basketball teams have made regular appearances in NCAA Division I playoffs.

Sports teams compete in both the CUNY athletic system and the local NCAA collegiate sports system / The women's basketball team has won numerous championships including the CUNY basketball championship and the regional Division III championships including placing third nationally in 2000 with a 21-3 regular season record.

But before that, there were six occasions on which a team achieved perfection in the regular season, yet did not appear in the NCAA tournament.

* In 1939, Long Island University finished the regular season undefeated but decided to accept instead an invitation to the NIT ( which they won ) instead of the NCAA tournament, as the NIT was more prestigious at the time.

Before then, many of the more successful teams during the regular season chose to play in the NIT instead of the NCAA tournament.

* In 1973 the North Carolina State Wolfpack finished the regular season 27 – 0 and ranked # 2 ( behind undefeated and eventual tournament champion UCLA ) but were barred from participating in the NCAA tournament while on probation for recruiting violations.

* In 1979, the Alcorn State University Braves finished the regular season 27 – 0, but did not receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

Since the tournament began, the semifinal and final fixtures have been held a neutral site predetermined by the NCAA prior to the start of the regular season.

Note: A 1997 Big Ten regular season championship, NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994, 1995, 1997 ( Final Four ), and 1999, as well as NIT appearances in 1996 and 1998 ( Championship ) were vacated due to NCAA sanctions.

While Driesell did not elevate Maryland to UCLA's heights, he did lead the Terrapins to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, a National Invitation Tournament championship, two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championships, and one Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship.

Izod Center uses two separate floors for NBA and NCAA basketball-a standard hardwood floor for Nets and the arena's old parquet floor for regular season college basketball ( since 2007, the NCAA has used a uniform floor for regional sites ).

In NCAA collegiate play in the United States, however, sudden death, adopted in 1999 for all championship play in addition to regular season play, remains.

* Basketball — The men's basketball team reached its first NCAA tournament in 2009 after winning the Southland Conference regular season and tournament.

The NCAA governs college post-season play and writes rules for college post season play … which have traditionally been adopted for regular season play by all men ’ s and women ’ s college lacrosse conferences and independents.

In 2005-06, after winning the Big West regular season and tournament titles, Pacific earned their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to this, from 1936 through 1970, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association ( USILA ) awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy to the NCAA Division I annual champion based on regular season records.

The accident caused the Missouri Valley Conference to ban its member schools from allowing cheerleaders to be " launched or tossed and from taking part in formations higher than two levels " for one week during a women's basketball conference tournament, and also resulted in a recommendation by the NCAA that conferences and tournaments do not allow pyramids two and one half levels high or higher, and a stunt known as basket tosses, during the rest of the men's and women's basketball season.

The NCAA will separate diving from swimming in special diving competitions after the swim season is completed.

Geneva joined the NCAA as a provisional member in 2007 and during the transition process was not eligible for post season play or conference Player of the Week honors until gaining membership in July 2011.

It was named after the nickname of the 1938 Duke football team, one of only three NCAA football teams to go the entire season unbeaten, untied, and not scored upon

In the 2011-12 season Albert decided to leave the YES Network upon joining CBS Sports for both NFL and NCAA March Madness coverage.

Starting in the 2011-2012 season, SFU will be competing in the NCAA ’ s Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference ( GNAC ).

( Scoring differs between leagues, tournaments, and levels ; high schools sometimes play best-of-three to 25 ; in the NCAA games are played best-of-five to 25 as of the 2008 season.

As a result, the NCAA vacated Memphis ' entire 2007 – 08 season, including the tournament appearance, and forced the University to repay all tournament revenues.

Of special note, the university had announced its desire to possibly enter the NCAA during the 2007 athletic season.

The 2007 – 2008 season had particular note as Yeshiva was home to the NCAA Skyline Conference's Rookie of the Year.

The 2008 – 2009 season saw the men's NCAA volleyball team have its best season ever.

In the 2009 – 2010 season, the men's NCAA volleyball team won the HVMAC ( Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference ) Championship.

* Christopher Cicero, a lawyer from Columbus, Ohio, whose warnings about possible NCAA violations by players on the Ohio State Buckeyes football team went unreported by head coach Jim Tressel, leading to his suspension during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

Late in the season, with the Heat well out of any type of realistic playoff contention, head coach Pat Riley missed two games because he went to scout certain NCAA basketball conference tournament games, to prepare in the likely event that the Heat received the number 1 or 2 pick in the 2008 draft.

Additionally, the 1988 – 89 season featured the debut of Larry Brown as the Spurs head coach who moved to San Antonio after winning the NCAA National Championship with the University of Kansas in 1988.

The Hilltoppers left the GFC after the 2006 season, went through the two-year " reclassification " period mandated by the NCAA for schools moving from the FCS to the FBS, and became a football member of its all-sports conference, the Sun Belt Conference, in 2009.

Before that season, the MEAC was the first conference to secure NCAA sanctioning for women ’ s bowling by adopting the club sport prior to the 1996-97 school year.

The total number of scholarships can ’ t exceed 60 in any season, a total only slightly lower than the NCAA limit of 63 scholarship equivalents for FCS programs.

Starting in the 2012-2013 season, the women's team will be part of the College Hockey America conference, and will be eligible for conference postseason play, but not NCAA postseason play.

The moratorium on the NCAA postseason will be lifted beginning with the 2014-2015 season.

Wittenberg ended the 2009 fall sports season ranked 16th among more than 430 NCAA Division III schools in the Learfield Sports Directors Cup standings, administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics ( NACDA )