In Americancollege basketball,blue bloods refers toNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball programs considered to be among the most elite, either contemporaneously or historically. Outside of sports,blue blood is used as an alternative term fornobility.
Basketball media writers often debate which men's programs are considered blue bloods. The men's programs ofDuke,Kansas,Kentucky,UCLA,UConn,UNC, andIndiana are often included when listing blue bloods.UConn's women's team is also considered a blue blood, as isTennessee.
The term "blue blood" or being "blue-blooded" is rooted innobility, with royals being dubbed as such.[1] The modern-day usage referring to an exclusive list of elite college basketball programs has an unclear history.[2] Writing forNCAA.com, Andy Wittry cited a January 3, 1927, sub-headline in theBrooklyn Times-Union as the "oldest example" he could find of the phrase being used. However, theTimes-Union's sub-headline of "Centrals Made Up of Basketball Blue Bloods" referred to players rather than teams.[3] The phrase was also featured inThe Indianapolis News on March 9, 1942.[3] The oldest usage of the phrase in specific reference to college basketball was used by Dick Dunkel ofThe Charlotte News, who used "blue bloods" in his men's basketball rating system.[3] During the 1950s, theAssociated Press (AP) andCincinnati Enquirer used the phrase in a casual sense, describing teams ranked near the top of theAP poll.[3]
When writing about its modern-day usage, Dana O'Neil ofThe Athletic wrote that "the term blue blood is, in fact, nebulous and left to the eye of the beholder, the standards of neither admission nor eviction not exactly clear. Tradition and success seem to matter but how deep that success has to go is also subject to interpretation."[4] It has also been noted that the teams with most widespread consideration as blue bloods all wear shades of blue.[5]
There is debate among which teams should be considered blue bloods.[3]Duke,Kansas,Kentucky,North Carolina (UNC),UCLA andIndiana have historically been the schools most often written about by sports media when discussing blue bloods.[1][3][4] Sports media writers generally consider these schools among the best due to being among the winningest teams in the regular season, as well as having won a considerable amount ofchampionships.[6] UCLA and Indiana are sometimes excluded from lists of blue bloods, or have had their status as a blue blood program called into question.[3][6][7] This is due to the majority of their success and championships coming under one coach or occurring during one particular stretch.[7] In 2022, Will Backus of247Sports noted that Indiana's inclusion on listings of blue bloods has become more "tenuous" in recent years.[1] The blue blood status for Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and UNC have a wider consensus.[2][5] Writing forSports Illustrated'sFanNation in 2021, Davis Wallace described UCLA and Indiana as "True Bloods", also dubbingMichigan State andUConn as such, stating that these schools "aren't consistent enough to be considered a top-tier Blue Blood, but they still have a history that's respected."[7] Wallace also listedVirginia,Gonzaga,Villanova, andMichigan as "New Bloods" due to their then more recent success.[7]
From 2016 to 2025, UConn, Villanova, andFlorida won a combined five of the nine championships during the decade,[a] with their wins giving all of them three or more each in their respective school histories and leading to their assessments for blue blood status by sportswriters.UConn were already sometimes thought of as a blue blood prior to their championship wins in the 2020s. The program gained much consideration as a bona fide blue blood among many media writers and fans alike following their2023 championship,[8][9][10] and when they secured a title inthe following tournament as well, media writers were in even more agreement about the program's blue blood status.[11] O'Neil wrote that "Maybe UConn's delayed entry [into blue blood membership] is due to the fact that the Huskies don't quite fit the mold. The Huskies are more feisty than refined," adding that "they also read moreblue-collar than blue-blooded."[4] Following UConn's 2024 tournament victory, Matt Norlander ofCBS Sports wrote that "Last year was about UConn cementing its case as a blue blood. It was so convincing, you never heard it brought up this season or this tournament. It was accepted as fact. Because it is."[11] Villanova'sFinal Four and championship game appearances in the 2010s and 2020s also garnered them consideration for blue blood status.[3] When Duke, Kansas, UNC, and Villanova all made the Final Four in the2022 NCAA tournament, numerous basketball media writers discussed the occasion as the first time all Final Four teams were blue bloods.[8][12][13] As they won the2025 championship, their third in school history, theFlorida Gators also began to garner some consideration as a potential blue blood.[14]
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The term has less usage in regards to college women's basketball. However,UConn's women's team is widely considered a blue blood, having won 12 NCAA championships mainly in the 2000s and 2010s, all under head coachGeno Auriemma.[5][8]Stanford andTennessee have also historically "reigned supreme" in the women's side, earning blue blood consideration;[15][16] the latter won eight titles under head coachPat Summitt from the 1980s through the 2000s.[17][18] In the mid-2010s,South Carolina began to emerge as a successful program under head coachDawn Staley; their three championships and seven Final Four appearances since 2015 have led to blue blood consideration from sportswriters.[15]