1986 NBA Finals, The finals
The infamous fifth game featured the signature moment of the series, when 7'4" Ralph Sampson ignited a brawl with Jerry Sichting, a player 15 inches (380 mm) shorter than Sampson, leading to his ejection. While Jim Petersen led the Rockets to a decisive victory, Sampson's actions motivated the Celtics to end the series in six. Bird dismantled the young Rockets in game 6; the raucous Garden crowd booed every time Sampson touched the ball. The Celtics eliminated the Rockets 114–97 in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate.


1986 NBA Finals, The finals
With backup forward Scott Wedman sidelined due to a wrist injury, Bird got very little rest during the six-game series, logging 269 out of a possible 288 minutes of floor time. Bird was named the Finals' MVP for that year, averaging 24 points, 9.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, and 2.7 steals per game for the series. It was the Celtics' 16th championship in 40 years and it was their last championship for 22 years.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 1
The "Twin Towers" Ralph Sampson and Akeem Olajuwon were saddled with foul trouble for much of the game. Sampson got three quick fouls just 4:45 into the game and scored only two points; Olajuwon picked up five fouls despite scoring 33, 25 of which came in the first half. The backcourt tandem of Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge provided the third quarter spurt for the Celtics, combining for 22 points, while Boston held Houston to just 17 points in an expected victory.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 2
The third quarter again proved decisive for the Celtics, outscoring the Rockets 34-19 in the quarter. Sampson and Olajuwon combined for 32 points in the first half, but only seven in the second. Larry Bird paced the Celtics with 31 points on 12-for-19 shooting, while Kevin McHale added 25 in another Boston rout. It was Boston's 40th consecutive victory at home, regular season and playoffs combined.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 3
The Rockets rallied from eight points down in the fourth quarter before escaping to a much-needed two-point win at home, despite another third quarter meltdown. Sampson and Olajuwon combined for 47 points and 30 rebounds, Robert Reid added 20, while reserve guard Mitchell Wiggins tipped in off an Olajuwon miss late in the fourth to put the Rockets ahead for good. The Celtics only managed one more shot in their final two possessions, a missed 5-footer by Robert Parish. Kevin McHale and Larry Bird both scored 28 points in the loss, but Bird was held to 3-for-12 shooting in the second half due to Reid's defense.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
Larry Bird's three-pointer with 2:26 remaining gave Boston the lead for good, while holding the Rockets to just one basket in the final four minutes, keyed by Kevin McHale's three forced turnovers on Houston's final three possessions. Robert Parish scored 22 while hauling 15 rebounds. Dennis Johnson also added 22, while Bird scored 21 and dished out 10 assists. Ralph Sampson led the Rockets with 25 points, while Akeem Olajuwon, Robert Reid and Rodney McCray added 21, 19 and 17 respectively. The Rockets suffered their first home loss of the 1986 playoffs.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
The game was highlighted by Ralph Sampson's ejection early in the second quarter. With 9:40 remaining in the second, Sampson threw punches at the Celtics' reserve guard Jerry Sichting, 16 inches shorter than Sampson, leading to his ejection while the benches were cleared. The Rockets were leading 34-33 at the time of the brawl, and would lead by as many as 25 points in the second half to score a lopsided victory. Akeem Olajuwon scored 32 points while blocking 8 shots. Though Kevin McHale scored 33, Larry Bird was held to only 17 points, ultimately leading to one of the worst losses suffered by the Celtics that season.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
Larry Bird recorded a triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to pace a lopsided Boston win that clinched their 16th NBA championship. Kevin McHale added 29 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Olajuwon paced the Rockets with 21 points and 10 rebounds, but Ralph Sampson was held to only eight points on 4-for-12 shooting, visibly distracted by an angry Boston Garden crowd in the aftermath of Game 5. The Celtics led by as much as 30 in the fourth to put away the Rockets.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
Following the conclusion of the 1986 NBA Finals, a video documentary of the 1985–86 NBA season, known as "Sweet Sixteen", was released. David Perry was the narrator after Dick Stockton narrated the last three NBA season documentaries.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
This would be the city of Boston's last professional sports championship until 2002 when the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI. Had the 1985 Patriots and the 1986 Boston Red Sox won Super Bowl XX and the 1986 World Series, respectively (the Patriots lost 46–10 to the Chicago Bears, while the Red Sox lost in seven games to the New York Mets), it would have given Boston three different professional sports championships in the same calendar year.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
In 2007–08, the city came very close to achieving this, as the 2007 Red Sox and 2007–08 Celtics won titles, but the 2007 Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants. A Houston–Boston World Series was also a possibility; however, the Mets defeated the Houston Astros in six games of the 1986 National League Championship Series. In 2018–19, the 2018 Red Sox won the 2018 World Series, while the 2018 Patriots won Super Bowl LIII, giving Boston two different professional sports championships within a year, while the 2018–19 Boston Bruins reached the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.


1986 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
The closing song following Game 6 was "Whatever We Imagine" by James Ingram.


1986 NBA draft
The 1986 NBA draft was held on June 17, 1986.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath
This draft holds the record for the most players (out of prospects chosen) who later debuted in the NBA, with 66.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, Drug and health issues involving drafted players
There were various drug-related problems that plagued players in the 1986 NBA draft. Most notable was the death of highly touted Len Bias. Bias died less than two days after being selected second overall by the defending champion Boston Celtics. His death was ruled an overdose that resulted from the abuse of the drug cocaine. Other problems involving drugs hampered the careers of Chris Washburn, Roy Tarpley, and William Bedford.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, Successful second-round players
While a number of first-round selections were unable to make an impact in the league, this draft did feature a number of talented second-round selections. Dennis Rodman, who became one of the leading defenders and rebounders in NBA history, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2011. Mark Price, Kevin Duckworth, and Jeff Hornacek also went on to have successful careers, and each made the NBA All-Star Game. Three others – Johnny Newman, Nate McMillan, and David Wingate – had long, productive careers as role players.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, International draftees
This draft contained two exceptional international players, both of whom had shortened careers for unusual reasons. Third-round selection Dražen Petrović was coming off an All-Star caliber fourth season when he was killed in an automobile accident in 1993. He has since been elected to both the Naismith Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame. The other, Arvydas Sabonis, was not permitted to play in the United States because of the dangerous political climate in the Soviet Union.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, International draftees
He won two Olympic medals before his arrival in the NBA—a gold in 1988 with the USSR, and a bronze in 1992 with Lithuania. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Sabonis had a very successful career in Europe before finally joining the Portland Trail Blazers in 1995. Sabonis had lost much of his mobility by the time he joined the team because of a string of knee and Achilles tendon injuries.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, International draftees
He finished second in both the Sixth Man Award and Rookie of the Year voting; after the 1995–96 season, he won a second Olympic bronze medal with Lithuania. He played seven seasons with Portland before returning to his homeland of Lithuania where he finished his career. Sabonis entered the FIBA Hall in 2010 and the Naismith Hall in 2011.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, Other draftee contributions to the game
This draft is also known for the number of players who made important contributions to the sport of basketball outside of the court. For example, Nate McMillan had a highly successful run with the Seattle SuperSonics as a player and then as head coach, and then spent seven seasons as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Scott Skiles was the former coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and also the first coach to lead the Chicago Bulls to the playoffs in the post-Jordan era.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, Other draftee contributions to the game
Larry Krystkowiak, a former Bucks head coach, was hired in April 2011 as the new head coach at the University of Utah. John Salley won four championship rings with three different NBA teams (Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers) before becoming one of the hosts of The Best Damn Sports Show Period on Fox Sports Network. Mark Price served as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, a shooting consultant with Memphis (one season) and Atlanta (two seasons), a shooting coach for Golden State (one season), and in December 2011 was named Player Development Coach for the Orlando Magic.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, Other draftee contributions to the game
Jeff Hornacek would also be a full-time assistant head coach for the Utah Jazz for two seasons before accepting a job as the head coach for the Phoenix Suns in the 2013–14 NBA season. In 2016, Jeff Hornacek became the head coach for the New York Knicks, and coached them until 2018. Pete Myers, selected in the sixth round as the 120th overall pick, was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls from 2001 to 2010 and Golden State Warriors since 2011. Jim Les, the 70th overall pick, was an assistant coach for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs from 1999 to 2001 then was head coach at Bradley University from 2002 to 2011 and UC Davis since 2011.


1986 NBA draft, Overview and aftermath, Other draftee contributions to the game
Jay Bilas, who was selected in the fifth round as the 108th overall pick but never played in the NBA, is an ESPN college basketball analyst.


1986 NBA draft, Draft selections, Notable post-second round picks
These players selected after the second round have played at least one game in the NBA.


1986 NBA draft, Draft selections, Notable post-second round picks
* compensation for draft choices traded away by Ted Stepien


1986 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
These players who declared or were automatically eligible for the 1986 draft were not selected but played in the NBA.


1986 NBA playoffs
The 1986 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1985–86 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird was named NBA Finals MVP for the second time.


1986 NBA playoffs
This was the second NBA Finals meeting between the Celtics and Rockets; they met in the 1981 NBA Finals with the same result. It was the third of four straight Eastern Conference championships for Boston, who won 67 games that year, and went 40–1 at home. The Rockets, meanwhile had won just their second conference title in franchise history.


1986 NBA playoffs
Second-year player Michael Jordan put on a record-setting performance in Game 2 of the Bulls' first-round series against the Celtics, scoring 63 points in a 2-OT loss, which surpassed Elgin Baylor's 61-point performance from the 1962 NBA Finals and still stands as the NBA Playoff scoring record. Jordan averaged 44.7 points per game in the series, but was unable to prevent the Bulls from being swept by a more experienced, more talented Celtics team. The Bulls set a dubious mark by posting the second worst record for a playoff-qualifying team in history, going just 30–52 during the season. Game 2, where the record was set, was ranked by TV Guide as the 26th Most Memorable Moment in Television History, and is credited with boosting the NBA's popularity surge and eventual rise to near the top of the United States television sports market, trailing only football by the mid-90s.


1986 NBA playoffs
The 1986 playoffs marked the third time in four years that the Milwaukee Bucks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, but it would be their last appearance in the series until 2001. The Celtics avenged their 1983 sweep by sweeping the Bucks in four games.


1986 NBA playoffs
As for the Philadelphia 76ers, this was the last time they would play in a Game 7 until 2001. After their first round loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons would advance past the first round in each of the next five seasons (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991), which include all appearances in the conference finals, three NBA Finals, and two championships.


1986 NBA playoffs
After moving from Kansas City, where the franchise played its previous thirteen seasons, the Sacramento Kings made their first postseason appearance in their first season in its new city.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Chicago Bulls
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first meeting.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (7) New Jersey Nets
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Washington Bullets
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning two of the first four meetings.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Detroit Pistons
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning two of the first three meetings while in St. Louis.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) San Antonio Spurs
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Sacramento Kings
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Rockets winning the first meeting.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Trail Blazers winning the first meeting.


1986 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Utah Jazz
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Jazz.


1986 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning six of the first seven meetings.


1986 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning four of the first five meetings.


1986 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.


1986 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Houston Rockets vs. (3) Denver Nuggets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nuggets and the Rockets.


1986 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning two of the first three meetings.


1986 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Houston Rockets
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Rockets winning the first meeting.


1986 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W2) Houston Rockets
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first three meetings.


1986 NBL Finals
The 1986 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1986 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Adelaide 36ers defeated the Brisbane Bullets in three games (2-1) for the first NBL championship.


1986 NBL Finals, Format
The 1986 National Basketball League Finals was played in October 1986 between the top six teams of the regular season, consisting of knockout Quarter and Semi-finals followed by the league's first ever three-game Grand Final series. .


1986 NBL Finals, Qualification, Qualified teams
The Ken Cole coached Adelaide 36ers had stormed through the regular season with a 24–2 record, including a 13–0 record on their home court at the Apollo Stadium, to finish 5 games clear of the Canberra Cannons and 7 clear of the defending champion Brisbane Bullets. They were also the only team in the league to score over 3,000 points during the season (3,016) and went into the Finals on a 12-game winning streak. The 36ers only losses for the regular season had come away from home on last second buzzer beaters from the West Sydney Westars and Coburg Giants respectively.


1986 NBL Finals, Qualification, Ladder
This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.


1986 NBL Finals, Qualification, Ladder
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.


1986 NBL Finals, Grand Final series
After the Grand Final had been the traditional single game since the league began in 1979, the NBL introduced a three-game Grand Final series for 1986. They were rewarded when not only did the series go for all three games, but in Game 1 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre a then Australian indoor sports attendance record of 11,000 saw the game go into overtime.


1986 NBL Finals, Grand Final series, (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Brisbane Bullets, Game 1
Adelaide led early, but a series of silly turnovers saw the Bullets take a 26–24 lead at the end of the first. Leroy Loggins then struck foul trouble in the second and led by their 'Twin Towers' Mark Davis and Bill Jones, Adelaide raced out to a 52–41 half time lead. With Loggins back in the third hitting his first 6 shots, Brisbane outscored the 36ers 32–24 and the lead was cut to just 3 points.


1986 NBL Finals, Grand Final series, (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Brisbane Bullets, Game 1
The teams went toe to toe in the last but the turning point was Bill Jones stepping in front of Loggins who was called for the charge and was out of the game with 5 fouls. However, the score was locked at 111–111 at the end of time and the game was in overtime. Cooler heads prevailed for the series favourites and after Ray Wood stole an inbound pass that killed the Bullets chances, Adelaide won 122–119. For Adelaide, Davis scored 38 points and pulled in 23 rebounds while Loggins scored 38 for the Bullets.


1986 NBL Finals, Grand Final series, (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Brisbane Bullets, Game 2
Game 2 in Adelaide was expected to see the 36ers, who had gone 14–0 at home to that point of the season, warp up their first NBL title. However, the defending champions, led by 38 points from Cal Bruton, would not go quietly. An early elbow injury to Mark Davis limited his effectiveness in the game and it was left to Darryl Pearce to keep the Adelaide scoreboard ticking over. Pearce scored 29 for Adelaide including hitting six 3-pointers during the second period. However it wasn't enough as Brian Kearle's Bullets stunned the 3,000 in attendance and won the game 104–83 to not only tie the series, but to end Adelaide's 20 game winning streak at home dating back to June 1985.


1986 NBL Finals, Grand Final series, (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Brisbane Bullets, Game 3
Game 3 at the Apollo Stadium was a back and forth affair. The 36ers jumped out early and led 35–25 at the end of the first, while Brisbane hit back in the second and, coming from 16 points down to actually lead at one point, and were only down by 2 at the half. The third period saw Leroy Loggins, frustrated by the close, physical defence of Peter Ali, Dwayne Nelson and Mike McKay, foul out for the second time in the series.


1986 NBL Finals, Grand Final series, (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Brisbane Bullets, Game 3
Despite 31 points from Cal Bruton, 22 from Ron Radliff and 14 rebounds from captain Larry Sengstock, Adelaide, led by Pearce with 27 points, Davis and Al Green with 22 points, and Davis and Jones with 25 and 13 rebounds respectively, had all the answers in the last to run away with the game 113–91 to win their first NBL Championship.


1986 NBL Finals, Grand Final series, (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Brisbane Bullets, Game 3
36ers Power forward Mark Davis, who averaged 24.3 points, 19.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over the 3 games was named the Most Valuable Player for the Grand Final series.


1986 NBL season
The 1986 NBL season was the eighth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league.


1986 NBL season, Clubs
The NBL had 14 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory.


1986 NBL season, Regular season
The home and away season took place over 21 rounds between 25 April 1986 and 28 September 1986.


1986 NBL season, Regular season
The Adelaide 36ers had a near perfect regular season recording a 24–2 win/loss record which included an undefeated 13-0 home record at the Apollo Stadium, a feat not matched before or since in the NBL. Adelaide's only two losses of the year came away in Round 6 when they lost 89–87 to the West Sydney Westars in Sydney, and in Round 11 against the Coburg Giants in Melbourne when they went down 116–114. Both the Westars and Giants won the games on last second baskets. The 36ers were easily the best offensive team in the league, averaging 116 points per game (11.5 points more per game than the next best team, the Brisbane Bullets), while they had the 5th best defence in the NBL only giving up 96.5 points per game.


1986 NBL season, Regular season
6'5" (196 cm) Brisbane Bullets swingman Leroy Loggins was selected as the NBL's Most Valuable Player. Loggins averaged 29.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in 1986. It was Loggins' 2nd NBL MVP award having also won in 1984.


1986 NBL season, Ladder
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.


1986 NBL season, Ladder
1Head-to-Head between West Sydney Westars and Illawarra Hawks (1-1). West Sydney Westars won For and Against (+8).


1986 NBL season, Ladder
23-way Head-to-Head between Sydney Supersonics (3-1), Geelong Cats (2-2) and Coburg Giants (1-3).


1986 NBL season, Finals, Playoff bracket
There were two elimination finals, two semi-finals, and then best of three grand final. All of the Elimination-finals and Semi-finals were sudden death. As the top two teams in the regular season the Adelaide 36ers and Canberra Cannons automatically qualified to host a home Semi-final.


1986 NBL season, Finals, Grand Final
After being a single game from 1979-1985, 1986 saw the establishment of the best of three Grand Final series. Game 1 in Brisbane saw a then NBL record attendance of over 11,000. The game went into overtime with the 36ers coming out on top with a 122-119 win. Game 2 saw Adelaide lose its only game at home for the season when the Bullets kept the series alive with a 104-83 win. Adelaide wrapped up its first NBL Championship with a 113-91 win in Game 3 at the Apollo Stadium.


1986 NBL season, Finals, Grand Final
Regular season MVP winner, Brisbane's Leroy Loggins, fouled out of both Games 1 and 3. Adelaide import Power forward Mark Davis was selected as the Grand Final MVP. Davis averaged 25.0 points, 19.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over the series.


1986 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 1986 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Dick Sheridan. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953. The Wolfpack played its home games in 1986 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


1986 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1986 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fortieth year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Four regions held a four team, double-elimination tournament while the remaining four regions included six teams, resulting in 40 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The fortieth tournament's champion was Arizona, coached by Jerry Kindall. The Most Outstanding Player was Mike Senne of Arizona.


1986 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals
The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, four consisting of four teams and four of six teams. The winners of each Regional advanced to the College World Series.


1986 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 48th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 6th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.


1986 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 24, 1986, the combined meet was hosted by the University of Arizona at the Canada Hills County Club in Tucson, Arizona. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 5 kilometers (3.11 miles).


1986 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team national championship was won by Arkansas, their second national title. The individual championship was won by Aaron Ramirez, from Arizona, with a time of 30:27.53.


1986 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The women's team national championship was won by Texas, their first national title. The individual championship was won by Angela Chalmers, from Northern Arizona, with a time of 16:55.49.


1986 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 1986 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the sixth women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college field hockey team in the United States. The Iowa Hawkeyes won their first championship, defeating the New Hampshire Wildcats in the final. The championship rounds were held at Foreman Field in Norfolk, Virginia for the second straight year.


1986 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested March 14−15, 1986 at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's NCAA collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States. These were the 22nd annual men's championships and the 4th annual women's championships.


1986 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
Two-time defending champions Arkansas claimed the men's team title, the Razorbacks' third overall title and, ultimately, the third of twelve straight titles for Arkansas. Texas, meanwhile, claimed their first women's team title, topping the team standings by five points.


1986 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
All teams and athletes from Division I indoor track and field programs were eligible to compete for this year's individual and team titles.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1985-86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season  The 1986 National Title Game was played on March 31, 1986 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. The 1986 National Title Game was played between the 1986 East Regional Champions, Duke and the 1986 West Regional Champions, Louisville.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas. A total of 63 games were played.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Louisville, coached by Denny Crum, won the national title with a 72–69 victory in the final game over Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. Pervis Ellison of Louisville was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Louisville became the first team from outside a power conference to win the championship since the expansion to 64 teams, and remains one of only two teams to do so (the other team was UNLV in 1990).


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament was the first tournament to use a shot clock limiting the amount of time for any one offensive possession by a team prior to taking a shot at the basket. Beginning with the 1986 tournament, the shot clock was set at 45 seconds, which it would remain until being shortened to 35 seconds beginning in the 1994 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, and further shortened to 30 seconds (the same as NCAA women's basketball) starting with the 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The 1986 tournament was also the last to not feature the three-point shot.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
LSU's 1985–86 team is tied for the lowest-seeded team (#11) to ever make the Final Four with the 2005–06 George Mason Patriots, the 2010–11 VCU Rams, the 2017–18 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, and the 2020-21 UCLA Bruins. As of 2018, they are the only team in tournament history to beat the top 3 seeds from their region.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
LSU began its run to the Final Four by winning two games on its home court, the LSU Assembly Center, leading to a change two years later which prohibited teams from playing NCAA tournament games on a court which they have played four or more games in the regular season. Cleveland State University became the first #14 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen, losing to their fellow underdog, Navy, by a single point.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
This was also the first year in which two #14 seeds reached the second round in the same year, as Arkansas-Little Rock beat #3-seed Notre Dame; however, they lost their second-round game in overtime. Both feats have only occurred one other time. Chattanooga reached the Sweet Sixteen as a 14-seed in 1997, and Old Dominion and Weber State both reached the second round as 14-seeds in 1995.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Every regional final featured a #1 or #2 seed playing a team seeded #6 or lower. The lone #1 seed to not reach the Elite Eight, St. John's (West), was knocked out in the second round by #8 Auburn, which lost to #2 Louisville in the regional final.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
It can be argued that these upsets by the 14-seeds launched the NCAA Tournament's reputation for having unknown teams surprise well-known basketball powers, and both happened on the same day. Indiana's stunning loss would be part of the climax in the best-selling book A Season On The Brink.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Another story of the tournament was when Navy reached the Elite 8 thanks to stunning performances by David Robinson. This tournament had no Pac 10 teams advance beyond the round of 64. This did not occur again until 2018.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1986 tournament:


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
Dallas became the 22nd host city, and Reunion Arena the 24th host venue, for the Final Four. While the city itself has not hosted another Final Four, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex would host again in 2014 at AT&T Stadium. Three of the four venues used for regional sites, and all four host cities, were Final Four host cities; only The Summit did not host a Final Four (all Final Fours in Houston have been at either the Astrodome or NRG Stadium).


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
This also marked the first time that domed stadiums were used in the opening rounds, with Syracuse's Carrier Dome and the Metrodome in Minneapolis hosting games. The Metrodome and the Long Beach Arena were the only new venues this year. While the city of Long Beach itself had not hosted games before, it is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area which has hosted multiple times. Since 1986, every tournament has included at least one domed stadium, something that had only happened five times beforehand (1971 and 1981–84). LSU's Assembly Center, renamed for NCAA career scoring leader and LSU legend Pete Maravich in 1988, hosted for the third and final time, having previously hosted the Mideast regional semifinals and finals in 1976 and the Mideast regional quarterfinals in 1977.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Final Four Officials
The 1986 Final Four was the first in which the NCAA assigned a separate three-man crew for the championship game. Previously, three of the six officials from the semifinals were melded into a crew for the championship.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Final Four Officials
The championship game was the last for future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Hank Nichols, who became the NCAA's national supervisor of officials. The Louisville-Duke matchup was Nichols' sixth championship game assignment.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships were contested at the 48th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament for determining the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate golf at the Division I level in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Bermuda Run Country Club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, hosted by Wake Forest University.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
Home team Wake Forest won the team championship, the Demon Deacons' third NCAA title and first since 1975.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
Future professional Scott Verplank, from Oklahoma State, won the individual title.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 39th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 21 and 29, 1986, and concluded with Michigan State defeating Harvard 6-5. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues while all succeeding games were played at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The NCAA permitted 8 teams to qualify for the tournament and divided its qualifiers into two regions (East and West). Each of the tournament champions from the four Division I conferences (CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and WCHA) received automatic invitations into the tournament with At-large bids making up the remaining 4 teams, 1 from each conference.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. The two odd-number ranked teams from one region were placed into a bracket with the two even-number ranked teams of the other region. The teams were then seeded according to their ranking. In the Quarterfinals the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds played two-game aggregate series to determine which school advanced to the Semifinals. Beginning with the Semifinals all games were played at the Providence Civic Center and all series became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1986 Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship game was played at Delaware Stadium in front of 9,765 fans. Fifth seeded North Carolina capped off an 11 and 3 season with its third NCAA championship, as they upset University of Virginia 10 to 9 in overtime.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Gary Seivold, who scored the game winner in overtime had two goals and two assists for North Carolina. Seivold's goal with 2:10 left in overtime gave Carolina the 10–9 victory over Virginia at Newark, Del. Virginia's Will Rosebro had tied the game at nine with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Seivold led all tournament scorers with 12 goals and was named the tournament's outstanding player. This tournament was notable because for the first time in nine seasons Johns Hopkins was not in the tournament finals, having been upset in overtime by North Carolina. The tournament was also notable for the expansion in the tournament format to ten teams, from eight, with two play-in games.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament boxscores
Pat Cain, Greg Fisk, Greg Collins, Chris Tyler, Greg Cannella, Tom Aldrich


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 27th organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college soccer team in the United States. The Duke Blue Devils won their first national title by defeating the Akron Zips in the championship game, 1–0. The final match was played on December 13, 1986, in Tacoma, Washington, at the Tacoma Dome.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1986 at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana at the 63rd annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States. The men's and women's titles would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Stanford again topped the team standings, the Cardinal's second consecutive and third overall men's title.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships were the 40th annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States. This year's tournaments were played in Athens, Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The men's team championship was won by Stanford, their eighth team national title. The Cardinal defeated Pepperdine in the final round, 5–2.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The men's singles title was won by Dan Goldie from Stanford.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The men's doubles title was won by Rick Leach and Tom Pawsat from USC.


1986 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host site
The tournaments were played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same venue until 2006.


1986 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 4−7, 1986 at Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana in order to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate Division I outdoor track and field events in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
These were the 64th annual men's championships and the fifth annual women's championships. Even though these championships were contested in Indianapolis, they were technically hosted by Indiana University, located in Bloomington. Carroll Stadium, the event's site, is actually located near IUPUI, another school belonging to the Indiana University system. This was the Hoosiers' second time hosting the event and the first since 1966 (held in Bloomington).


1986 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
SMU and Texas topped the men's and women's team standings, respectively; it was the Mustangs' second men's team title and the first for the Longhorn women.


1986 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the fifth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1986 to mark the conclusion of the 1986 NCAA Division I softball season, fifteen Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured seven regionals of two teams (the last team, Creighton, qualified automatically) with the winner of each region (a total of 7 teams plus Creighton) advancing to the 1986 Women's College World Series at Seymour Smith Park in Omaha, Nebraska. Cal State Fullerton won the championship by defeating Texas A&M 1–0 in the final game.


1986 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships refer to one of two NCAA-sponsored events held during May 1986 to determine the national champions of men's and women's collegiate tennis in the United States:


1986 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 12 and ended on March 30. The tournament expanded to 40 teams from 32. The Final Four consisted of Texas, Tennessee, Western Kentucky, and USC, with Texas defeating Southern California, 97-81 in the championship game. Texas's Clarissa Davis was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. With their championship win, Texas completed the first undefeated season (34-0) since the NCAA began sponsoring women's basketball in 1982.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
ESPN expanded their coverage to show all four Regional Finals and the National Semifinals. CBS continued to broadcast the Championship game.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
James Madison opened their regular season with a game against Virginia, which the Cavaliers won by 14 points, 71–57. James Madison went on to a regular season record of 26–3, which earned them an 8 seed in the Tournament. As the higher seed, they were eligible to play their first-round game at home, but they were unable to host, so played their opponent, Providence at the home court of Providence. James Madison won the close game 55–53, to move on to the second round. Their opponent would be Virginia, who earned a number 1 seed in the tournament.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The game started out with the Cavaliers taking five points with just over eleven minutes to go in the first half. The JMU Dukes then held Virginia to only a single field goal for the rest of the half and took an eleven-point lead at halftime. The two teams would play roughly evenly in the second half, with Virginia only managing to reduce the lead by two points. James Madison won the game 71–62, advancing to the regional semifinal, which was the first time in the five-year history of the NCAA Tournament that a team had defeated a number 1 seed prior to the Regional round.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
After earning a number one national ranking in 1984, but stumbling in the regional's finals to national power Louisiana Tech, Texas seemed poised for a better result in 1985. Not only did the team earn another top national ranking, but they entered the NCAA Tournament knowing that if they reached the Final Four, they would have the home court advantage with the final games scheduled for their own Frank Erwin Center. Home court would play a part, but not the part hoped for by the Longhorns.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the regional semi-finals, played at the home court of Western Kentucky University, the Hilltoppers stymied the Longhorn's hopes with a 92–90 victory. They would return to the 1986 tournament viewed as one of the top teams in the nation and were once again ranked the top team in the nation, but they still did not have a Final Four NCAA appearance on their resume.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The Texas team won their first game easily, then continued to the regional, this time on their home court. They dispatched Oklahoma easily, then struggled against Mississippi, who were trying to prevent the team from a Final Four yet again. This time, Texas prevailed and beat Mississippi by three points to head to their first NCAA Final Four. Their opponent in the semifinal was none other than Western Kentucky, who had denied them the previous year. This time, the result would be very different, as the Longhorns beat Western Kentucky easily, 90–65.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The other semifinal pitted Tennessee against Southern California. Cheryl Miller was the best player at USC, and had led the team to the national championship in 1984. Miller went on to play for the USA national team and helped the USA win the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. 1986 was Miller's senior year at USC. The game between Tennessee and USC was a rematch of a physical game played in December, in which Miller was thrown out of the game for an elbow. The game was close, but USC ended up with an 85–77 win. In the rematch, Miller would again come out of the game, but under very different circumstances. She was worried about getting hurt, and with a 70–51 lead, didn't need to stay in. In that game, USC won by 24 points, 83–59.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
That set up the championship game between USC and undefeated Texas. The Texas team was very deep but had suffered a number of injuries during the year. The game was close early with the Trojans leading at times in the first half, but Texas went on a 10–2 run to take a seven-point lead. Miller would have one of the worst games in her career. Although she scored 16 points, twelve of those were from the free throw line. She was only 2 for 11 from the field, without a single point in the second half. In contrast, Texas' Clarissa Davis came off the bench to score 25 and earn Most Outstanding Player honors. USC's Cynthia Cooper scored 27 points, and Texas won the national championship 97–81 to complete the first undefeated season in NCAA history.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Records
Cheryl Miller set the Final Four record of free throws in a single game with 12, in the championship game.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Records
Clarissa Davis set the Final Four record for rebounds in a half, with 14 in the second half of the semifinal game.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Records
The National Championship game between Texas and USC set several Final Four scoring marks:


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Records
Texas had 23 assists in the semi-final game, a record (since 1985, when the category was established), and followed that with 22 in the championship game.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Records
Kamie Ethridge had 20 assists in the two Final Four games, a record for the combined Final Four games.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – automatic
Forty teams were selected to participate in the 1986 NCAA Tournament. Seventeen conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA tournament.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – at-large
Twenty-three additional teams were selected to complete the forty invitations.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Twenty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In thirteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Eighteen additional at-large teams were selected from seven of the conferences, plus one independent (not associated with an athletic conference) team earned at-large bids.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
In 1986, the field expanded to 40 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-10 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 8 and 9 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 1 seed in the second round, while seeds 7 and 10 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 2 seed. In  the first two rounds, the higher seed was given the opportunity to host the first-round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exceptions:


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the twenty-four first round locations:


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named  for the general location, were held from March 20 to March 23 at these sites:


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
Each regional winner  advanced to the Final Four, held March 28 and March 30 in Lexington, Kentucky at Rupp Arena


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The forty teams came from twenty-five states. Pennsylvania had the most teams with four. Twenty-five states did not have any teams receiving bids.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Sixteen conferences had more than one  bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Seven conferences  went 0-1: Gateway, High Country, Metro, MAAC, MAC, Southland, and WAC


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 1986 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the fifth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national championship for Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Maryland during May 1986.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The Maryland Terrapins won their first championship after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the final, 11–10.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
For the second consecutive year, the leading scorer for the tournament was Anysia Fedec, from Maryland, with 13 goals. The Most Outstanding Player trophy was not awarded this year.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Qualification
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. In the end, 6 teams contested this tournament, an increase of two from the previous year.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament was the fifth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate soccer. The championship game was played again at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Virginia during December 1986.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
North Carolina defeated Colorado College in the final, 2–0, to win their fourth national title. Coached by Anson Dorrance, the Tar Heels finished the season 23–0–1. This was the first of North Carolina's record nine consecutive national titles (1986–1994).


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Player was April Heinrichs from North Carolina. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of five players, was also named. Henrichs was also the tournament's leading scorer (4 goals).


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
With the inaugural edition of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship being held in 1986, the tournament eligibility was narrowed to just Division I and Division II women's soccer programs (a Division II championship was not added until 1988). Nonetheless, the tournament field decreased from the previous year, downsizing from 14 to 12 teams.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1986 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the fifth annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted at the Arkansas Natatorium at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Two-time defending champions Texas again topped the team standings, finishing 47 points ahead of Florida, claiming the Longhorns' third women's team title.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships were the fifth annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The women's team championship was won by Stanford, their second title in three years. This was the first time that the men's and women's team from the same school won championships in the same year. The Cardinal defeated rivals USC in the final round, 5–4.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The women's singles title was won by Patty Fendick from Stanford.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The women's doubles title was won by South African Lise Gregory and American Ronni Reis from Miami (FL).


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host site
This year's tournaments were held at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center at the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 20, 1986, when Pacific defeated Nebraska 3 games to 0 in the NCAA championship match.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Pacific won their second straight NCAA title in volleyball with an easy sweep of Nebraska by the scores of 15-12, 15-4, 15-4.


1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Nebraska became the first non-California or Hawaii university to make the NCAA national championship match (although it happened six times in the AIAW national championships in the 1970s). Semifinalist Texas joined Nebraska in becoming the first non-California or Hawaii universities to make the NCAA final four (although four such others reached title matches in the 1970s).


1986 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
The 1986 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were the 56th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to be held. The University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa hosted the tournament at Carver–Hawkeye Arena.


1986 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Iowa took home the team championship with 158 points and having five individual champions.


1986 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Marty Kistler of Iowa was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler and Gary Albright of Nebraska received the Gorriaran Award.


1986 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following polls make up the 1986 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. Baseball America began publishing its poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1981. Beginning with the 1985 season, it expanded to the top 25. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


1986 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Baseball America
Currently, only the final poll from the 1986 season is available.


1986 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
Currently, only the final poll from the 1986 season is available.


1986 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 1986 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1986. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1986 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fortieth time in 1986, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Arizona claimed the championship for the third time.


1986 NCAA Division I baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1986 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Four regionals of four teams and four of six each competed in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. 25 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 15 teams earned at-large selections.


1986 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 1986 season marked the fortieth NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Arizona claiming their third championship with a 10–2 win over Florida State in the final.


1986 NCAA Division I softball season
The 1986 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1986. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 1986 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in Omaha, Nebraska at Seymour Smith Park, ended on May 25, 1986.


1986 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 1986 NCAA Women's College World Series took place May 21–25, 1986 in Omaha, Nebraska.


1986 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season WHIP:0.36 (58 H+13 BB/195.0 IP) – Virginia Augusta, North Carolina Tar Heels


1986 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I single game triples:3 – Lynna Hallick, Northwestern Wildcats; April 18, 1986


1986 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
Junior class perfect games:3 – Virginia Augusta, North Carolina Tar Heels


1986 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
Team single game triples:7 – UMass Minutewomen; March 17, 1986


1986 NCAA Division I softball season, All America Teams
The following players were members of the first All-American Teams.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Two human polls comprised the 1986 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the national championship, launching it into the top tier of bowls.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season
Miami came into the game No. 1 and Penn State No. 2 . In a move that would come to symbolize the game for years to come, Miami arrived wearing combat fatigues while Penn State arrived wearing suits and ties.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season
Despite all the hype surrounding Miami, Penn State's defense harassed and harried Heisman trophy winner Vinny Testaverde throughout the Fiesta Bowl. The Hurricanes committed seven turnovers, including five interceptions thrown by Testaverde – the last of which, in the end zone with 18 seconds left, won the game for the Nittany Lions.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets
Oklahoma and Michigan began the season at No. 1 and No. 2 . A 28–16 defeat of Oklahoma by Miami on September 27 pushed the Hurricanes into the No. 1 ranking and ultimately proved the spoiler for the Sooners, who finished the 1986 season ranked first in all four major defensive statistical categories – a feat not to be duplicated until 2012, by Alabama. The Crimson Tide moved into the number 2 spot following the Sooners' loss.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets
Probably the strongest case for Penn State was a defeat of the well-regarded, then-No. 2 ranked Alabama squad by a score of 23–3, at Tuscaloosa on October 26. This pushed Penn State into the number two spot. Otherwise, both Miami and Penn State had a number of teams on their schedule that were not strong opponents. Michigan defeated Iowa in a rematch of the previous season's No. 1 vs No. 2 game. Three games later, Michigan was number 2 and undefeated after Penn State fell in the rankings following a 17–15 close win to Maryland.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets
Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst threw five interceptions in a 21–21 tie with Washington State ASU's 16–9 win over the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl stadium on October 4 would later prove to be the deciding game in the conference. The Sun Devils beat both USC and UCLA in Los Angeles, the first Pacific-10 conference team to do so. The Sun Devils defeated outgoing coach Joe Kapp's California Golden Bears team 49–0. Kapp had unzipped his pants in front of the Seattle media following an embarrassing 50–18 loss against Washington on October 4.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets
The win over Cal, combined with the UCLA loss to Stanford, enabled the Sun Devils to clinch the Rose Bowl Berth on November 8. The early clinching of the Rose Bowl bid for Arizona State began a scramble for all the Bowl games to confirm teams before the bids were to be extended on November 22.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets
The Michigan Wolverines football team began the season ranked number 2 in the nation. A No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup the previous season between Iowa and Michigan had decided the race for the 1986 Rose Bowl; in the 1986 rematch, the Wolverines defeated Iowa 20–17. Minnesota, a 25–point underdog to number two ranked Michigan, was regarded as being likely to provide an easy victory for the Wolverines in the November 15 game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor; the Gophers had not defeated the Wolverines since 1977.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets
With two minutes to go, Michigan scored a touchdown to tie the game at 17. On the ensuing Minnesota possession, quarterback Rickey Foggie scrambled to put Chip Lohmiller in field goal position; Lohmiller connected for a 20–17 Gophers victory. The Gophers took home the Little Brown Jug from Michigan for the first time since 1962. The Wolverines fell to No. 6 and then faced arch rival Ohio State for the right to play in the Rose Bowl. Jim Harbaugh guaranteed a Michigan Victory over Ohio State. "We don't care where we play the game", said the senior quarterback early in the week. "I hate to say it, but we could play it in the parking lot. We could play the game at 12 noon or midnight. We're going to be jacked up." The Wolverines won 26–24.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets, Notable rivalry games
Arkansas' victory over Texas was the Razorbacks' first win in Austin since 1966.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets, Bowl games
With Arizona State having clinched the Rose Bowl berth on November 8, and the Fiesta Bowl and Citrus Bowl scrambling to bid for the No. 1 Miami (Florida) vs. No. 2 Penn State Game, the Cotton Bowl struck an agreement to take the loser of the Michigan-Ohio State game. All the bowl games attempted to line up participants before the official bids were extended on November 22.


1986 NCAA Division I-A football season, Key matchups and upsets, Bowl games
The Sugar Bowl agreed to take the loser of the Oklahoma-Nebraska game to match the SEC winner, and the Orange Bowl agreed to take the second place SWC team to match the Big 8 winner. The Citrus Bowl, which moved to January 1, got a second place SEC team in Auburn, and, what they hoped would be a good matchup, in 7–2 USC. The Trojans would lose to UCLA and Notre Dame after they were invited.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Arkansas State Indians (now the Arkansas State Red Wolves) and the Georgia Southern Eagles. The game was played on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The culminating game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 48–21. Georgia Southern, the defending champion from 1985, became the first program to win consecutive Division I-AA titles.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
Contemporary news reports also referred to this game as Diamond Bowl II, as the NCAA had introduced Diamond Bowl branding for the Division I-AA championship game in 1985. The on-field logo at midfield included "1986 Diamond Bowl" wording. NCAA records list the game date as Saturday, December 20, 1986; however, contemporary news reports are clear that the game was played on the evening of Friday, December 19, 1986.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1986 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record; they played two Division I-A programs, losing to both Florida and East Carolina. Ranked fourth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded fourth in the tournament, the Eagles defeated North Carolina A&T, Nicholls State, and top-seed Nevada to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1985.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Arkansas State Indians
Arkansas State finished their regular season with a 9–1–1 record (5–0 in conference); they played four games against Division I-A programs, resulting in two wins (Memphis and Texas A&M), one loss (Mississippi State), and a tie (Ole Miss). Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded second in the tournament, the Indians defeated Sam Houston State, Delaware, and Eastern Kentucky to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Arkansas State in a Division I-AA championship game.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings
The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the NCAA Division I-AA football committee. This is for the 1986 season.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1986, and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their second consecutive I-AA championship, defeating the Arkansas State Indians by a score of 48–21.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Conference champions
Big Sky Conference – NevadaColonial League – Holy CrossGateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Eastern IllinoisIvy League – PennMid-Eastern Athletic Conference –  North Carolina A&TOhio Valley Conference – Murray StateSouthern Conference – Appalachian StateSouthland Conference – Arkansas StateSouthwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson StateYankee Conference –  Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts


1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason
The playoffs expanded from twelve to sixteen teams this season, eliminating the bye for the top four seeds.


1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason, NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket
The top four teams were seeded, with remaining teams placed in the bracket based on geographical considerations.


1986 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1985–86 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. It was won by Sacred Heart University and Sacred Heart's Roger Younger was the Most Outstanding Player.


1986 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
The 1986 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship was the 15th annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
Defending champions Seattle Pacific defeated Oakland, 4–1, to win their fourth Division II national title. The Falcons (17-4-2), winners of three out of the four previous tournaments, were coached by Cliff McCrath.


1986 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
The final match was played on December 6 at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington.


1986 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament was the fifth annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's  collegiate basketball in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Defending champions Cal Poly Pomona defeated North Dakota State in the championship game, 70–63, the Broncos' third NCAA Division II national title.


1986 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The championship rounds were contested at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.


1986 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 1986 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the NCAA Division II football committee. This is for the 1986 season.


1986 NCAA Division II football season
The 1986 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1986, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 13, 1986, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The championship would remain hosted in Florence for the next twenty-eight seasons through 2013 before moving to Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the South Dakota Coyotes, 27–7, to win their third Division II national title.


1986 NCAA Division II football season
The first Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the best player in Division II, was awarded to Jeff Bentrim, quarterback for North Dakota State.


1986 NCAA Division II football season, Conference changes and new programs
Indiana Central University changed its name to the University of Indianapolis.


1986 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Virginia UnionGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – HillsdaleGulf South Conference – Troy StateLone Star Conference – West Texas StateMissouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota StateNorthern California Athletic Conference – UC DavisNorthern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–MorrisPennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Indiana (PA)Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado MesaSouth Atlantic Conference – Carson-NewmanSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany StateWestern Football Conference - Sacramento State


1986 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 1986 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 14th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the first time.


1986 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1986 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 11th national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with six teams competing at Pioneer Park in Marietta, Ohio for the championship. Six regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series.


1986 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with one region consisting of six teams, four regions consisting of four teams, and one region consisting of two teams, which was played as best-of-five, for a total of 24 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Marietta, who defeated Ithaca for the championship.


1986 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the 12th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Held during March 1986, the field included thirty-two teams and the final championship rounds were contested at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.


1986 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
SUNY Potsdam defeated LeMoyne–Owen, 76–73, to claim their second NCAA Division III national title and first since 1981. The Bears also completed an undefeated season (32–0), the first Division III program to complete this feat.


1986 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1958–86 season, the 3rd such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Bemidji State defeating Plattsburgh State 8-5. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Bemidji, Minnesota.


1986 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Plattsburgh State's tournament performance was later vacated due to NCAA violations.


1986 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. There were no automatic bids, however, conference tournament champions were given preferential consideration. No formal seeding was used while quarterfinal matches were arranged so that the road teams would have the shortest possible travel distances.


1986 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. In the Quarterfinals, teams played a two-game series to determine which school advanced to the Semifinals, with tied series decided by a 20-minute mini-game. Mini-game scores are in italics. Beginning with the Semifinals all games became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity in the quarterfinals so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel.


1986 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament was the fifth annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division III women's collegiate basketball in the United States.


1986 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
Salem State defeated Bishop in the championship game, 89–85, to claim the Vikings' first Division III national title.


1986 NCAA Division III football season
The 1986 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 1986, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1986 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Augustana (IL) Vikings won the fourth of their four consecutive Division III championships by defeating the Salisbury State Sea Gulls by a final score of 31−3.


1986 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 1986 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 14th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the twelfth time and for the second consecutive year. Like the previous tournament, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.


1986 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889.


1986 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The 1986 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and United Press International (UPI) for the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors chose at least a first and second 5-man team. The AP and UPI chose third teams, while NABC selected a fourth team as well; AP also lists honorable mention selections.


1986 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 1986 College Basketball All-American team is determined by aggregating the results of the four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the different All-American teams.


1986 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 17th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The tournament was played at Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania during May 1986.


1986 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
Pepperdine defeated USC in the final match, 3–2 (7–15, 15–13, 15–11, 5–15, 16–14), to win their third national title. This was a rematch of the previous year's final, also won by Pepperdine. The Waves (22–7) were coached by Rod Wilde.


1986 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
Pepperdines's Steve Friedman was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Friedman, along with six other players, also comprised the All-tournament team.


1986 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1986 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1986 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 18th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1986.


1986 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Stanford defeated rival California in the final, 9–6, to win their sixth national title. Coached by Dante Dettamanti, the Cardinal finished the season undefeated, 36–0.


1986 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The Most Outstanding Players of the tournament were Fernando Carsalade (UCLA), David Imbernino (Stanford), and Craig Klass (Stanford). An All-Tournament Team of eight players was also named.


1986 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The tournament's leading scorer was Robert Lynn from USC (12 goals).


1986 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1986 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 1986 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the seventh annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was held at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.


1986 NCAA Rifle Championships
West Virginia, with a team score of 6,229, won their third team title, besting defending champions Murray State by 66 points in the team standings. It was the Mountaineers third title in four years and the third for coach Edward Etzel.


1986 NCAA Rifle Championships
The individual champions were, for the smallbore rifle, Mike Anti (West Virginia), and, for the air rifle, Marianne Wallace (Murray State).


1986 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
Since there is only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of seven teams ultimately contested this championship.


1986 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 1986 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont as part of the 33rd annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate slalom skiing and cross country skiing in the United States.


1986 NCAA Skiing Championships
Utah, coached by Pat Miller, claimed their fourth team national championship, ten points ahead of Vermont in the cumulative team standings.


1986 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's NCAA skiing championships were hosted at the Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont


1986 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
These were the fifth championships held in the state of Vermont (1955, 1961, 1973, 1980, and 1986).


1986 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
The 1986 NCAA Women's Golf Championships were contested at the fifth annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of women's collegiate golf in the United States. Until 1996, the NCAA would hold just one annual women's golf championship for all programs across Division I, Division II, and Division III.


1986 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Ohio State University Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio.


1986 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
Defending champions Florida won the team championship, the Gators' second.


1986 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 1986 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 10 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the fifth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 1985 was Utah. The Competition took place in Gainesville, Florida hosted by the University of Florida in the O'Connell Center. The 1986 Championship marked the first time that a record score was not set.


1986 NFL Draft
The 1986 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.


1986 NFL Draft
The first overall selection, Bo Jackson, had told the Buccaneers prior to the draft that he would refuse to sign with the team. Disputes with team owner Hugh Culverhouse intensified after Jackson was ruled ineligible to play college baseball due to a trip he took with Culverhouse. This angered Jackson, as Culverhouse had assured him that the visit would not cause any NCAA violations.


1986 NFL Draft
It was said that Jackson, who was having what he called his best year playing baseball in school, made the Buccaneers nervous and that by getting him somehow ruled ineligible to play baseball, he would be forced to focus on football. Prior to the 1987 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers forfeited their rights to Jackson.


1986 NFL season
The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. Defending Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears shared the league’s best record with the Giants at 14–2, with the Giants claiming the spot in the NFC by tiebreakers. In the AFC, the Cleveland Browns earned home-field advantage with a record of 12–4, and they hosted the New York Jets in round one of the AFC playoffs. The Jets had started the season at 10–1 before losing their final five contests. The game went to double OT, with the Browns finally prevailing 23–20.


1986 NFL season
The following Sunday, John Elway and the Denver  Broncos defeated the Browns by an identical score in a game known for The Drive, where Elway drove his team 98 yards to send the game to overtime to win. The Giants would defeat their rival Washington Redskins in the NFC title game, blanking them 17–0 to advance to their first Super Bowl. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39–20 at the Rose Bowl to win their first league title in 30 years.


1986 NFL season, Player movement, Draft
The 1986 NFL Draft was held from April 29 to 30, 1986 at New York City's Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected runningback Bo Jackson from Auburn University.


1986 NFL season, New referee
Dick Hantak was promoted to referee. Fred Silva was then assigned as a swing official instead of his own crew after suffering a heart attack in the offseason. Chuck Heberling was scheduled to be an instant replay official, but was asked to remain on the field following Silva's heart attack. Herberling earned assignment to the AFC championship.


1986 NFL season, Major rule changes, American Bowl
A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States, the only American Bowl game in 1986 was held at London’s Wembley Stadium.


1986 NFL season, Regular season, Scheduling formula
Inter-conferenceAFC East vs NFC WestAFC Central vs NFC CentralAFC West vs NFC East


1986 NHK Trophy
The 1986 NHK Trophy was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1986 NHL Entry Draft
The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was the 24th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 21, 1986, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1985–86 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players selected.


1986 NHL Entry Draft, Selections by round
Below are listed the selections in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.


1986 NHL Supplemental Draft
The 1986 NHL Supplemental Draft took place on September 15, 1986.


1986 NPSL First Division
The 1986 National Professional Soccer League  of South Africa was divided into divisions known as streams.


1986 NSL Cup
The 1986 NSL Cup (known as the 1986 Nanda Soccer Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams from around Australia entered the competition.


1986 NSL First Division, Table
The 1986 National Soccer League First Division was the second edition of the NSL First Division in South Africa. It was won by Rangers.


1986 NSWRL season
The 1986 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-ninth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Parramatta Eels and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs which featured the introduction of the Clive Churchill Medal. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1986 National Panasonic Cup.


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary
This season saw the opening of the new, 30,000 capacity Parramatta Stadium as the home ground for the Parramatta Eels and on 29 June the final game was played at the old Sydney Sports Ground: Eastern Suburbs Roosters v North Sydney Bears.


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary
In total twenty-six regular season rounds were played from March till September, resulting in a top five of Parramatta, South Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown (the defending premiers), Manly-Warringah and Balmain who battled it out in the finals (after Balmain had defeated North Sydney in a playoff for 5th spot). Parramatta completed a perfect season, winning the pre-season competition, the midweek Panasonic Cup, finishing the regular season as minor premiers, winning the Grand Final and farewelling their international long time stars Mick Cronin and Ray Price as victorious champions.


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary
The 1986 season's Rothmans Medallist was Manly-Warringah hooker, Mal Cochrane. Parramatta's halfback, Peter Sterling won the Dally M Award as well as Rugby League Week's player of the year award. The Coca-Cola Rugby League Coach-of-the-Year award was given to George Piggins who took South Sydney to the finals in his first year as coach.


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary
The new management and marketing direction that had been undertaken by the NSWRL in the 1980s meant that at the end of this season the League was able to announce a profit of $3.7 million and an increase in attendance of 22%.


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary
23 of the 28 players selected to go on the 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France at the end of the season were from the NSWRL. Like the Kangaroos of 1982 who went through their tour undefeated to earn the nickname "The Invincibles", the 1986 Kangaroos would also go through undefeated, earning the nickname "The Unbeatables"


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary, Teams
The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with thirteen contesting the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from greater New South Wales and one from the Australian Capital Territory.


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary, Advertising
1986 saw the NSWRL's agency, John Singleton Advertising produce an ad themed around the Gladiators photo and the then premiership trophy. The finished 60sec ad is presented with moving footage and stills from the 1963 Grand Final showing Provan and Summons embrace and stills shots of other 1970s champions including Bob Fulton, Arthur Beetson and John Sattler interspersed with 1985 season images.


1986 NSWRL season, Season summary, Advertising
The theme is of past heroes "who played it tough but played it fair" and the ad closes with the question as to who this year will claim the "Greatest Prize of All" - being the Winfield Cup Trophy, featuring the "Gladiators" statue.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
Eels coach John Monie had stepped into the large shoes left by Jack Gibson in 1984 and was under pressure to ensure Parramatta did not fall short for a third year. Eels legends Ray Price and Mick Cronin were in their farewell seasons and the Eels fans at least wanted to see them go out on a winning note. Everything had augured well right through the season with a Parramatta victory in the pre-season competition, the midweek National Panasonic cup and the minor premiership.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
The Bulldogs on the other hand were building a dynasty under the Warren Ryan-coached style of uncompromising defence that had changed the game. In prop Peter Kelly, hooker Mark Bugden and three-quarter Andrew Farrar, Ryan possessed a number of defensive hitmen capable of carrying out his game plan.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
Parramatta's Mick Cronin required a police escort to the match after being stuck in a traffic jam.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
The Grand Final was fifteen minutes old when Eels winger Mick Delroy was knocked out by a high shot from Farrar while Price suffered a constant barrage from Kelly throughout the first half. Referee Mick Stone at least initially appeared reluctant to send anyone off and Farrar and Kelly benefitted.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
Stone also disallowed two near tries in the first half to Eels five-eighth Brett Kenny who was ultimately frustrated in his attempt to replicate the two tries per Grand Final statistic that he'd maintained in each of the 1981, 1982 and 1983 deciders.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
It wasn't until Kelly was sin-binned for 10 minutes for a high tackle on Price that the Eels started to find gaps in the Bulldogs line. Two minutes before half time and still with 12 men Canterbury looked in trouble when Eric Grothe Sr. set off down the sideline with a clear path. A desperate Steve Mortimer cover-defending run brought Grothe down metres from the tryline. A minute later Cronin opened the scoring for the Eels with a successful penalty goal.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
Twelve minutes into the second half, Canterbury five-eighth Terry Lamb levelled the score with a penalty goal after Peter Sterling was penalised for a late tackle on Steve Mortimer.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
With eighteen minutes remaining, Canterbury replacement forward David Boyd was penalised for a high tackle on Price who had by now suffered an hour of ferocious Bulldog attention. Price appeared concussed and the Parramatta trainers unsuccessfully tried to convince him to leave the field. Cronin kicked the resultant penalty and the Eels again took a 2-point lead.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
After Canterbury fullback Phil Sigsworth was sent off for a high shot on Kenny, the 12 remaining Bulldogs lifted a level and continued with attacking surges. Farrar was stopped by the Eels defence centimetres from the line, Lamb missed an opportunity to level with another penalty attempt and then right on the bell Parramatta forward Michael Moseley, in a career highlight moment, cut down Bugden as the Bulldogs hooker appeared certain to score.


1986 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
Parramatta had taken on Canterbury at their own game - defence-focused trench warfare and managed to keep the game tryless and win the battle of attrition. In the process they halted Canterbury's hopes of three successive titles in the first try-less grand final.


1986 Nabisco Dinah Shore
The 1986 Nabisco Dinah Shore was a women's professional golf tournament, held April 3–6 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. This was the 15th edition of the Nabisco Dinah Shore, and the fourth as a major championship.


1986 Nabisco Dinah Shore
Pat Bradley won the fourth of her six major titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Val Skinner. Bradley held the 54-hole lead, three strokes ahead of 1984 champion Juli Inkster. Defending champion Alice Miller finished 22 strokes back, in a tie for 54th place.


1986 Nabisco Dinah Shore
Bradley won three of the four majors in 1986, narrowly missing the grand slam with a fifth place in the U.S. Women's Open.


1986 Nabisco Masters
The 1986 Masters (also known as the 1986 Nabisco Masters for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament. The singles event was held in Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States between December 3 and December 8, 1986 while the doubles competition was held at the Royal Albert Hall from December 9 through December 14. It was the year-end championship of the 1986 Nabisco Grand Prix tour. It was the first edition where the round robin format, which is now associated with the event, was reintroduced.