2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Television
The 2006 season marked the final year of television contracts with Fox / FX / Speed and NBC / TNT. NBC aired the Daytona 500 to officially start the season on February 19, with Fox/FX picking up coverage the following week in California up to the Pepsi 400 July 1. For 2007, Fox and TNT began new eight-year contracts while ESPN / ABC joined in, taking over for NBC.


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open
The 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open was the 22nd edition of this tennis tournament and was played on outdoor hard courts. The tournament was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2006 ATP Tour and was classified as a Tier I event on the 2006 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events took place at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, United States, from March 20 through April 2, 2006.


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open, Finals, Men's Doubles
Jonas Björkman &  Max Mirnyi defeated  Bob Bryan &  Mike Bryan 6–4, 6–4


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open, Finals, Women's Doubles
Lisa Raymond &  Samantha Stosur defeated  Liezel Huber &  Martina Navratilova 6–4, 7–5


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open – Men's Doubles
Björkman and Mirnyi successfully defended their title, defeating Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6–4, 6–4 in the final.


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open – Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion and won the title again with a straight sets 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4), 7–6(8–6) victory over Croat sixth-seed Ivan Ljubičić.


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
All seeded players receive a bye into the second round.


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open – Women's Doubles
The Doubles Tournament at the 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open took place between March 20 and April 6 on the outdoor hard courts of the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, United States. Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur won the title, defeating Liezel Huber and Martina Navratilova in the final.


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Jill Craybas.


2006 NASDAQ-100 Open – Women's Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova won in an all-Russian final, 6–4, 6–3, against Maria Sharapova. It was her first Tier I title and sixth overall, and her first title of any kind since September 2004.


2006 NBA All-Star Game
The 2006 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 19, 2006 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, home of the Houston Rockets. The game was the 55th annual All-Star game. The theme song was by Houston native Chamillionaire who made a new version of his hit "Turn It Up." Trailing by 21 points, the East rode the hot shooting of LeBron James and the teamwork of the four All-Stars from the Detroit Pistons to a 122–120 victory over the West. The 21-year-old James, who scored 29 points and grabbed six rebounds, became the youngest player to win MVP. With the score tied, Dwyane Wade, who finished with 20 points, hit the game-winning layup with 16 seconds left. Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets led all players with a game-high 36 points.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, Players
Jermaine O'Neal was unable to participate due to injury. Gilbert Arenas was named as O'Neal's replacement. Vince Carter was named as starter, replacing O'Neal.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, Coaches
The Eastern Conference team was coached by Flip Saunders of the Detroit Pistons, along with Sidney Lowe, Ron Harper and Don Zierden as assistant coaches. Ted Arzonico of the Orlando Magic was the athletic trainer.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, Coaches
The Western Conference team was coached by Avery Johnson of the Dallas Mavericks. Del Harris, Rolando Blackman and Joe Prunty served as assistant coaches, while Keith Jones of the Houston Rockets was the athletic trainer.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
The T-Mobile Rookie challenge was played on Friday, February 17, 2006 with the Sophomores beating the Rookies 106–96. Andre Iguodala was named MVP with a game-high 30 points.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
* Did not participate due to injury. Delonte West replaced Jameer Nelson (sprained right foot).


2006 NBA All-Star Game, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, Coaches
The Rooks were coached by Sidney Lowe of the Detroit Pistons, along with Elvin Hayes as the assistant coach.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, Coaches
The Sophomores were coached by Del Harris of the Dallas Mavericks, along with Moses Malone as the assistant coach.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout
Dirk Nowitzki won with a score of 18, beating Gilbert Arenas and Ray Allen in the final round.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout
* Did not participate due to a family illness. Gilbert Arenas replaced Raja Bell.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest
Nate Robinson won, beating Andre Iguodala in a dunk-off after the first ever tie in a Slam Dunk Contest. Robinson's win was highly questioned as he had missed several dunks and many speculate that Robinson was only awarded the title because of his small stature.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, PlayStation Skills Challenge
Dwyane Wade won, beating LeBron James in the final round. Dwyane Wade won with a time of 26.1 seconds.


2006 NBA All-Star Game, RadioShack Shooting Stars Competition
The San Antonio team won the competition with a time of 25.1 seconds.


2006 NBA Development League draft
The 2006 NBA Development League Draft was the sixth annual draft by the NBA Development League. It was held on November 2, 2006.


2006 NBA Development League expansion draft
The 2006 NBA Development League expansion draft was the first expansion draft of the National Basketball Association Development League (NBADL). The draft was held on September 19, 2006, so that the newly founded Colorado 14ers, Bakersfield Jam, Anaheim Arsenal and Los Angeles D-Fenders could acquire players for the upcoming 2006–07 season. An independent agency conducted a random drawing to determine the selection order. Colorado was awarded the first overall pick, followed by Bakersfield, Anaheim and Los Angeles.


2006 NBA Development League expansion draft
The expansion draft was conducted via conference call from the NBA Development League's main office, and it drew from a pool comprising 44 players who had played in the D-League the season before but who were not currently on D-League rosters. Regarding the inaugural expansion draft, Senior Director of Basketball Operations and Player Personnel Chris Alpert said, "The Expansion Draft is an effort to give new teams an equal footing in regard to rights to returning players. The league will sign up to four players from season-ending rosters of returning teams, so this levels the playing field somewhat heading into the regular Draft."


2006 NBA Development League expansion draft
Elton Brown, a forward from Virginia, was the number one overall selection. He is among six players taken in the expansion draft who became NBA Development League All-Stars. The five others include Andre Barrett, Jawad Williams, Rick Rickert, Brian Chase and Kaniel Dickens. Four players had also been selected in an NBA Draft: Tremaine Fowlkes (1998), Mateen Cleaves (2000), Dickens (2000) and Rickert (2003). In the 40 selections, two of the players were non-American. Hiram Fuller is Libyan, while Sung-Yoon Bang is South Korean.


2006 NBA Development League expansion draft, Draft
All information summarised in this table comes from the NBA draft announcement or from a summary of those results.


2006 NBA Europe Live Tour
The 2006 NBA Europe Live Tour was an international basketball exhibition and competition produced jointly by the National Basketball Association and the Euroleague, as part of the NBA Global Games. The tour featured four NBA teams training and playing matches against European teams in Germany, Russia, France, Italy, and Spain. Four standalone games were played, along with two tournaments in Moscow and Cologne. The tour took place between 5 October and 11 October 2006.


2006 NBA Europe Live Tour, teams
Four NBA teams went to different countries to conduct their first week of training camp overseas: the Philadelphia 76ers in Barcelona, Spain; the Los Angeles Clippers in Moscow, Russia; the San Antonio Spurs in France; and the Phoenix Suns in Treviso, Italy.


2006 NBA Europe Live Tour, Games, In Cologne
The tournament was played in a Final Four system as follows:


2006 NBA Europe Live Tour, Significance
The 76ers' loss to FC Barcelona and the Clippers' loss to CSKA Moscow marked the fifth and sixth losses by NBA franchises to Euroleague teams since 1978. Prior to this tournament only Maccabi Tel Aviv (4 times: 1978, 1984 twice, 2005) and the Soviet Union National Team (once in 1988) had beaten an NBA team.


2006 NBA Finals
The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in six games over the Mavericks, becoming the third team—after the 1969 Celtics, the 1977 Trail Blazers and later the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks—to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series. Dwyane Wade of the Heat was named Most Valuable Player of the series.


2006 NBA Finals
This series marked the first time since 1971 that the Finals featured two teams playing in their first NBA Finals series. It was the first occasion since 1978 that two teams who had never won an NBA Championship contested the NBA Finals. The two teams met again five years later in 2011, the second Finals appearance for both franchises, with the Mavericks winning the rematch over the Heat.


2006 NBA Finals
This was the second NBA Finals matchup of teams from Florida and Texas, after the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic contested the 1995 NBA Finals. Until the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals, it was the last Finals loss by a team from Texas (the Rockets lost in 1981 and 1986) against eight championships (five by the Spurs, two by the Rockets, and one by the Mavericks, who won a rematch of this Finals in 2011).


2006 NBA Finals, Background
The Miami Heat joined the league in the 1988–89 season, but they did not rise to prominence until they hired Pat Riley to be their head coach and president before the 1995–96 season. In Riley's first stint, the Heat were playoff regulars between 1996 and 2001, however, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks always thwarted Miami's dreams of a championship or even a Finals berth. However, when the team drafted Dwyane Wade fifth overall in 2003, things started to look up for the Heat.


2006 NBA Finals, Background
They went 42-40 under interim coach Stan Van Gundy, making the playoffs after a 2-year hiatus. They defeated the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, but they ultimately fell to the Pacers in 6 games. The 2004 offseason saw the addition of Shaquille O'Neal, and with Wade and O'Neal performing well, the Heat won 59 games in the 2004–05 season, as they took the defending champions Detroit Pistons to seven games in the conference finals. The following season, after an early 11–10 start, Van Gundy resigned and Riley returned to coaching.


2006 NBA Finals, Background
Though injuries and lack of chemistry hobbled the Heat initially, they still managed to win 52 games that season. After a culmination of harmony and momentum came together just before the playoffs, they started their postseason run by defeating the Bulls in six games, then eliminated the New Jersey Nets in five games, and then ousted the Pistons in six games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.


2006 NBA Finals, Background, Regular-season series
The Dallas Mavericks won both games in the regular season series:


2006 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
ABC had exclusive rights to televise the NBA Finals in the United States. Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and color commentator Hubie Brown called the action, with courtside reporting by Lisa Salters and Stuart Scott. Radio counterpart ESPN Radio broadcast the Finals, with Jim Durham and Dr. Jack Ramsay calling the action. The featured song, aired throughout the playoffs, was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down a Dream."


2006 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
This marked the first of 16 consecutive NBA Finals called by Breen, currently the most among NBA play-by-play voices. However, it was the only NBA Finals to feature Breen with Hubie Brown. The following season, Brown slid down to ESPN's secondary team with Mike Tirico (the pair would also call ESPN Radio's NBA Finals broadcasts that season), while Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy (the latter after his dismissal as Houston Rockets head coach) joined Breen on the lead team.


2006 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
Game 2 of the Finals, which took place the same evening as the 60th Tony Awards, was the most-watched program of June 11, 2006. ABC won the night with 3.5 rating and 10 share, CBS came in fourth with a 1.5/4 for the Tonys. On June 20, Game 6 had a 4.4/13 among viewers aged 18–49.


2006 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
The finals were shown on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.


2006 NBA Finals, Series summary
The Heat became the second team since 1985 to sweep the middle three games at home, the 2004 Detroit Pistons being the first. In 1985 the NBA switched the Finals to the 2-3-2 format, which was changed back to the 2-2-1-1-1 format for the 2014 NBA Finals


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game One
Dallas' Jason Terry scored a playoff-high 32 points as the Mavericks overcame a 31–23 deficit at the end of the first quarter.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Two
Dirk Nowitzki had a stellar 26 point-16 rebound performance, and the Mavericks cruised past the Heat to take a 2–0 series lead.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Three
Led by Dwyane Wade's 42 points and 13 rebounds, the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The momentum-changing comeback was capped by a Gary Payton field goal from just inside the three-point line with 9.3 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds to go, but missed 1 of 2, sealing the win for Miami.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Four
Dwyane Wade shined again for the Heat with 36 points, and Miami held Dallas to just seven points in the fourth quarter en route to a series-tying, blowout victory. The Mavericks' low-scoring fourth quarter was the lowest ever by any team during the NBA Finals. Jerry Stackhouse caught Shaquille O'Neal with a flagrant foul that resulted in him being suspended for Game 5. Jerry Stackhouse was the final NBA player to be suspended in the NBA Finals until Draymond Green was suspended in the 2016 NBA Finals.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Five
Dwyane Wade shot 25 free throws - as many free throws as all the Mavericks combined (a fact that did not sit well with Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson), leading the Heat to their third straight win over Dallas after being down 0–2 in the series.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Five
With 9.1 seconds left in overtime and the Heat trailing by 1 point, they inbounded the ball to Wade, who caught the ball in the air and then landed in the backcourt. Mavericks' team owner Mark Cuban felt Wade had therefore committed a backcourt violation after receiving the ball.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Five
Dallas was then penalized with a controversial foul call that sent Wade to the line to shoot the go-ahead free throws with 1.9 seconds left on the overtime game clock. Wade hit the first free throw, and Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson signaled to his team to call a timeout after Wade's second attempt. Josh Howard then made a timeout gesture with his hands and began to walk off the floor, and the referees called the Mavericks' last remaining timeout, which prevented them from advancing the ball after the second attempt if Wade converted.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Five
After the timeout, Wade made the second free throw to give his team a one-point lead, after which Devin Harris missed a Hail Mary half-court shot as time expired. Wade finished the game with 43 points while setting an NBA Finals record for most made free throws in a game with 21. Shaquille O'Neal added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Miami converted 32 of its 49 attempts from the free throw line.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Five
Jason Terry led Dallas with 35 points in a losing effort, while Howard added 25. After the game, a frustrated Dirk Nowitzki kicked a ball into the stands and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused many "acts of misconduct" resulting in fines of $5,000 and $250,000, respectively, for the two men.


2006 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game Six
Behind Dwyane Wade's 36 points, Miami rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to edge Dallas and win their first championship in franchise history as Jason Terry missed a critical 3-pointer that would've sent the game to overtime. Averaging 34.7 points per game in the championship series, Wade was named NBA Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player).


2006 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The Mavericks would post the league's best record with 67 victories in the 2006–07 NBA season but were ousted by the eight-seeded Golden State Warriors in a six-game first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The Mavs' playoff defeat marked the first time a top seed was eliminated in a seven-game first round series since it was implemented in 2003. Still, Dirk Nowitzki was named the regular season MVP at season's end. After another playoff loss to the New Orleans Hornets in 2008, in which the Mavericks brought back Jason Kidd, head coach Avery Johnson was fired and replaced by Rick Carlisle. After another two early playoff exits, the Mavericks won 57 games in the 2010–11 season and returned to the Finals.


2006 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The Heat would lose convincingly by 42 points to the Chicago Bulls in the opening night of the 2006–07 season, the worst opening-day margin of defeat for a defending champion in NBA history. Injuries would keep the team from surpassing or even equaling last season's total, yet they still won the Southeast Division despite winning only 44 games. The Bulls would oust them in a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs, the first such occurrence since 1957.


2006 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The following year, Miami completed its two-year turnaround from NBA champion to the NBA's worst team by winning only 15 games, equaling the mark set by the team in their inaugural season, which saw Shaquille O'Neal traded to the Phoenix Suns in mid-season and Dwyane Wade missing 31 games. The Heat gradually climbed back to contention in the Erik Spoelstra era, culminating in the much-publicized free-agent acquisitions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The Heat won 58 games in the 2010–11 season, and along with the Mavericks, returned to the Finals in 2011.


2006 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The 2011 NBA Finals, which was a rematch of 2006, saw the Mavericks win in six games after trailing 2-1 in the Finals. It was the Mavericks' first NBA championship, as well as both teams' second appearances in the Finals. Dirk Nowitzki was named Finals MVP. Like the Heat in 2006, the Mavericks experienced a post-championship letdown, getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, and then missed the postseason entirely in 2013.


2006 NBA Finals, Aftermath
As of 2013, this was Miami's fifth championship out of a total of seven among the Big Four sports leagues; the MLB's National League Florida (now Miami) Marlins won the World Series in 1997 and 2003 while the NFL's Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl in 1972 and 1973. The Miami Heat would go on to win a second championship in 2012 against the Thunder in 5 games and a third championship in 2013 against the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games before falling in 2014 against the same Spurs team in 5 games.


2006 NBA Finals, Aftermath
This was the second "Big Four" postseason game or series to pit a team from Miami against a team from Dallas. In 1971, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Dolphins to claim their first of five Super Bowls. As of 2020, the city's NHL teams, the Stars and Panthers, have not met in the playoffs, as are their MLB counterparts the Rangers and Marlins.


2006 NBA draft
The 2006 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2006, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. This was also the only time the New Orleans Hornets would draft under the temporary name of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets as the city of New Orleans was still recovering from the events of Hurricane Katrina after the 2005-06 NBA season.


2006 NBA draft
Italian Andrea Bargnani was selected first overall by Toronto Raptors, who won the draft lottery. He became the second player without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Prior to the draft he was playing with Italian club Benetton Treviso for 3 years. Sixth overall pick Brandon Roy from University of Washington was named Rookie of the Year for the 2006–07 season. Roy was originally drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves but his draft rights were traded to Portland Trail Blazers on draft day. Portland also acquired the draft rights to second overall pick from University of Texas, LaMarcus Aldridge from Chicago Bulls on draft day.


2006 NBA draft
The University of Connecticut had four players selected in the first round, tying the record set by Duke University in 1999 and the University of North Carolina in 2005. These players were Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone. With Denham Brown also selected in the second round, Connecticut became the first school ever to have five players selected in a two-round draft. Connecticut joined eight other schools that had five players selected in a single draft, second only to the UNLV, who had six players selected in the eight-round 1977 draft. After JJ Redick announced his retirement on 21 September 2021 , only six players from this draft are still currently on an NBA roster: Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Lowry, P. J. Tucker, and Paul Millsap.


2006 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
Some of these players not selected in this year's draft have played in the NBA.


2006 NBA draft, Eligibility
The new collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) took into effect starting in this year's draft. Under the new agreement, high school players were not eligible for selection. The new rules stated that high school players must wait one year after their high school class graduates and must be at least 19 years old to be eligible for the draft.


2006 NBA draft, Eligibility
The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the U.S. for three years before the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university.


2006 NBA draft, Eligibility
The basic requirement for automatic eligibility for a U.S. player is the completion of his college eligibility. Players who meet the CBA definition of "international players" are automatically eligible if their 22nd birthday falls during or before the calendar year of the draft (i.e., born on or before December 31, 1984, for the 2006 draft).


2006 NBA draft, Eligibility
A player who is not automatically eligible must declare his eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. An early entry candidate is allowed to withdraw his eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 10 days before the draft. On June 19, 2006, NBA announced that 37 college players and 10 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2006 Draft, while 47 players who had previously declared as early entry candidates had withdrawn from the draft.


2006 NBA draft, Draft lottery
The first 14 picks in the draft belonged to teams that had missed the playoffs; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery would determine the three teams that would obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win-loss record in the previous season. On April 20, 2007, the NBA performed a tie-breaker to determine the order of the picks for teams with identical win-loss record.


2006 NBA draft, Draft lottery
The 2006 Draft Lottery was held on May 23, 2006, in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Toronto Raptors, who had the fifth-worst record, won the lottery with just 8.8% chance to win. The Chicago Bulls, who acquired the New York Knicks' first-round draft pick from a previous trade, landed the second overall pick. The Portland Trail Blazers who had the best chance to land the top pick fell out of the top three and had to settle with 4th pick. Portland's 4th pick was the lowest possible pick that Portland could obtained through the lottery.


2006 NBA draft, Draft lottery
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2006 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:


2006 NBA draft, Draft lottery
^ a: New York Knicks' pick was conveyed to the Chicago Bulls.


2006 NBA draft, Trades involving draft picks, Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.


2006 NBA draft, Trades involving draft picks, Pre-draft trades
Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.


2006 NBA playoffs
The 2006 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeating the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Dwyane Wade was named NBA Finals MVP.


2006 NBA playoffs
The Clippers were the biggest surprise, as they not only made the playoffs for the first time since 1997, but advanced to the second round for the first time since 1976, when they were the Buffalo Braves. They came within 1 game of making the conference finals for the first time, but lost Game 7 to the Suns.


2006 NBA playoffs
2006 was the playoff debut of LeBron James, who helped the Cavaliers eke out 1-point OT victories over the Washington Wizards in Games 5 and 6 of their first-round series to advance. It was their first playoff appearance since 1998, and they earned their first playoff series win since 1993. Against the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons, the Cavs were routed in Game 1 and lost Game 2 by 6 before winning the next 3 and being 1 game away from beating the Pistons. Detroit recovered and won the last 2 to take the series in 7.


2006 NBA playoffs, Format
With the addition of the 30th NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, in 2005, the NBA realigned its divisions. Each conference had three divisions of five teams each, and at this point in time, the winner of each division was guaranteed a top-three playoff seed regardless of whether the team had one of the top-eight records in its conference. However, the division champion was not guaranteed home-court advantage; a division-leading team could be seeded second or third but face a lower seed (that did not win its division) with a better record, and the lower seed would have home-court advantage.


2006 NBA playoffs, Format
This was illustrated in the first round here when the 44-win Denver Nuggets won the Northwest Division and had the third seed, yet did not have home-court advantage against the sixth-seeded, 47-win Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers had played the Memphis Grizzlies a week before the playoffs to determine the fifth and sixth seed. The loser of the game would face Denver, whereas the winner would face fourth-seeded Dallas, who had the second-best record in the conference. It was speculated that the Clippers lost on purpose to play Denver in the first round. Starting in the 2007 playoffs, being a division winner did not guarantee a top-3 playoff seed.


2006 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference, Best record in NBA
The Detroit Pistons clinched the best record in the NBA, earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. However, when the Pistons lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, home-court advantage in the NBA Finals went to the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks, which had a better record than the Heat.


2006 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference, Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:


2006 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference, Best record in conference
The San Antonio Spurs clinched the best record in the Western Conference, and had home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. However, when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals, Dallas had home court advantage in the Western Conference Finals.


2006 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference, Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:


2006 NBA playoffs, Bracket
Teams that advanced to the next round are boldfaced; those with home court advantage are in italics.


2006 NBA playoffs, TV coverage
First and second-round games were televised on ABC, TNT, ESPN, ESPN2 and NBA TV in the United States and on TSN, Rogers Sportsnet, The Score, and Raptors NBA TV in Canada; some games were also televised on local or regional TV networks. The Eastern Conference finals aired exclusively on ESPN and ABC, and the Western Conference finals aired exclusively on TNT; TSN and The Score split coverage of the Conference Finals. The NBA Finals aired exclusively on ABC in the U.S. and on TSN in Canada.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Milwaukee Bucks
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first three meetings.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Chicago Bulls
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first three meetings.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) New Jersey Nets vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nets winning the first meeting.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Washington Wizards
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Sacramento Kings
This was the first playoff meeting between the Kings and the Spurs.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning seven of the first nine meetings.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Los Angeles Clippers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nuggets and the Clippers.


2006 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Memphis Grizzlies
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Grizzlies.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
2006 marked the first time the Cavaliers had made the playoffs since 1998 with Shawn Kemp, and the first time that major professional teams from Michigan and Ohio met in a postseason series or game since 1957. They came off a playoff series win vs the Wizards, while the Pistons came in off a 4-1 win vs the 8th seeded Bucks. Detroit was expected to win the series, and took a commanding two games to none lead with two wins at the Palace of Auburn Hills.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
James and the Cavaliers weren't intimidated however, and won their two home games to tie the series at 2. Coming into Game 5, both teams were confident, but the Pistons were expected to pull out the win easily. The game was low scoring throughout as usual in this series, with Cleveland holding a 68-66 lead through 3 quarters. With the game tied at 84 with 26 seconds left in regulation, Drew Gooden came through and hit a layup to give Cleveland the lead that they never squandered.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
James led the Cavs with 32 and this brought the series to Cleveland up 3–2, quite shockingly. In the final minute of Game 6, Richard Hamilton grabbed two offensive rebounds and passed the ball to Rasheed Wallace, who was fouled. Detroit held on to win Game 6 by 2, and won Game 7 at home to advance.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Cavaliers and the Pistons.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Miami Heat vs. (3) New Jersey Nets
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the first meeting.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals
This was the first time both conference semifinals went seven games since 1994.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks almost blew a 3-1 series lead to the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, but managed to pull out a Game 7 overtime win in San Antonio to close out the series and become the 5th NBA road team to win Game 7 after leading series 3–1. This was also the second time in NBA history that the road team won a Game 7 in overtime; the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings in the same manner in the 2002 Western Conference Finals.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning the first two meetings.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Los Angeles Clippers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Clippers and the Suns.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Miami Heat
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.


2006 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning the first meeting.


2006 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (E2) Miami Heat
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Heat.


2006 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (E2) Miami Heat
This NBA Finals featured two teams that never made it to the finals before. The last time this happened was in 1971, when the Milwaukee Bucks met the Baltimore Bullets.


2006 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 2006 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Chuck Amato. N. State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953, and has participated in that conference's Atlantic Division since 2005. The Wolfpack played its home games in 2006 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


2006 NCAA Bowling Championship
The 2006 NCAA Bowling Championship was the third annual tournament to determine the national champion of women's NCAA collegiate ten-pin bowling. The tournament was played in Houston, Texas during April 2006.


2006 NCAA Bowling Championship
Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Alabama A&M in the championship match, 4 games to 1, to win their first national title.


2006 NCAA Bowling Championship
The tournament's Most outstanding bowler was Lisa Friscioni from Fairleigh Dickinson. An All-tournament team of five bowlers was also named.


2006 NCAA Bowling Championship, Qualification
Since there is only one national collegiate championship for women's bowling, all NCAA bowling programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship, which consisted of a double-elimination style tournament.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from June 2 through June 26, 2006. Sixty-four NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament culminated with 8 teams in the College World Series at historic Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
After winning the regional and super regional rounds of the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, eight teams advanced to Omaha. Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Cal State Fullerton, Oregon State, Rice, Georgia, and Miami (FL) all won their super-regionals and made the trip to the 2006 College World Series. Five national seeds advanced to Omaha: Clemson (1), Rice (2), Cal State Fullerton (5), Georgia (7), and Georgia Tech (8). Third-seeded Texas and sixth-seeded Nebraska both fell in the regionals, while the fourth seed Alabama lost in super regional play.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The first pitch of the 2006 CWS was Friday, June 16, at 1:00 PM CDT (18:00 UTC). The 2006 tournament was only the second time in CWS history in which 16 games were played (the other being the 2003 College World Series).


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
After losing their tournament opener to Miami (FL), the Oregon State Beavers staved off elimination for four straight games to win their bracket and advance to the championship series. The Rice Owls, who had not lost a three-game series all season, were shut out in consecutive games by the Beavers and failed to score in a CWS-record 23 innings. Oregon State advanced to face North Carolina in the final.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The best-of-three championship series featured Oregon State and North Carolina. Oregon State won the deciding game, 3-2, winning the school's first national title in baseball and its second NCAA championship overall. All games were televised on ESPN and ESPN2.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Oregon State set a CWS record by winning six elimination games (four in bracket play, two in the championship series) and also became the first team ever to lose twice in Omaha and still win the title. Oregon State is the only team besides Holy Cross in 1952 to win six games in the College World Series. Oregon State played in half (eight of 16) of the games in the tournament.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
OSU pitcher Jonah Nickerson was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Five-time national champion LSU was left out of the field of 64, the first time since 1988 The Tigers failed to qualify for a regional. LSU's overall record of 35-24 merited at-large consideration, but it was undone by poor performance in the Southeastern Conference, where the Tigers finished 8th out of 12 teams at 13-17. LSU won national championships in 1991, '93, '96, '97 and 2000 under Hall of Fame coach Skip Bertman, who was the school's athletic director at this time. Ten days after LSU's season ended, Bertman fired his successor, Smoke Laval, and hired Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Bids, Automatic Bids
Conference champions from 30 Division I conferences earned automatic bids to regionals. The remaining 34 spots were awarded to schools as at-large invitees.


2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series, Championship Series, Saturday 6/24
Note: 77 minute rain delay in top of 6th inning


2006 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 2006 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 68th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 26th 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.


2006 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 20, 2006, the combined meet was the third of eight consecutive meets hosted by Indiana State University at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 6 kilometers (3.73 miles).


2006 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team championship was won by Colorado (94 points), the Buffaloes' third. The women's team championship was again won by Stanford (195 points), the Cardinal's fourth overall, second consecutive, and third in four years.


2006 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The two individual champions were, for the men, Josh Rohatinsky (BYU, 30:44.9) and, for the women, Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech, 20:11.1).


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Three human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS Standings. At the end of the season, the BCS Standings determine who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, Coaches' Poll
Jim Tressel, head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, refused to vote in the Week 15 poll, citing a conflict of interest. In a change to the Coaches Poll for the 2006 season, the final ballots are made public. Tressel did not want his vote of picking Florida or Michigan to play against his team to be known publicly and therefore refused to vote and was an unprecedented move in that no Coaches Poll voter has ever refused to vote.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, BCS Standings
The Bowl Championship Series determined the two teams that competed in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The regular season began on August 31, 2006 and ended on December 2, 2006. The postseason concluded on January 8, 2007 with the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona, where the No. 2 Florida Gators defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 41–14 to win the national title.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The Boise State Broncos were the year's only undefeated team in both levels of Division I football after defeating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Rules changes
The NCAA instituted the following rule changes for the 2006 season.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference champions, Conference championship games
Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, BCS rankings progress
Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in all of the BCS-component polls (AP, Coaches', USA Today) in the preseason and the 14 polls taken in the regular season. When the BCS rankings began on October 15, Ohio State was No. 1 on all 8 rankings released during the season.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Bowl games, Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series selected the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams to play for the national championship on January 8. The 2006 season marked a change for the BCS system, as the BCS National Championship Game became a standalone bowl game for the first time, to be played at the site of one of the four BCS bowls (the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and Rose Bowls) on a rotating basis. Under the previous format used from 1998 to 2006, the BCS National Championship coincided with one of the BCS bowls. The 2007 BCS Championship Game was played in Glendale, Arizona, the week after the Fiesta Bowl had been played there.


2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Awards and honors, Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.


2006 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
The 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings are from the Sports Network Division media poll.


2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season, the 2006 season of college football for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), began on August 26, 2006 and concluded on December 15, 2006, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game where the Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the UMass Minutemen, 28–17.


2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Rule changes
There are several rules that have changed for the 2006 season. Following are some highlights:


2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Postseason, Gridiron Classic
The Gridiron Classic is an annual game between the champions of the Northeast Conference and the Pioneer Football League that has been held since December 2006.


2006 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 2006 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the 26th 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 Maryland Terrapins won their fifth championship, defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the final. The semifinals and championship were hosted by the Wake Forest University at Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.


2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the UMass Minutemen and the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The game was played on December 15, 2006, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. This was the first season that the NCAA football classification formerly known as Division I-AA operated as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The culminating game of the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Appalachian State, 28–17.


2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
With sponsorship by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the game was officially known as the NCAA Division I Championship presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.


2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2006 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, Appalachian State Mountaineers
Appalachian State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (7–0 in conference). Their only loss was to NC State of the FBS, in their first game of the season. The Mountaineers were the first-seed in the tournament and defeated Coastal Carolina, Montana State, and fourth-seed Youngstown State to reach the final. This was Appalachian State's second consecutive appearance in the championship game, having won the title in 2005.


2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, UMass Minutemen
UMass finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference). Their only loss was to Navy of the FBS, in their second game of the season. The Minutemen were the third-seed in the tournament and defeated Lafayette, New Hampshire, and second-seed Montana to reach the final. This was the third appearance for UMass in a Division I-AA/FCS championship game, having won in 1998 and having lost in 1978.


2006 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 2006 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested 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 after the 2004–05 season, the 42nd annual meet for men and 24th annual meet for women.


2006 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
For the seventh consecutive year, the championships were held at the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.


2006 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
Hosts and defending champions Arkansas won the men's title, the Razorbacks' nineteenth.


2006 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
Texas won the women's title, the Longhorns' sixth and first since 1999.


2006 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.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2005-06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 2006 National Title Game was played at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 2006 National Title Game was played between the 2006 Oakland Regional Champions, No. 2-seeded UCLA and the 2006 Minneapolis Regional Champions, No. 3-seeded Florida.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Florida
Florida entered the 2006 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Minneapolis Regional. In the 1st round, Lee Humphrey scored 20 points, Joakim Noah scored 16 points, and Al Horford scored 14 points to lead Florida past South Alabama with a 76–50 victory. In the 2nd round, Corey Brewer scored 23 points and Joakim Noah scored 17 points to rout Milwaukee with an 82–60 victory. In the Sweet 16, Corey Brewer made a  twisting falling down shot which became a three-point play with 27.5 seconds remaining to defeat Georgetown 57-53 and advance to the Elite Eight.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Florida
In the Elite Eight, Joakim Noah had a monster night by scoring 21 points which led to Florida beating Villanova 75-62 and advancing to the Final Four. In their semifinal matchup against Cinderella team George Mason, Florida had a successful night from outside the arc and won 73-58 for a trip to the title game.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, UCLA
UCLA entered the 2006 NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Oakland Regional. In the 1st round, UCLA routed Belmont with a 78–44 victory in the battle of the Bruins. In the 2nd round, Jordan Farmar scored 18 points making five three-pointers which was supported by Arron Afflalo's 13 points and Ryan Hollins's 12 points to beat Alabama 62-59 for a trip to Oakland for the Sweet 16. In the Sweet 16, UCLA finished the game with an 11–0 run to complete a 17-point comeback for a 73–71 win over Gonzaga. In the Elite Eight, Arron Afflalo scored 15 points to beat Memphis 50–45 in the lowest scoring Regional Finals during the shot-clock era to send UCLA to the 2006 Final Four. In the national semifinal, UCLA shut down LSU 59–45 to advance to the title game.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
None of the Tournament's top seeds advanced to the Final Four, the first time since 1980 that this occurred. For the second time in history, a team seeded 11th advanced to the Final Four as George Mason of the Colonial Athletic Association won the Washington, D.C. region.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
They were joined by Atlanta region winner LSU (who was the first team to advance to the Final Four as an 11-seed in 1986), Oakland region winner UCLA, who had not made the Final Four since they won the National Championship in 1995, and Minneapolis region winner Florida, who had not made the Final Four since their runner-up finish in 2000 also in Indianapolis.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Florida won its first-ever national basketball championship by defeating UCLA 73–57 in the final game. Florida's Joakim Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
George Mason's run was one of several upsets by lower-seeded teams in the tournament. For the second consecutive year, a No. 14 seed beat a No. 3 seed as Northwestern State defeated Iowa. No. 13 seed Bradley also defeated No. 4 seed Kansas and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating No. 5-seeded Pittsburgh in the Second Round. Two No. 12 seeds won as well, as Montana and Texas A&M both won their respective First Round matchups. For the second straight year, Milwaukee won as a double-digit seed, this time as the No. 11-seeded Panthers defeated Oklahoma in the first round.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Tournament procedure
A total of 65 teams were selected to participate in the tournament. Of that total, 31 of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. Penn earned an automatic bid by winning the regular-season title of the Ivy League, which did not conduct a conference tournament. The remaining 34 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Tournament procedure
The initial game on March 14 officially named the Opening Round game, but popularly called the "play-in game", had Monmouth, winner of the Northeast Conference Tournament, facing Hampton, who won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament, for a chance to play top seed Villanova in the First Round of the Tournament. Monmouth defeated Hampton, 71–49, to advance to play Villanova.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Tournament procedure
All teams were seeded from 1 to 16 within their regions. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65. In a practice used since 2004, the ranking of the four top seeds against each other would determine the pairings in the Final Four. The top overall seed would be seeded to play the fourth overall seed in the national semifinals, should both teams advance that far. In 2006, these rankings were as follows: No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 Villanova, and No. 4 Memphis.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2006 tournament:


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
This was the fourth and final time the RCA Dome would host the Final Four before moving to Lucas Oil Stadium. For the first time, the tournament came to Jacksonville, Florida, playing games at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. This marked the sixth city and fifth metropolitan area in the state of Florida to host games. The 2006 tournament also marked the final tournament games held at the Huntsman Center and Oakland (now Oracle) Arena.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
Tournament games have moved to downtown Salt Lake City and the Vivint Smart Home Arena since, to take advantage of more amenities there as opposed to the campus of the University of Utah. As for Oakland, there are currently no games scheduled in the near future, with 2022 scheduled to host games at the new Chase Center in downtown San Francisco. As the Golden State Warriors will also be moving to the Chase Center once it opens, it is unclear what will happen to the Oracle Arena once their primary tenant moves out.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Big West, Ivy, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Ohio Valley, SoCon, SWAC, Mid-Continent, and Sun Belt conferences all went 0–1.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, and CG respectively stand for the Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and Championship Game.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Announcers
Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship was a golf tournament contested from May 31 to June 3, 2006 at the Crosswater Club in Sunriver, Oregon. It was the 68th NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship. The team championship was won by the Oklahoma State Cowboys who captured their tenth national championship (and first since 2000) by three strokes over the Florida Gators. The individual national championship was won by Jonathan Moore, also from Oklahoma State.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Venue
This was the first NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship hosted at the Crosswater Club in Sunriver, Oregon.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's  NCAA Division I college ice hockey. It began on March 24, 2006, and ended with the championship game on April 8. A total of 15 games were played.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The tournament is remembered for the win by Holy Cross over Minnesota which is typically considered one of if not the biggest upset in tournament history.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Game locations
The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams representing all six Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 16 within four regionals of 4 teams. The winners of the six Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship. Regional placements are based primarily on the home location of the top seed in each bracket with an attempt made to put the top-ranked teams close to their home site.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament was announced on March 19, 2006. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), Hockey East and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) each had four teams receive a berth in the tournament, the ECACHL had two teams receive a berth in the tournament, while Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America (CHA) both received a single bid for their tournament champions.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 36th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Sixteen NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The semifinals (Final Four) and the championship game were played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in front of 47,062 fans. The Virginia Cavaliers won the national title with a 15-7 win over Massachusetts. The Cavaliers, led by Matt Ward and Ben Rubeor, completed a perfect 17-0 record in winning their fourth NCAA championship and sixth national lacrosse title overall. The Minutemen became the second unseeded team to make the NCAA final (Towson also accomplished this in 1991).


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup Final Four was held at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. All the other games were played at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The final was held on December 3, 2006. UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, Virginia, and Wake Forest made the Final Four. UC Santa Barbara beat Wake Forest and UCLA defeated Virginia. In the final UC Santa Barbara won the title game overcoming UCLA, 2–1.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The tournament started on November 10, 2006. The first round was played on November 10 and 11. The second round on the 15th, and the third round on the 18th and 19th. The Regional Finals were played on November 24–26.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 2006 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia at the 83rd 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.


2006 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Auburn once again topped the team standings, finishing 36 points ahead of Arizona. It was the Tigers' fourth consecutive and sixth overall men's team title.


2006 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2006 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested at the 85th annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team champions of men's and women's Division I collegiate outdoor track and field in the United States.


2006 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
This year's meet, the 25th with both men's and women's championships, was held June 7–10, 2006 at Hornet Stadium at Sacramento State University in Sacramento, California.


2006 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the twenty-fifth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May and June 2006, sixty-four Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of eight teams, each in a double elimination format. The 2006 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from June 1 through June 6 and marked the conclusion of the 2006 NCAA Division I softball season. Arizona won their seventh championship by defeating Northwestern two games to none in the championship series. Arizona pitcher Alicia Hollowell was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.


2006 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2006 NCAA Division Swimming and Diving Championships refer to one of two events held during March 2006 to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's and women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States:


2006 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships were the 60th annual men's and 24th annual women's championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States. The tournaments were played concurrently during May 2006, the first time the men's and women's championships were held at the same site.


2006 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
Pepperdine defeated Georgia in the men's championship match, 4–2, to claim the Waves' first team national title.


2006 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
Meanwhile, three-time defending champions, and hosts, Stanford defeated Miami (FL) in the women's title match, 4–1, to claim their fifteenth team national championship.


2006 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Host sites
This year's tournaments were played at the Taube Tennis Center at Stanford University in Stanford, California.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament was held from March 18 to April 4, 2006, at several sites, with the championship game held in Boston. The Maryland Terrapins, coached by Brenda Frese, won their first National Championship, beating the Duke Blue Devils, coached by Gail Goestenkors, 78–75 in overtime. Laura Harper of the Terrapins was named Most Outstanding Player.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The field is set at 64 teams, with 31 automatic bids and 33 at-large bids. Unlike the men's game, there is no play-in game. In addition, the first two rounds and regionals are usually played on "neutral" sites.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
This was the first (and, as of 2019, last) Women's final four since 1999 not to have either Connecticut or Tennessee.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the Albuquerque Regional, Boston College upset the number one seed, Ohio State, in the second round. BC went on to play fifth seeded Utah in the regional semifinal, but Utah won by three points. Utah then played Maryland in the Regional final. With under eight seconds to go in regulation, Utah was trailing by a single point, with Shona Thorburn at the free throw line for two shots. She only made one, and the game went into overtime. This was familiar territory for the Terrapins, who were now playing in the fifth overtime game of their season. They had won the previous four, and would outscore Utah 12–2 to advance to the Final Four.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the Bridgeport Regional, Connecticut won their first two games easily, then faced Georgia in their home state. The Huskies started out poorly, going without a single point for a stretch of over six minutes and were down 25–10 with under seven minutes to go in the first half. Then UConn scored 22 of the next 23 points to take a six-point lead. Georgia did not quit, and with seconds left, had a one-point lead. UConn had the ball and set up a last-ditch play.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The play broke down, but Barbara Turner, not known as a three-point shooter, hit a three-pointer to put Connecticut up by two points with under two seconds to play. Georgia took a desperation, length of the court shot which bounced off the rim, and Connecticut held on to advance to the regional final. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma was quoted as saying, "I told the guys in the locker room, there are times that if you are lucky, fate taps you on the shoulder and you are ready. And today, we were ready".


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the regional final, top seeded Duke faced second seed UConn. With Connecticut down by two points late in the game, the Huskies Mel Thomas hit a two pint jumper to tie the game at 55 points apiece. Duke had 20 seconds left to hit a shot to take the lead. They called a timeout to set up a play but it broke down, and they called a timeout with three seconds left. The inbound pass ended up near half court, where an attempted buzzer beater bounced off the backboard, and the game went into overtime.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The Blue Devils pulled out to a five-point lead with under three minutes to go, but did not score another point. UConn had the ball for a final play, down by two points, but Charde Houston missed an open jumper, and Duke won the right to go to the Final Four in Boston.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The Cleveland Regional had the top four seeds in the regional semifinal, and the top two in the final, with top seed North Carolina beating Tennessee to advance to the final Four. It was their first trip to the Final Four for the Tarheels since 1994, when they had won the National Championship. The San Antonio Regional largely followed the seeding, although third-seeded Stanford upset Oklahoma to reach the regional final. Although top seeded LSU was down by five points at halftime, they came back to beat Stanford by three points to earn a trip to the Final Four. LSU had only a one-point lead, when Candice Wiggins drove to the basket but Seimone Augustus stood in the way and took a charge. Wiggins had passed the ball to Krista Rappahahn who hit a three-pointer, but it was waved off because of the charge.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
LSU was one of just seven schools to place both their men's and women's basketball teams in the Final Four in the same year. But one night after the men lost by double digits to UCLA, the women lost as well. Duke had a double-digit lead at halftime, which LSU cut to six points, but Duke then went on an 11–1 run to build the lead back up. Duke won the game 64–55 to head to the championship game.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
North Carolina entered the other semifinal against Maryland with only a single loss on the season, but that loss was to Maryland. The first half was close, with Maryland holding just a two-point lead at the half. The Terrapins extended the lead in the second half to double digits, but North Carolina came back to cut the lead to three points with just over a minute left in the game. They would get no closer, and Maryland held on to win 81–70 to advance to the final game.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The semifinal wins set up an all-ACC championship game, between the two highest scoring teams in Division I. Duke had won 14 of the last 15 meetings between the two teams, but the sole win by Maryland in the streak was the most recent—the ACC semifinal match up. This game started as if it were a return to the usual results, with Duke reaching a double-digit lead at halftime, and extending to a 13-point lead in the second half. Maryland fought back, and with seconds to go in the game Kristi Toliver hit a three-pointer to tie the game.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The game went into overtime, the sixth time this season Maryland had been in an overtime game. The Terrapins had won all five prior overtimes  games, and this would be no different. Although down in overtime, Toliver hit two free throws to put her team back in front, and Maryland held on to win their first National Championship.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Locations
The tournament once again used the pod system, meaning that teams were more likely to play closer to home earlier in the tournament. The sites for the first two rounds were as follows:


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Locations
The Regional sites for this year (named after the city, a practice that is in use for the second consecutive year) were:


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Locations
The winners of the regionals advanced to the Final Four, held at TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts on April 2–4, 2006, hosted by Harvard University and Northeastern University.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams - automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA tournament.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams - at-large
Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-three cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from eight of the conferences.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from twenty-nine states, plus Washington, D.C. California had the most teams with six bids. Twenty-one states did not have any teams receiving bids.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Twenty-one conferences went 0-1: Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference,  Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Colonial, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference,  Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, Sun Belt Conference, West Coast Conference, and WAC


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships were contested at the 25th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of women's Division I collegiate golf in the United States.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Ohio State University Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
Defending champions Duke again won the team championship, the Blue Devils' fourth.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 25th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Nickerson Field in Boston, Massachusetts during May 2006. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 16 teams were invited to participate.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
Northwestern defeated Dartmouth, 7–4, to win their second national championship. This would subsequently become the second of Northwestern's seven national titles in eight years (2005–2009, 2011–12).


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The leading scorer for the tournament was Crysti Foote from Notre Dame (17 goals). Sarah Albrecht, from Northwestern, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Qualification
A total of 16 teams were invited to participate. 10 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 6 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 2006 Women's College Cup) was the 25th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina from December 1–3, 2006 while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country from November 8–25.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
North Carolina defeated Notre Dame in the final, 2–1, to win their eighteenth national title. This was a rematch of the 1994, 1996, and 1999 tournament finals, all won by the Tar Heels.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Robyn Gayle from North Carolina, and the Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Heather O'Reilly, also from North Carolina. Gayle and O'Reilly, alongside nine other players, were named to the All-Tournament Team.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The tournament's leading scorer, with 4 goals and 8 assists, was Kerri Hanks from Notre Dame.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification, Pre-Tournament Top 25
1. Notre Dame2. North Carolina3. Santa Clara4. UCLA5. Florida State


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification, Pre-Tournament Top 25
6. Texas 7. Portland 8. Texas A&M9. Penn State10. West Virginia


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Format
Just as before, the final two rounds, deemed the Women's College Cup, were played at a pre-determined neutral site. All other rounds were played on campus sites at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The only exceptions were the first two rounds, which were played at regional campus sites. The top sixteen teams hosted four team-regionals on their home fields (with some exceptions, noted below) during the tournament's first weekend.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2006 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the 25th 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.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Auburn returned to the top of the team standings after a one year absence, finishing a mere three points (518.5−515.5) ahead of hosts and defending champions Georgia. This was the Tigers' fourth women's team title and fourth in five seasons.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on November 30, 2006 with 64 teams and concluded on December 16, 2006, when top ranked Nebraska defeated second ranked Stanford 3 sets to 1 in Omaha, Nebraska for the program's third NCAA title.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
At the time, the 17,209 national championship match attendance was the highest attended volleyball match ever in the United States. The record was later broken during the 2008 NCAA Semifinals, also held at the Qwest Center.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Records
Thirty-one conferences had an automatic berth to the 2006 NCAA Tournament, and the other 33 spots were filled by at-large bids. The Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-10 were well-represented as usual, as teams from these conferences made up the top 8 seeds.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Gainesville Regional, Upsets
In the Gainesville region, no seed was a victim of an upset, although some were very close to doing so. In the first round, unseeded American put a scare into top seeded Nebraska by taking game 3 from them, but Nebraska responded by winning the fourth game, 30-16. In the second round, unseeded St. John's took 8th seeded Minnesota to 5 games, losing the 5th, 15-12. As expected, Nebraska and Minnesota reached the regional finals, and Minnesota almost pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament by winning the first two games. Top seeded Nebraska rallied back from the 0-2 deficit and won the fifth game, 15-9. Nebraska sophomore Jordan Larson was named the regional's most outstanding player, as she tallied a career high 21 kills in the dramatic comeback win.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Gainesville Regional, Upsets
This marked the first time in Nebraska's history that they won a regional final outside of the state of Nebraska. Nebraska advanced in hopes of making up for their 2005 national championship loss to Washington.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Honolulu Regional, Upsets
Each expected team, Hawai'i, UCLA, Southern California and Oklahoma reached the regional semifinals, and as expected, UCLA defeated Oklahoma. The other semifinal was a different story, as 12th seeded Hawai'i pulled off the biggest upset of the regional by defeating Southern California in 5 games, 28-30, 30-21, 21-30, 30-27, 15-5 in front of a partisan Hawai'i crowd. Hawai'i could not continue the upsets however, against overall number 4 seed UCLA in the regional finals. UCLA advanced to their first final four since 1994.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Seattle Regional, Upsets
Much like the previous two regionals, each seeded team reached the Sweet 16 as expected. Penn State swept past Big Ten foe Purdue, while host Washington swept past Ohio State. Perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament occurred in the regional final, when defending champion Washington defeated third seed Penn State on UW's home floor in front of 6,000 fans. The win improved the Huskies to 12-0 at home in postseason play. Washington advanced to their third consecutive final four in hopes of defending their 2005 national title.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Austin Regional, Upsets
The Austin regional saw no major upsets. In sub-regional final action, California upset #15 seed Cal Poly to become the only unseeded team to make the Sweet 16 and unseeded Missouri gave #2 seed Stanford a scare by pushing them to five games.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinal recap, Nebraska vs. UCLA
The first semifinal began on December 14, 2006. Top seeded Nebraska was playing in front of an NCAA record 17,013 Husker fans in Omaha. Nebraska dropped the first game, 23-30, but rallied to win the next three. AVCA National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan served 10 straight points in one of the games and had 22 kills in the match. The loss ended UCLA's bid to win their first NCAA title since 1991, but it was still a successful season as AVCA National Coach of the Year Andy Banachowski guided the 2006 squad to its first 30-win season since 1994.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinal recap, Stanford vs. Washington
In the second semifinal, second seeded Stanford completely dominated the match, knocking out defending national champion Washington. As a team, Washington hit .000% compared to the Cardinal's .315. Four of six Washington players hit either negative or .000 %. The Cardinal advanced to their 12th title match in school history, in hopes of winning their 7th NCAA title.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship recap: Nebraska vs. Stanford
Nebraska and Stanford were the top two overall seeds and it was only the second time the top two seeds met in an NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship title match.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship recap: Nebraska vs. Stanford
Stanford took game 1, 30–27, thanks to a .304 hitting % compared to the Huskers' .196. Nebraska responded in game 2, defeating the Cardinal, 30-26, to send the teams into the locker room with one game won apiece.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship recap: Nebraska vs. Stanford
Game 3 was close like the first two, until the Huskers saw a 26-22 point deficit. With game 3 looking close to a Cardinal victory, behind good Husker defense, they rallied to tie the game at 28, and eventually won the game on a kill by Pavan, 30–28.


2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship recap: Nebraska vs. Stanford
Game 4 was once again close until the end, when the Huskers took a 27-22 lead. However, by good defense and a reversal from game 3, the Cardinal rallied to catch up. Stanford staved off two championship points and came within two at 29-27, but a kill after a Huskers' timeout by sophomore Jordan Larson ricocheted off a Stanford defender and sent the Huskers to victory and their first title since going undefeated in 2000. They also became the first school since 1991 to win the national title as the host institution. Nebraska finished the season with a 33–1 record, with their only loss coming to Big 12 opponent Colorado in a five-game upset. Nebraska became just the second team in NCAA history to stay at a number 1 ranking for the entire year.


2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Oklahoma City hosted the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Team Championship from March 16–18, 2006. 64 teams vied for the NCAA team championship, and over 320 wrestlers competed for individual honors. Oklahoma State University crowned two individual champions (Johny Hendricks at 165 pounds and Jake Rosholt at 197 pounds) and four other Cowboys qualified as All-Americans as the Cowboys earned a dominant victory in the tournament. It was the 4th consecutive NCAA tournament victory by the Cowboys, and their 34th NCAA team wrestling championship overall.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following polls make up the 2006 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. USA Today and ESPN began publishing the Coaches' Poll of 31 active coaches ranking the top 25 teams in the nation in 1992. Each coach is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association. 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.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll
Currently, only the final poll from the 2006 season is available.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
The preseason poll ranked the top 40 teams. Remaining teams not listed were: 31. Arizona  32. Houston  33. Arkansas  34. Mississippi State  35. San Francisco  36. San Diego  37. Stetson  38. Washington  39. Georgia  40. Fresno State


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began on January 26, 2006. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and 2006 College World Series. The College World Series, which consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament, was held in its annual location of Omaha, Nebraska at Rosenblatt Stadium. It concluded on June 26, 2006, with the final game of the best of three championship series. Oregon State defeated North Carolina two games to one to claim their first championship.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, New programs
Stephen F. Austin brought back its varsity intercollegiate baseball program for the 2006 season, after having dropped the program following the 1995 season.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, New programs
Both Kennesaw State and North Florida transitioned from Division II to Division I for the 2006 season.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, Conference changes
Entering the 2006 baseball season, many baseball-sponsoring schools changed conferences. Several schools left Conference USA, as Charlotte and St. Louis left for the Atlantic 10 Conference, Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida left for the Big East Conference, and Texas Christian left for the Mountain West Conference. In order to replace these schools, Conference USA added Rice from the Western Athletic Conference, Marshall from the Mid-American Conference, and Central Florida from the Atlantic Sun Conference.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, Conference changes
In order to compensate for the schools lost to Conference USA, the Western Athletic Conference also made several changes. New Mexico State joined from the Sun Belt Conference, along with Sacramento State, previously a Division I Independent. The Sun Belt, in turn, added Florida Atlantic and Troy from the Atlantic Sun. The Colonial Athletic Association added Northeastern from the America East Conference and Georgia State from the Atlantic Sun Conference.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, Conference changes
The Atlantic Sun added three schools, East Tennessee State from the Southern Conference and Kennesaw State and North Florida from the Division II Peach Belt Conference.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, Conference changes
The Atlantic Coast Conference added Boston College from the Big East.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, Conference changes
The Southland Conference added one program, as conference member Stephen F. Austin revived its baseball program.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, Realignment, Conference formats
As a result of the addition of Boston College as a 12th member, the Atlantic Coast Conference split into two six-team divisions. The Atlantic 10 Conference, which had added both Charlotte and St. Louis, eliminated its previous format of two six-team divisions. The West Coast Conference, which had previously competed in two four-team divisions, also eliminated its divisional format.


2006 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 2006 season marked the sixtieth 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 Oregon State claiming their first championship with a two games to one series win over North Carolina in the final.


2006 NCAA Division I softball season
The 2006 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 2006. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2006 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 2006 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in held in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on June 6, 2006.


2006 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 2006 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from June 1 to June 6, 2006 in Oklahoma City.


2006 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season grand slams:6 – Serena Settlemier, Kansas Jayhawks


2006 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season strikeout ratio:15.4 (630 SO/286.0 IP) – Cat Osterman, Texas Longhorns


2006 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I 7 inning single game combined strikeouts:34 – Katie Burkhart, Arizona State Sun Devils (15) & Danielle Lawrie, Washington Huskies (19); April 28, 2006


2006 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
Sophomore class single game strikeouts:26 – Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech Hokies; March 3, 2006


2006 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
Freshman class strikeout ratio:13.4 (221 SO/115.2 IP) – Cassie Cervantes, Sacramento State Hornets


2006 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
Senior class WHIP:0.42 (78 H+43 BB/286.0 IP) – Cat Osterman, Texas Longhorns


2006 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as the culmination of the 2004–05 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. It was won by Winona State University and WSU's John Smith was the Most Outstanding Player.


2006 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The 2006 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was the 35th annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States. Thirty-two teams participated in the tournament.


2006 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The Dowling Golden Lions defeated Fort Lewis, 1–0, at the DII Championship Festival, held in Pensacola, Florida. Morten Jensen scored the match's lone goal in the 38th minute to give the Golden Lions the school's first national title.


2006 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
Dowling, who finished the season 22-0-2, were coached by John Dirico.


2006 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament was the 25th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's  collegiate basketball in the United States.


2006 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Grand Valley State defeated American International in the championship game, 58–52, to claim the Lakers' first NCAA Division II national title.


2006 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
For the second consecutive year, the championship rounds were contested at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Arkansas.


2006 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 2006 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). This is for the 2006 season.


2006 NCAA Division II football season
The 2006 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 on September 2, 2006, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 16, 2006 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama.


2006 NCAA Division II football season
Grand Valley State defeated Northwest Missouri State in the championship game, 17–14, to win their fourth Division II national title.


2006 NCAA Division II football season
The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Danny Woodhead, running back from Chadron State.


2006 NCAA Division II football season, Conference changes and new programs
Upper Iowa completed their transition to Division II and became eligible for the postseason. West Georgia changed the name of its athletic teams from Braves to Wolves due to NCAA rules regarding Native American mascots.


2006 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – North Carolina CentralGreat Lakes Football Conference – Saint Joseph's (IN)Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley StateGulf South Conference – North AlabamaLone Star Conference – West Texas A&MMid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northwest Missouri StateNorth Central Conference – Nebraska–Omaha and North DakotaNortheast-10 Conference – Bryant, C.W. Post, Merrimack, and Southern Connecticut StateNorthern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Bemidji StatePennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg (East), California (PA) and Indiana (PA) (West)Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Chadron StateSouth Atlantic Conference – NewberrySouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State and TuskegeeWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Shepherd


2006 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 2006 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 33rd 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 19th time.


2006 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 2006 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 31st national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with three regions consisting of six teams and five consisting of seven, for a total of 53 teams participating in the tournament, up from 42 in 2005. The tournament champion was Marietta, who defeated Wheaton (MA) for the championship.


2006 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, Regionals, New York Regional
Leo Pinckney Field at Falcon Park-Auburn, NY (Host: Ithaca College)


2006 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, Regionals, Central Regional
Kelly Field at Irv Utz Stadium-St. Louis, MO (Host: Washington University in St. Louis)


2006 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, Regionals, Mideast Regional
Art Nehf Field-Terre Haute, IN (Host: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)


2006 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, World Series
Fox Cities Stadium-Grand Chute, WI (Host: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh/Lawrence University)


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the 32nd 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.


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The field contained sixty-four teams, and each program was allocated to one of four sectionals. All sectional games were played on campus sites, while the national semifinals, third-place final, and championship finals were contested at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Virginia Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg, 59–56, in the championship, clinching their first national title.


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Ton Ton Balenga, also from Virginia Wesleyan, was named Most Outstanding Player.


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 2005–06 season, the 23rd such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Middlebury defeating St. Norbert in the championship game 3-0. All First Round and Quarterfinal matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played at the First Arena in Elmira, New York.