2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Updated stadiums
Two teams played their final season in their then-current venues:


2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Conference summaries, Other conference winners
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.


2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Playoff qualifiers, Abstentions
NC Central and Grambling, as the winners of the MEAC and SWAC, will face off in the 2016 Celebration Bowl on December 17 for the unofficial HBCU national championship.


2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Postseason, NCAA Division I playoff bracket
* Home team    WinnerAll times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00)


2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Coaching changes, In-season
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2016. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2016, see 2015 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.


2016 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the 36th annual women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the NCAA, to determine the national champion of Division I college field hockey in the United States. The semifinals and championship match were played at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia from November 18 to 20, 2016.


2016 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
Delaware defeated North Carolina in the final, 3–2, to win their first national title.


2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2015 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 9, 2016, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, and was the culminating game of the 2015 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship from Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Football Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual.


2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2015 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 24-team bracket. No. 1 seed Jacksonville State and No. 3 seed North Dakota State qualified for the final by winning their semifinal games.


2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, Jacksonville State Gamecocks
The Gamecocks, led by second-year head coach John Grass, finished the regular season 10–1, 8–0 in OVC play, to earn a conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the FCS Playoffs. Jacksonville State defeated unseeded Chattanooga, No. 8 seed Charleston Southern, and unseeded Sam Houston State to reach their first ever final.


2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, North Dakota State Bison
The Bison, led by second-year head coach Chris Klieman, finished the regular season 8–2, 7–1 in MVFC play, to earn a conference co-championship (shared with Illinois State) and the No. 3 seed in the FCS Playoffs. North Dakota State defeated unseeded Montana, unseeded Northern Iowa, and No. 7 seed Richmond to reach the final. The Bison entered the Championship game with a 4–0 record in previous FCS Championships, having won the last four straight.


2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 52nd NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 35th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama near the campus of the host school, the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In total, thirty-two different men's and women's indoor track and field events were contested from March 11 to March 12, 2016.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the final game of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and determined the national champion for the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The game was played on Monday, April 4, 2016, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, between the Villanova Wildcats and the North Carolina Tar Heels.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The first half was closely fought, with neither team leading by more than five points in the first 19 minutes. After North Carolina briefly took a seven-point lead in the final minute, a field goal by Phil Booth for Villanova cut the lead to 39–34 at the break. Villanova started to gain the upper hand in the second half, taking their largest lead of the game, 67–57, with 4:47 remaining. North Carolina then surged back, setting up a heroic comeback in the final minutes.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
With just over 1:30 remaining, Marcus Paige hit a three pointer to cut the lead to three points. After Villanova turned over the ball, Brice Johnson cut the lead to one point. Booth was fouled and hit two free throws to retake a three-point lead. With 13 seconds remaining, the lead was again three points for Villanova. On the ensuing possession, Paige sunk an off-balance three-point field goal to tie the game with 4.7 seconds left. However, Ryan Arcidiacono found Kris Jenkins for a buzzer-beating, championship-winning three-point shot, with Villanova defeating North Carolina by a final score of 77–74. Coincidentally, in the same year, a championship-winning buzzer beater occurred in the Philippines in Game 6 of the 2016 PBA Governors' Cup Finals.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Villanova
After a 27–4 regular season and winning the 2016 Big East Conference regular season championship, Villanova beat Georgetown and Providence en route to the 2016 Big East Tournament Finals, where they would lose to Seton Hall. They were the #2 seed in the South Regional of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Villanova
Villanova cruised past UNC Asheville in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament with an 86–56 victory. In the second round, Villanova routed Iowa by a score of 87–68 to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. In the South Regional Semifinals, Villanova blew out Miami by a score of 92–69.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Villanova
In the South regional Final, with Villanova leading 62–59, Mikal Bridges made a steal before Frank Mason III could shoot a potential game-tying three-pointer, and Jalen Brunson made the ensuing free throws and Villanova beat the #1-overall seed Kansas 64–59 to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2009. In the 2016 Final Four, Villanova defeated Oklahoma, 95–51, the largest margin of victory in Final Four history, to advance to the National Championship Game for the first time since their 1985 National Championship run. The game also featured the second-best shooting percentage in a Final Four game, behind only Villanova's 1985 Championship Game performance of 78.6% (22-for-28).


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, North Carolina
After a 25–6 regular season and winning the 2016 ACC regular season championship, North Carolina beat Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, and Virginia en route to the ACC Tournament Championship. They were rewarded with the top seed in the East Regional of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, North Carolina
North Carolina opened the 2016 NCAA Tournament with an 83–67 win over Florida Gulf Coast, outscoring FGCU 42–27 in the second half. North Carolina would again use a big second half to beat Providence, 85–66, in the second round, outscoring the Friars 51–36 in the second half to advance to the Sweet 16. In the Sweet 16, Marcus Paige would have 21 points and Brice Johnson would have 20 points to power UNC to a 101–86 victory over Indiana.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, North Carolina
In the Elite Eight, North Carolina beat fellow ACC foe Notre Dame, 88–74, to advance to an NCAA Tournament-record 19th Final Four. In the Final Four, North Carolina beat another ACC foe, Syracuse, 83–66, to make their 10th appearance in the National Title game in hopes of winning their sixth national title. UNC became one of only four schools to do so, along with Duke, UCLA, and Kentucky.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Starting lineups
Selected in an NBA Draft (number corresponds to draft round)


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
The first half of the National Championship game was tightly fought, with neither team taking a lead larger than five points in the first 19 minutes. In the last minute of the half, North Carolina briefly went up by seven points, and had a chance to go up by nine. However, Villanova's Josh Hart blocked a layup attempt, which led to a Phil Booth jump shot at the other end of the court, cutting the deficit to 39–34 as the clock expired. At halftime, Joel Berry II of the Tar Heels led all players with 15 points.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Despite entering the game ranked only 294th out of all 351 Division I teams in three-point shooting, North Carolina hit seven of their nine three-point attempt in the first half. However, the Tar Heels hit just 32% of their two-point attempts. Villanova had the edge in points the paint by an 18–12 margin, connecting on 65% on their two-point shots. The Tar Heels led in fast break points by a 10–2 margin and collected five offensive rebounds compared to only one for Villanova. Villanova's Kris Jenkins played just four minutes in the half after getting into early foul trouble.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
After the halftime break, Villanova went on a 13–2 run and reclaimed the lead. With 6:13 left in the second half, Ryan Arcidiacono of the Wildcats hit a three-point field goal to give his team a lead of six points. With 4:47 to go, Villanova was up by a game-high 10 points, leading 67–57. However, North Carolina fought back with two straight field goals. With 1:38 remaining, Villanova led 70–64 before Marcus Paige of the Tar Heels hit a three-pointer to cut the lead in half.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
After a Villanova turnover, Brice Johnson hit a bank shot to cut the Wildcats' lead to one point. Phil Booth of the Wildcats was fouled by Isaiah Hicks with 35.7 seconds left. He hit both free throws to put the lead back to three points. Paige missed a layup attempt on the ensuing possession, but North Carolina got the rebound and Paige made a reverse layup to cut the lead back to one. Villanova's Josh Hart was then fouled and hit both free throws.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Down by three points, North Carolina tied the game on an "unbelievable" double-clutch three-pointer by Paige with 4.7 seconds remaining. After the game, North Carolina Coach Roy Williams remarked "he turned a broken play into a great play". Villanova then called a time-out to set up their final play, one that they had practiced "every single day" during the season, called "Nova". After receiving the in-bounds pass, Arcidiacono passed with less than two seconds to Jenkins, who hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating three-point shot. It was the first buzzer-beating shot to win an NCAA men's national title since Lorenzo Charles' dunk for North Carolina State University in 1983, and the first title game ever to end on a buzzer-beating three-pointer. "Kris Jenkins lives for that moment", remarked his coach Jay Wright.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Paige finished with a game-high 21 points and a game-high 6 assists for North Carolina. Berry added 20 points for the Tar Heels and Johnson scored 14 while collecting a game-high 8 rebounds. Booth came off the bench to lead Villanova with a career-high 20 points. Arcidiacono scored 16, Jenkins added 14, and Hart had 12 points and 8 rebounds. As a team, Villanova finished 28 of 48 from the field (58%) and 8 of 14 from three (57%). North Carolina made 11 of 17 three-point attempts (65%) and was 27 of 63 overall (43%). The Tar Heels won the rebounding battle 33–23, including 14 offensive rebounds to just two for Villanova. The teams combined for just 21 turnovers.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
It was Villanova's second NCAA championship. Their first championship was in the 1985 Championship Game, when they defeated the Georgetown Hoyas in what is often considered one of the greatest upsets of all time. Rollie Massimino, the head coach of the 1985 Wildcats, was on hand to watch the 2016 Championship Game. The Wildcats finished the tournament with the second-largest average margin of victory in tournament history, behind only the 1996 Kentucky team.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast calls on the final shot
Nantz: Villanova trying to go the length of the court, with Arcidiacono. Three seconds at midcourt!Hill: Watch Jenkins.Nantz: Gives it to Jenkins! [ time expires] For the championship... YES!Raftery: [overlapping Nantz, voice breaking] OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!Nantz: Villanova! Phenomenal! The national champions, with Jenkins hitting the winner at the buzzer!


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast calls on the final shot
McDonough: They'll have to get it in with no timeouts left; they do, Arcidiacono... Arcidiacono...Vitale: Oh, they'll finish it! [ time expires]McDonough: ...off to Jenkins... [over Vitale reacting] FOR THE WIN! NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOR VILLANOVA!


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast calls on the final shot
4.7 seconds to go, inbound to Ryan Arcidiacono! At half-court with three seconds. Ryan Arcidiacono flips to Jenkins! [ time expires] Three, for the win... IT'S GOOD! IT'S GOOD! Jenkins hits the three to win the national championship! For the first time in 31 years, you can call the 'Cats champions, off the Jenkins three at the buzzer!


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast calls on the final shot
Durham: Into Ryan Arcidiacono; he'll come front court. Looks for Jenkins; a three [time expires] at the horn...Haywood: Oh no. Oh no.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast calls on the final shot
Gets it in to Arcidiacono. Comes to the middle. Arcidiacono [time expires] to a trailing Jenkins... for the championship! He hits it at the buzzer!


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast calls on the final shot
Graham: Arcidiacono... ball in his hands! Arcidiacono... for Jenkins, [time expires] for the win! YES! [ Finneran celebrates behind him] YES! YES! YES!Finneran: ARCHIE... TO JENKINS FOR THREE, AND THE WIN!Graham: NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast calls on the final shot
Three seconds to go; across the timeline. Two seconds to go! Jenkins; three right wing [time expires] to win it... HE MADE IT! HE MADE THE THREE FROM THE RIGHT WING, AT THE BUZZER! ' CATS WIN IT ALL! ' CATS WIN IT ALL! ' CATS WIN IT ALL! 31 YEARS LATER, VILLANOVA IS THE KING OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL ONCE AGAIN!


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Reactions
In his post-game press conference, Jay Wright remarked, "That was one of the greatest college basketball games we've ever been a part of. I just couldn't be prouder, couldn't be happier to see them fulfill this. This is what it's all about as a coach". He added, "I can’t wait to see that look (on my face), because I was just shocked" by the final play. "We beat a class program. Great coach and great team. We have a lot of respect for North Carolina".


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Reactions
Roy Williams, who was in tears after the game, described his reaction as the final shot went in: "It was helpless. It was not a good feeling". He added, "I'm not very good because I can't take away the hurt ... I told them I loved them. I told them I wish I could have helped them more".


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Reactions
CBS sportswriter Matt Norlander described the game as "a thrilling, undeniably heart-stopping, instant classic of a title game". ESPN staff writer Eamonn Brennan also called the game an "instant classic" and said both teams "were flying around the floor, playing high-level, pinpoint basketball and trading great plays". The Associated Press called the final basket "as memorable as any [points] that have been scored in the history of this tournament".


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Reactions
Writing for USA Today, Nicole Auerbach called Villanova's performance "one of the most improbable and offensively insane NCAA tournament runs", ending with "one of the most thrilling championship games in tournament history". Villanova's championship win was so unexpected that more contestants in ESPN's Tournament Challenge bracket contest picked Villanova to lose in the first round than picked them to win the championship.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Reactions
In response to the historic win and to combat absenteeism the following day, classes at Villanova were cancelled.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
The National Championship game was broadcast in the United States by TBS, marking the first time that the national championship game aired exclusively on pay television, and ending a 34-year run on CBS (CBS and TBS will alternate broadcasting the championship game every other year through 2024; thus, the game returned to CBS for 2017). TBS's sister channels TNT and TruTV aired special broadcasts of the game known as Team Stream powered by Bleacher Report, which featured commentators representing the two participating teams.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
These special telecasts had been used for the Final Four since they moved to TBS in 2014, but this marked the first time they were used for the national championship. On the main broadcast, Jim Nantz was on play-by-play, with Bill Raftery and Grant Hill providing on-court commentary. Tracy Wolfson was the on-court reporter. Craig Sager was also on hand, as he interviewed former North Carolina guard, Chicago Bulls legend, and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who was in attendance. Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson served as the pregame hosts.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Reggie Miller, Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith and Steve Smith provided commentary. TNT's "Team Stream", focusing on North Carolina, was called by Wes Durham with analyst Brendan Haywood and sideline reporter Dwayne Ballen, while on truTV's "Team Stream", which focused on Villanova, Scott Graham called the game with analyst Brian Finneran and sideline reporter Kacie McDonnell.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
When it was first revealed that TBS would air this game, some concerns arose as to whether the traditional closing song, One Shining Moment, would be used due to its association with CBS, but TBS eventually played it to end the telecast, and continues to do so when it has the broadcasting rights to the Final Four and national championship.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
ESPN International owned the international broadcast rights. Sean McDonough served as the play-by-play announcer for the international audience, with Dick Vitale providing commentary. In Canada, the game aired on TSN.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
Radio coverage in the United States was provided by Westwood One, with Kevin Kugler calling the game. The Championship Game was also streamed live on NCAA.com free of charge.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
With the switch from broadcast television to cable television, ratings in the United States sharply declined from the 2015 title contest between Duke and Wisconsin. The three cable channels airing the game, TBS, TNT and TruTV, had a combined broadcast average of 17.8 million viewers. That total is down from the 28.3 million who watched the previous year's Championship Game, which aired exclusively on CBS.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2015–16 season. The 78th edition of the Tournament began on March 15, 2016, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Upsets were the story of the first round of the Tournament; No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State in the biggest upset, just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2 . At least one 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 seed won a first-round game for the third time ever and the first time since 2013.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
In the Final Four, Villanova defeated Oklahoma, while North Carolina defeated Syracuse (the "Cinderella team" of the tournament). Villanova then defeated North Carolina to win the championship on a three-point buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins. Pundits called the game one of the best in tournament history, going on to say this was one of the most competitive finals ever.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
Previously, the Round of 64 was known as the Second Round since the 2011 edition, but it was reverted to the moniker First Round for this coming tournament. The First Four was previously named the First Round.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
NRG Stadium in Houston hosted the Final Four for the second time in 2016, Houston's third Final Four overall. The 2016 tournament was the first tournament since 1995 where no domed stadiums were used in the regional rounds. The tournament also featured two new venues. For the second time in three years, the tournament came to New York City, with games played at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The tournament came to the state of Iowa for the first time since 1972, and the first time ever in the city of Des Moines, when it came to the Wells Fargo Arena, home to the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League and the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. Of the 14 venues used in the tournament, only the NRG Stadium and the Chesapeake Energy Arena do not have future tournament games planned as of 2018.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
America East Conference champion Stony Brook and WAC champion Cal State Bakersfield made their first NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Yale made its first NCAA appearance since 1962 as winners of the Ivy League, which, for the final time, did not stage a conference tournament. Of those that do hold a tournament, Horizon League champion Green Bay made its first appearance since 1996 and Oregon State made its first appearance since 1990.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Yale also earned its first Tournament win in school history with a 79–75 win over Baylor. Hawaii likewise earned its first NCAA Tournament win by defeating California 77–66. Arkansas-Little Rock won its first Tournament game in 30 years and Middle Tennessee won its first Tournament game in 27 years.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
In the Midwest Region, No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State for just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2 . More than one-third of ESPN Tournament Challenge brackets predicted Michigan State to make the Final Four.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
In the East Region, No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin upset No. 3 seed West Virginia, marking the fourth straight tournament in which a No. 14 seed upset a No. 3 seed.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
By winning the Midwest Regional final, Syracuse became the first No. 10 seed in history to advance to the Final Four. However, three lower seeds, all No. 11, have advanced to that stage (in 1986, 2006, and 2011).


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Kansas extended its streak of consecutive tournament appearances to 27 in a row, making every NCAA Tournament dating back to 1990. This tied the record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances held by North Carolina (1975–2001).


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Notables
This Tournament marked the first championship for Villanova in 31 years. It was also the first championship by a school without a Division I FBS football team since Connecticut in 1999. Villanova fields a Division I FCS football team, as did UConn before 2002.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying and selection procedure
Out of 336 eligible Division I teams, 68 participate in the tournament. Of the total, 15 Division I teams were ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying and selection procedure
Of the 32 automatic bids, 31 were given to programs that won their conference tournaments. For the final time, the Ivy League awarded its NCAA Tournament bid to the team with the best regular-season record and did not hold a tournament (unless playoffs games were needed to resolve tied champions). The Ivy League will hold a postseason tournament for the first time after the 2016–17 Ivy League season. The remaining 36 bids were granted on an "at-large" basis, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee to the teams it deems to be the best 36 teams that did not receive automatic bids.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying and selection procedure
Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 Tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the First Round (Round of 64). The Selection Committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying and selection procedure, Automatic qualifiers
The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid:


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket
All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)* – Denotes overtime period


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Final Four
During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Kansas's South Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Oregon's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (North Carolina's East Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Virginia's Midwest Region).


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Final Four, NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas, Final Four
The Villanova–Oklahoma result was not only the most one-sided in the tournament so far, but also in the history of the men's Final Four. The Wildcats shot 71.4% for the game, surpassed in Final Four games only by the Wildcats' 78.6% performance in the 1985 final against Georgetown. The 44-point margin was also greater than the combined margin of defeat in Oklahoma's seven previous losses in 2015–16. In addition, the 2016 semifinals were the first since 2008 to both be decided by double-digit margins, and the combined 61-point margin broke a men's Final Four record set in 1949.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Final Four, NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas, National Championship
The Wildcats' Championship run was 2nd the most dominant in NCAA Tournament history, with a total point differential of +124 (see Kentucky 1996, +129) (breaking the 2009 record set by the North Carolina Tar Heels of +121).


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Television
CBS Sports and Turner Sports held joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. Beginning in 2016, rights to the Final Four and championship game began to alternate between Turner and CBS, with Turner networks broadcasting the 2016 Final Four and championship; a conventional telecast aired on TBS, accompanied by "Team Stream" broadcasts on TNT and TruTV which featured commentary and coverage focused on each participating team. Turner employed this multi-channel presentation of the semifinals in 2014 and 2015, but this was the first time it was used for the final.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Television
It marked the first time in tournament history that the national championship game aired on cable channels, and ended CBS' streak of broadcasting 34 consecutive National Championship games. However, Turner allowed the tournament's closing theme, One Shining Moment, to be played for the 30th year in a row. To date, the song is still played in this manner, no matter which network airs the National Championship game.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Television
For 2016, the selection show on CBS was expanded into a two-hour broadcast—a move which proved unpopular with viewers due to the decreased speed at which the participating teams were unveiled. These issues were exacerbated by a leak of the full bracket shortly into the broadcast, which spread on Twitter. Although ratings for the selection show had steadily decreased over the past four years, the 3.7 overnight rating for the broadcast was the lowest in 20 years. CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus admitted that the extended special was a failure, stating that "we haven't had any specific discussions but I think we all agree it would serve all of us well including the fan to release the brackets in a little more timely manner".


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Radio
Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Internet
The games were streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live website and app, with streams for Turner games also available on the Bleacher Report website and Team Stream app, and CBS games available on the CBS Sports website and app. Games on TBS were available on Watch TBS app. Games on TNT were made available on Watch TNT app. Games on TruTV were available on Watch TruTV app. Westwood One's radio broadcasts, including a "National Mix" channel consisting of whip-around coverage during the first and second rounds, was available on its website and on the TuneIn app.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Internet
The games were also viewable on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One video game consoles via the PlayStation Vue (PS3/PS4; all games), Sling TV (XB1; TBS, TNT, TruTV games) and TuneIn (Vita/XB1; all games) apps.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament: qualifying teams
This is a list of qualifying teams for the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. A total of 68 teams entered the tournament. Thirty one of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The automatic bid of the Ivy League, which does not conduct a post-season tournament, went to its regular season champion. The remaining 36 teams were granted at-large bids, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 68, and seeded teams 1 to 16 within their regionals.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament: qualifying teams, Qualifying teams, Automatic bids
Automatic bids to the tournament were granted for winning a conference championship tournament, except for the automatic bid of the Ivy League given to the regular season champion. Seeds listed were seeds within the conference tournaments. Runners-up in bold face were given at-large berths.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship was the 78th annual tournament to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's collegiate golf. It was contested from May 27 to June 1 at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon. Host team Oregon won 3–2 over Texas and Aaron Wise of Oregon won the individual competition.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Team competition, Leaderboard
Remaining teams: Clemson (867), Georgia (867), TCU (867), Auburn (868), Florida State (868), Houston (868), Virginia (869), Alabama (871), Wake Forest (871), San Diego State (872), South Florida (876), Baylor (880), Stanford (884), Purdue (898), UAB (902).


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Team competition, Leaderboard
After 54 holes, the field of 30 teams was cut to the top 15. Five teams were tied for 14th place and Louisville and Oklahoma advanced over Clemson, Georgia, and TCU based on fifth player scorecards, a new tie-break system.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Individual competition
The field was cut after 54 holes to the top 15 teams and the top nine individuals not on a top 15 team. These 84 players competed for the individual championship.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was the national championship tournament for men's college ice hockey in the United States in 2016. The tournament involved 16 teams in single-elimination play to determine the national champion at the Division I level of the NCAA, the highest level of competition in college hockey. The tournament's Frozen Four – the semifinals and finals – were hosted by the University of Wisconsin and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
North Dakota defeated Quinnipiac 5–1 to win the program's 8th NCAA title.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
This is the first time in NCAA college hockey history that a first year coach, Brad Berry, won the NCAA title.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament procedure
The tournament consisted of four groups of four teams in regional brackets. The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following were the sites for the 2016 regionals:


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament procedure
The winner of each regional advanced to the Frozen Four:


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced on March 20. Hockey East had six teams receive a berth in the tournament, NCHC had four teams receive a berth, ECAC Hockey had three teams receive a berth, and one team from the Big Ten Conference, Atlantic Hockey, and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) received a berth.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Media, Television
ESPN has US television rights to all games during the tournament for the twelfth consecutive year. ESPN will air every game, beginning with the regionals, on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, or ESPN3 and will stream them online via WatchESPN.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Media, Television
In Canada, the tournament is broadcast by TSN and streamed on TSN Go.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Media, Radio
Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the Frozen Four and will air both the semifinals and the championship.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship was the 46th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national championship for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college lacrosse. Eighteen teams competed in the tournament, chosen by either winning an automatic qualifying conference tournament or as an at-large bid based on their performance during the regular season. The participating teams were announced on May 8.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
North Carolina won the title, defeating Maryland 14–13 in overtime in the final, becoming the first unseeded team to win the championship. Chris Cloutier had 19 goals and 3 assists in the tournament, including 9 goals against Loyola in the semifinals. The 19 goals is a tournament record.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
Maryland was ahead by two goals with over seven minutes to play before Carolina tied the game. A potential game winning goal by Colin Heacock of Maryland went off the crossbar with just over a minute left in regulation. The game went into overtime where Kyle Bernlohr made a miracle save for Maryland, but the Terps were called for a one minute penalty on the play. On the man up, Michael Tagliaferri fed Chris Cloutier who beat Bernlohr low for the winning goal.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The play-in games were played at campus sites on May 11. The first round games were played at campus sites on May 14 and 15. The quarterfinal games were played on May 21, 2016 at Brown Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island, and May 22, 2016 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The semifinals were contested on May 28, 2016, and the championship on May 30, 2016. The semifinals and championship were held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and hosted by Drexel University.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Schools from 10 conferences, the America East Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big East Conference, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Big Ten Conference, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Northeast Conference (NEC), Patriot League, and Southern Conference (SoCon) received automatic bids into the tournament by winning their respective conference tournaments, leaving eight remaining at-large bids for top ranked teams. The top fourteen seeds were placed directly into the bracket, and the four lowest seeds met in play-in games to the Sweet 16.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game was the final game of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, determining the national champion for the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The match was played on December 11, 2016 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, a soccer-specific stadium that is home to Major League Soccer club, Houston Dynamo. Stanford of the Pac-12 Conference won the match, and successfully defended their national championship. Stanford defeated Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The crowd of 6,315 saw the match decided on penalty kicks, where Stanford prevailed on a 5–4 scoreline, following a 0–0 draw in regulation and overtime. The title was Stanford's second ever title, in their fourth-ever appearance. It was Wake Forest's second appearance in the final.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game
Both teams were seeded in the NCAA Tournament, meaning they bypassed the first round of the tournament, and entered into the second round of play. Wake Forest was seeded second in the tournament, while Stanford was seeded fifth. Wake Forest and Stanford entered the tournament as their respective conference champions. Wake Forest had won their first ACC Men's Soccer Tournament since 1989, and their second altogether. The Pac-12 Conference does not have a conference tournament, so the regular season champions are also crowned the conference champions. Stanford won their third-straight Pac-12 title, and their fourth title overall. Wake Forest secured its place in the final by defeating Coastal Carolina, SIU Edwardsville, Virginia Tech and Denver. Stanford reached the final with victories over Pacific, Virginia, Louisville, and North Carolina.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final
The NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champion. The tournament has been formally held since 1959, when it was an eight-team tournament. Since then, the tournament has expanded to 48 teams, in which every Division I conference tournament champion is allocated a berth. It was Wake Forest's first appearance since 2007, which they won. Stanford entered the final as the defending champion, winning their first ever national title in their first NCAA final appearance. It was the Cardinal's fourth NCAA championship appearance, finishing as runners-up in 1998 and 2002.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons entered the NCAA Tournament as the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champions, the Atlantic Division divisional champions as well as the conference tournament champions. The Demon Deacons amassed a conference record of five wins, one loss and two draws (5–1–2), and an overall regular season record of twelve wins, two losses and three draws (12–2–3). The Deacons began the season ranked fifth nationally, but suffered a shock 1–0 home loss to the unranked Saint Louis Billikens in their season opener.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
The loss caused the Demon Deacons to fall from fifth in the national polls to 21st. However, following the home loss to the Billikens, Wake Forest went on a four-match winning streak, and a nine-match undefeated streak. During this run, Wake Forest picked up notable victories against the 17th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers and two major road victories at Duke and Davidson.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
During this win streak, the Deacons ascended from number 21 in the nation, to reach number 10 in the nation. Their nine-match undefeated streak ended with a 1–0 away loss at number five, Clemson. The Deacons rebounded from the loss by picking up a critical away point by tying the top-ranked Notre Dame, 2–2. Despite failing to beat either Clemson or Notre Dame, Wake Forest jumped in the NSCAA polls from eleventh to seventh. Following the loss at Clemson and the draw at Notre Dame, the Deacons would go on to win their next four matches.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
This included a home win against the then-second ranked, Louisville, a major non-conference away win at number 21, South Carolina, as well as an ACC conference-play win at home against then-number 18, Boston College. The Deacons concluded the regular season with a 1–1 road draw at the sixth-ranked Syracuse on October 28.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
Wake Forest qualified for the 2016 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament as the number two seed. The Deacons earned a bye to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament where they hosted Notre Dame on November 6. A 74th-minute goal from Wake Forest midfielder, Jacori Hayes, proved to be the difference in the match, giving the Deacons a 1–0 win over the Irish. In the semifinals, Wake Forest hosted the three-seed, Louisville. Wake Forest struck first in the match, with Hayden Partain netting the opening goal of the contest in the 29th minute.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
Louisville's Tim Kübel scored on the near side of the Wake Forest defense with 50 seconds remaining in regulation, in order to force sudden death overtime. Ninety seconds into the first overtime period, Wake Forest's Jon Bakero lead a counterattack and fed a pass to striker, Ema Twumasi, who scored the golden goal to allow the Deacons to advance to the ACC Championship.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
Wake Forest played against Clemson in the 2016 ACC Men's Soccer Championship Game. The match was held at the neutral site, MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The soccer-specific stadium serves regularly as the home ground for United Soccer League side, Charleston Battery. In the match, the Deacons roared out to a quick start, scoring three goals in the first half. Deacons captain, Ian Harkes, the son of former U.S. international, John Harkes, scored the opening goal in 24th minute. Nine minutes later, Partain netted a second goal to give the Deacons a 2–0 lead.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
Shortly before halftime, Steven Echvarria scored a third goal for Wake Forest to give the Deacons a 3–0 lead going into halftime. In the second half Clemson defender, Tanner Dieterich, scored a consolation goal to prevent a shutout, but the 3–1 scoreline proved to be the final result. It was Wake Forest's first ACC championship since 1989.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
The ACC title gave the Deacons an automatic berth in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Deacons earned the number two overall seed in the tournament, and thus, earned a bye to the second round of the competition. Wake Forest played Coastal Carolina in the second round, where they advanced by winning 2–0 over the Chanticleers. Luis Argudo and Hayden Partain scored the Deacons' two goals of the match. Wake Forest hosted SIU Edwardsville in the Sweet Sixteen of the tournament, where the Deacons won 2–1.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
Wake Forest roared out to a quick start thanks to a third-minute goal by Bakero; however, SIU Edwardsville tied the match thanks to a goal by Austin Ledbetter in the 41st minute. Bakero scored a second half goal for the Deacons to secure victory and send Wake Forest to the quarterfinals. There, the Deacons hosted fellow ACC rival, Virginia Tech, who were making their first NCAA quarterfinal and overall tournament appearance since 2007. In front of 3,410 people at Spry Stadium, Wake Forest's Twumasi two late goals to give the Deacons a 2–0 victory over the Hokies to send them into the College Cup.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
Wake Forest played against the sixth-seeded Denver in the semifinals. Denver, who had their best collegiate campaign since 1970, had not lost a match in regulation or overtime in a record 35 matches. The Pioneers had a season record of 20 wins, no losses and 3 draws heading into the College Cup. While the Pioneers played in the considerably weaker Summit League, the program had several major non-conference results including victories over the then-ranked Butler, Rutgers, New Mexico and Portland. Again, in the match, Wake Forest scored quickly into the game with Jon Bakero scoring in the seventh minute.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Wake Forest
The lead was short lived, as Denver's Andre Shinyashiki tied the match just 10 minutes later. The match would remain 1–1 until overtime. In the second period of overtime, Ian Harkes netted a goal in the bottom left corner off a counterattack to seal the Deacons' first NCAA championship appearance in nearly 10 years.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Stanford
The Stanford Cardinal entered the tournament as the defending national champions. During the regular season, the Cardinal amassed a conference record of eight wins, one draw and one loss. The record was good enough to have the best Pac-12 conference regular season, which doubled as the Pac-12 championship. Stanford secured their fourth Pac-12 title, and their third-consecutive conference championship with a 3–0 away victory at Oregon State on October 27.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Stanford
Entering the 2016 season, the Cardinal were ranked first in the nation in the NSCAA Poll. Ahead of the regular season, Stanford played two in-state colleges in exhibitions, picking up a 5–0 win at home against Sacramento State and a 2–1 win at Cal Poly. The regular season however, began slowly for Stanford, as the Cardinal failed to pick up a win in their first four matches. Stanford were forced to settle with two home draws against Penn State and Saint Mary's. Following their 0–0–2 start to the season, the Cardinal dropped from first to fifteenth in the polls. In their third and fourth games of the season, Stanford traveled out to Indiana to participate in the early season Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic tournament. There, the Cardinal suffered a loss to the fourth-ranked, Notre Dame and a draw against the seventh-ranked, Indiana.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Stanford
Despite these results, Stanford remained ranked at number 25, and managed to go on a three-match win streak, which allowed the Cardinal to rise modestly to 23rd in the nation. In a road match against unranked San Francisco, the Cardinal suffered their second loss of the season, losing by a 1–2 scoreline against the Dons. The Cardinal became unranked for the first time since 2013 the following week. Entering Pac-12 play, the Cardinal went on a good run of form going undefeated for their next eight matches.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Stanford
The streak saw Stanford improve their overall record to 10–2–4, and their conference record to 7–0–1, causing them to ascend to number nine in the nation. The Cardinal would eventually have a loss at home to number 16, Washington, but would remain ranked in the top 10 as they finished off Pac-12 play.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Stanford
Stanford earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament by the virtue of winning the Pac-12 regular season, which doubled as the championship. Their Rating Percentage Index and the quality of their wins allowed the Cardinal to earn the fifth overall seed in the tournament, and thus earn a bye to the second round of the competition. In the second round, Stanford hosted nearby University of the Pacific. Goals from Foster Langsdorf and Tomas Hilliard-Arce secured a 2–0 victory for the Cardinal. Langsdorf would end up being the winning goalscorer in the Cardinal's third round matchup against the 12th-seeded, Virginia. A golden goal broke the scoreless stalemate, and gave Stanford 1–0 victory over the Cavaliers.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Road to the final, Stanford
For the quarterfinals, the Cardinal took on their second ACC opponent of the tournament, and traveled to Kentucky to take on the Louisville Cardinals. Langsdorf would prove to be the hero again for Stanford, scoring in the 64th minute. Stanford midfielder, Sam Werner, would add an insurance goal in the 79th minute to give Stanford a 2–0 away win at Louisville and secure their spot in the College Cup. There, Stanford took on their third straight ACC opponent, North Carolina. The match, also played at BBVA Compass Stadium ended in a scoreless draw after regulation and two overtime periods. After a marathon of penalty kicks, Stanford prevailed when Alex Comsia missed his penalty kick in the 10th round of the shootout. It allowed Stanford to win the penalty shoot-out, 10–9 and advance to their second straight national championship.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Pre-match, Venue selection
The National Collegiate Athletic Association determined the host of the final on December 13, 2013. The announcement of Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium being the College Cup host was in conjuncture with the announcement of the Houston region hosting the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship and the 2018 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship. Since the foundation of the NCAA Tournament, the venue for the College Cup semifinals and national championship have been played at a predetermined neutral site. It was the first time since 2008 that the state of Texas hosted the NCAA Men's College Cup, and the third time ever that the state hosted the College Cup.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Pre-match, Analysis
The match was predicted to be a very close game, with the possibility of either side winning the game being nearly even. An NCAA.com fan poll saw that 55 percent of viewers felt that Wake Forest was going to win the match, while 45 percent felt that Stanford would win. CollegeSoccerNews.com described the match as a likely cagey contest featuring two very evenly matched teams. Brian Radewitz at Hero Sports predicted that the match would be tightly contested, but that Stanford would prevail. Radewitz felt that Stanford would have an edge over Wake Forest, given their experience in the tournament, as well as the team's sturdy defense.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match
Kickoff was scheduled for 1:00 pm local time. Mark Kadlecik was the referee and his assistants were Cameron Blanchard and Brian Dunn. The fourth official was John McCloskey. There were no suspensions or injuries of note. The weather was cloudy with occasional rain showers with a temperature of 71 °F (22 °C).


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, First half
Both teams were coming off a short, two-day turnaround from their semifinal victories. Due to the turnaround, Wake Forest Bobby Muuss, made two notable changes in the team's lineup from their 2–1 semifinal victory against Denver. Goalkeeper Andreu Mundet started in goal instead of Alec Ferrell, who played the entire match against Denver. Defender Hunter Bandy started for the match, despite not playing at all against Denver. Bandy started in the place of Alex Knox. The rest of Wake Forest's starting lineup featured the same individuals who started against Denver on December 9. Ema Twumasi, who was the program's top scorer in the tournament remained in the starting lineup as well as club captain, Ian Harkes. Stanford's head coach, Jeremy Gunn employed the same starting eleven in the match as he did from their semifinal victory against North Carolina.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, First half
The early portions of the match largely favored Stanford, who were able to dribble regularly down the right flank of Wake Forest's defense. Stanford threatened early in the third minute of play, with Corey Baird forcing Mundet to make an early save. Stanford kept up the pressure through the first 15 minutes, but failed to put anything on frame or stretch Mundet. Wake Forest's first opportunity came in the 20th minute, where Ian Harkes fed a through ball to Jacori Hayes.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, First half
On a controversial no-call, Stanford right-back, Tanner Beason, slide tackled Hayes inside the box to stop his shot on goal. Instant replays suggested that it was a clean tackle. Three minutes later, Wake Forest began to add more pressure on Stanford. Off a Wake Forest corner, striker Jon Bakero had a bicycle kick shot on goal that went straight to Andrew Epstein.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, First half
Midway through the first half, both teams elected to make substitutions. Regular rotation players Steven Echevarria and Hayden Partain came on for Wake Forest for Luis Argudo and Ema Twumasi, respectively. For the Cardinal, rotation players Sam Werner and Adrian Alabi were subbed on for Bryce Marion and Corey Baird, respectively. In the 43rd minute, Wake Forest had their second shot on frame, where Deacons captain, Harkes, struck a shot on frame from about 20 yards out.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, First half
The shot forced Epstein to make a diving save, that caused a deflection in the box before Tomas Hilliard-Arce could clear it out of the box. A moment later, Stanford made one more first half substitution, where Adrian Alabi came on for Foster Langsdorf, who had a rather quiet first half. The match ended scoreless going into the break.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Second half
The initial starting lineups employed in the first half were retained in the second half. At halftime Stanford made three substitutions, while Wake Forest made two. Stanford's Bryce Marion, Corey Baird and Foster Langsdorf returned for the second half of play after being subbed off in the first half. The three came on for Sam Werner, Amir Bashti and Adrian Albai, respectively. For Wake Forest, Ema Twumasi and Luis Argudo returned, being subbed on for Hayden Partain and Steven Echevarria, respectively.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Second half
In the second half, the match got more chippy between the two sides, where the first caution of the match was issued. In the 48th minute, Wake Forest's Luis Argudo received a yellow card for a late tackle on Stanford's Jared Gilbey. In a cautious move, Muuss subbed off Argudo and brought Partain back into the match in the 56th minute. In the 58th minute, play was stopped due to an apparent injury to Deacons defender, Brad Dunwell after colliding with Corey Baird on a cross. Dunwell was treated by team doctors, but returned to the game. As the second half continued, the game became more of a midfield battle as both sides failed to generate shots on goal.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Second half
In the 69th minute of play, Wake Forest had arguably their best chance of the match, where Kevin Politz's header sailed just over the bar, despite beating Esptein. In the 72nd minute, Stanford has a shot that almost crossed the line, that required the officials to look back on instant replay to see if the ball had crossed the line. The officials determined that Wake Forest goalie, Andreu Cases Mundet prevented the ball from crossing the line, causing the game to remain scoreless. Stanford had another opportunity in the 78th minute where Alabi had a header off a Harkes cross, but the header was punched away by Mundet.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Second half
With three minutes remaining in regulation, Corey Baird was given a yellow card for his challenge on Mundet during a cross where both him and Mundet went for the in-swinger. The final few minutes of the game remained defensive as both teams prepared for overtime. The match ended scoreless after 90 minutes.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Extra time and penalties
After 90 minutes of scoreless soccer, two sudden death periods of 10 minutes were played. Unlike FIFA's Laws of the Game, the NCAA employs a shorter, 10-minute overtime period and institutes the golden goal. The first period of extra time began with Stanford possession, and proved to be a defensive affair between both teams. Both teams failed to generate any shots on frame in the first seven minutes of overtime, before Wake Forest had a threatening look on goal. Argudo fed a corner kick to  Kevin Politz, whose head was blocked by Epstein. The rebound shot by Brad Dunwell was also blocked by the Stanford back four before being cleared. Prior to the break between the two overtime periods, Muuss and Gunn elected to sub on attack-minded players.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Extra time and penalties
The best chance of the second period of extra time came in the 104th minute, when Harkes was able to connect with Politz on an additional corner; however, Politz's header went wide. Both teams made penalty kick-conscience substitutions in the 107th minute to prepare for the potential penalty shootout. The final few minutes of extra time failed to create any shots. At the end of 110 minutes of soccer, the score was still level at zero.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Extra time and penalties
Decided by a coin flip, Stanford was first to shoot in the penalty shoot-out. Both Stanford and Wake Forest scored in the first three rounds of the shoot-out. In the fourth round, Stanford defender, Tomas Hilliard-Arce missed his penalty kick, while Wake Forest striker, Jon Bakero, scored his penalty kick. This required Stanford's Baird to score his penalty kick to prevent losing in the shootout. Baird converted his penalty kick, which required Wake Forest's Hayden Partain to score to give Wake Forest the national title.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Extra time and penalties
Partain's elected to aim his penalty to the bottom left corner, but the kick was well-saved by Epstein, thus leaving the score tied at four after five rounds, requiring sudden death penalties. Stanford midfielder, Sam Werner converted his penalty, but Wake Forest's Brian Dunwell had his shot saved by Epstein, thus ending the penalty shootout, and ending the match.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Cameron Blanchard (United States)Brian Dunn (United States)Fourth official:John McCloskey (United States)


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Post-match
The Stanford Cardinal became the first men's college soccer program to successfully defend the men's soccer national championship since Indiana did so in 2003–2004. Andrew Epstein was named the College Cup MVP and the Defensive Player of the Tournament. Wake Forest's Ian Harkes was named the Offensive Player of the Tournament. A month later, Wake Forest captain, Ian Harkes went on to win the Hermann Trophy, an annual award given to the best college soccer player in the nation. Harkes would subsequently go on trial with EFL Championship side, Derby County before eventually signing a homegrown contract with Major League Soccer's D.C. United.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 2016 College Cup) was the 58th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's collegiate soccer. The first, second, third, and quarterfinal rounds were held at college campus sites across the United States during November and December 2016, with host sites determined by seeding and record. The four-team College Cup finals was played at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas on December 9 and 11, 2016.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The Stanford Cardinal successfully defended their 2015 title. Stanford played the North Carolina Tar Heels to a scoreless draw in the semifinals before winning a penalty shootout, 10–9, to advance to the Championship game. The Cardinal then also tied the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 0–0, in the final before claiming the back-to-back title with another penalty shootout victory, 5–4.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
Stanford tied the NCAA record for the Lowest Goals-Against Average in the Tournament (Minimum 3 Games) of 0.00 by becoming the fourth team to not allow their opponents to score a goal in the tournament. The other three co-record-holders are the 1976 San Francisco Dons, the 1995 Wisconsin Badgers, and the 2009 Akron Zips.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
All Division I men's soccer programs except for Grand Canyon, Incarnate Word, and UMass Lowell will be eligible to qualify for the tournament. Those three programs are ineligible because they are in transition from Division II to Division I. The tournament field remains fixed at 48 teams.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
Of the 24 schools that had previously won the championship, 13 qualified for this year's tournament.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Format
As in previous editions of the NCAA Division I Tournament, the tournament features 48 participants out of a possible field of 203 teams. Of the 48 berths, 24 are allocated to the 21 conference tournament champions and to the regular season winners of the Ivy League, Pac-12 Conference, and West Coast Conference, which do not have tournaments. The remaining 24 berths are supposed to be determined through an at-large process based upon the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of teams that did not automatically qualify.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Format
The NCAA Selection Committee also names the top sixteen seeds for the tournament, with those teams receiving an automatic bye into the second round of the tournament. The remaining 32 teams play in a single-elimination match in the first round of the tournament for the right to play a seeded team in the second round.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were held on March 23–26 at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. This event determined the team and individual 2016 national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States, and was the 93rd annual champion swim meet sanctioned by the NCAA.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The Texas Longhorns won the team championship, coming in 190 points ahead of the California Golden Bears. This win secured the Longhorns their second consecutive title and their twelfth title overall.


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, Team rankings (top 10)
Note: Not all the competitors have been displayed in the rankings below. For the full results, .


2016 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, Individual event rankings (top 3)
Note: Only the top three competitors of each event have been listed below. Gold medalists are the competitors who finished first within their event; silver medalists, the competitors who finished second; and bronze medalists, the competitors who finished third.


2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 95th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 35th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the fourth consecutive year at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on the campus of the University of Oregon. In total, forty-two different men's and women's track and field events were contested from June 8 to June 11, 2016.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was held from May 20 through June 8, 2016 as the final part of the 2016 NCAA Division I softball season. The 64 NCAA Division I college softball teams were to be selected out of an eligible 293 teams on May 15, 2016. Thirty-two teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and thirty-two teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2016 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City in which the Oklahoma Sooners were crowned the champions.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Automatic bids
The Big 12, Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference bids were awarded to the regular season champion. All other conferences have the automatic bid go to the conference tournament winner.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, National seeds
16 National Seeds were announced on the Selection Show Sunday, May 15 at 10 p.m. EDT on ESPNU. The 16 national seeds hosted the Regionals. Teams in italics advanced to Super Regionals. Teams in bold advanced to Women's College World Series.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, National seeds
1. Florida (53–5)2. Michigan (46–5)3. Oklahoma (47–7)4. Auburn (49–9)5. Oregon (44–8)6. Alabama (46–12)7. James Madison (46–4)8. Florida State (48–8)


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, National seeds
9. Kentucky (43–12)10. LSU (45–15)11. Washington (36–13)12. UCLA (35–13–1)13. Tennessee (41–14)14. Louisiana–Lafayette (43–7)15. Missouri (39–14)16. Georgia (40–17)


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Regionals and Super Regionals
The Regionals took place May 19–22. The Columbia regional took place May 19–21 because of BYU's no Sunday-play policy. All other regionals occurred May 20–22. The Super Regionals took place from May 26–29.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Women's College World Series
The Women's College World Series was held June 2 through June 8, 2016, in Oklahoma City.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Record by conference
The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, CS, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series Teams, National Semi-Finals, Championship Series, and National Champion.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Media coverage, Radio
Westwood One provided nationwide radio coverage of the championship series. It was streamed online at westwoodsports.com and through TuneIn. Kevin Kugler and Leah Amico provided the call for Westwood One.


2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Media coverage, Television
ESPN holds exclusive rights to the tournament. They aired games across ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Select regionals and  super-regionals were broadcast on additional ESPN stations like SEC Network, ESPN3, SEC Network Plus, and Longhorn Network. Any regionals not picked up by ESPN were streamed online by the host institution or broadcast by their television partners.


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The 2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships will be the men's and women's tennis tournaments played concurrently from May 19 to May 30, 2016 in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the campus of the University of Tulsa. It will be the 71st edition of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship and the 35th edition of the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship. It will be the eleventh time that the men's and women's tournaments were held at the same venue. It will consist of a men's and women's team, singles, and doubles championships.


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Men's Team Championship, National Seeds
1. Virginia (National Champions)2. North Carolina (Quarterfinals)3. UCLA (Quarterfinals)4. TCU (Round of16)


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Men's Team Championship, National Seeds
5. Ohio State (Quarterfinals)6. Wake Forest (Round of 16)7. Georgia (Semifinals)8. Texas Tech (Second Round)


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Men's Team Championship, National Seeds
9. Florida (Quarterfinals)10. USC (Round of 16)11. Oklahoma (Runner-up)12. Texas A&M (Second Round)


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Men's Team Championship, National Seeds
13. California (Semifinals)14. Northwestern (Second Round)15. Illinois (Second Round)16. Oklahoma State (Round of 16)


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Women's Team Championship, National Seeds
1. California (Semifinals) 2. Florida (Round of 16)  3. North Carolina (Round of 16) 4. Ohio State (Quarterfinals)


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Women's Team Championship, National Seeds
5. Georgia (Round of 16) 6. Vanderbilt (Semifinals) 7. Miami (FL) (Round of 16) 8. Pepperdine (Quarterfinals)


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Women's Team Championship, National Seeds
9. Duke (Second Round) 10. Michigan (Quarterfinals) 11. Auburn (Round of 16)  12. Oklahoma State (Runner-up)


2016 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Women's Team Championship, National Seeds
13. South Carolina (Second Round) 14. Virginia (Quarterfinals) 15. Stanford (National Champions)16. Texas Tech (Round of 16)


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game
The 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game was the final game of the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, played to determine the national champion for the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Connecticut Huskies (UConn) defeated the Syracuse Orange to win their fourth consecutive championship. Breanna Stewart was voted Most Outstanding Player for the fourth straight time. Head coach Geno Auriemma surpassed John Wooden's record winning 11 NCAA national championships.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game
This was the first Division I women's championship game to be played in quarters instead of halves, following an NCAA rule change for women's basketball only that took effect in the 2015–16 season.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, Participants
Going into the game, UConn and Syracuse had met 49 times in women's basketball, mostly when both teams were in the Big East Conference, with UConn winning 37 games. The last game between the two teams was in 2013, the final season before the three-way split of the Big East, when the Huskies won 64–51 in the Big East semifinals.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, Participants
Following that season, Syracuse and two other Big East schools left for the ACC; the seven schools that did not sponsor Division I FBS football left to form a new Big East Conference; and the remaining members of the original Big East, including UConn, reorganized as the American Athletic Conference.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
The 2016 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship Game was played on April 5, 2016, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Notable performances were by Breanna Stewart, voted four years in a row the Most Outstanding Player, forward Morgan Tuck and point guard Moriah Jefferson. Tuck scored 19 points, with 5 assists and 7 steals, while Jefferson had 13 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Syracuse shot only 35.5 percent from the floor, compared to Connecticut's 51.9 percent, and the Orange found themselves in a 50–23 hole at halftime. Syracuse scored 16 straight points to get within 60–43 with 2:02 left in the third quarter, but the Huskies went on a 22–8 run to end the game.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast
The Championship Game was broadcast in the United States by ESPN. Beth Mowins was calling the play-by-play, with Doris Burke providing color commentary and Holly Rowe on the court. Kevin Negandhi served as the studio host. Kara Lawson and Rebecca Lobo served as studio commentators. The game was seen by 2.97 million viewers.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, Broadcast
Radio coverage in the United States was provided by Westwood One.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament was played between March and April 2016, with the Final Four played April 3 & 5. The regional locations were four neutral sites: Bridgeport, Connecticut, Dallas, Lexington, Kentucky, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Final Four was played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Connecticut won their fourth consecutive national championship, defeating Syracuse 82–51.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
This was the last Women's Final Four to be played on the then Sunday/Tuesday schedule. Starting in 2017, the Final Four was changed to a Friday/Sunday schedule, which it used from its inception in 1982 through 1990, then again from 1996 through 2002. Tennessee continued its record streak of making every NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at 35 consecutive appearances. Connecticut also continued its record streak of nine consecutive Final Four appearances.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Tournament procedure
Pending any changes to the format, a total of 64 teams will enter the 2016 tournament. 32 automatic bids shall be awarded to each program that wins their conference's tournament. The remaining 36 bids are "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible[citation needed]. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc. (meaning where the two seeds add up to 17, that team will be assigned to play another).


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Tournament procedure
The basis for the subregionals returned to the approach used between 1982 and 2002; the top sixteen teams, as chosen in the bracket selection process, hosted the first two rounds on campus.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Tournament procedure
The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 64.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, 2016 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues
The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done in 2015.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, 2016 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues
This was the third time that Indianapolis hosted a Women's Final Four Basketball tournament; the prior times were in 2005 and 2011.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Princeton became the first Ivy League team to ever receive an at-large bid in either the Division I men's or women's tournament. Notably, this came in the last season in which the Ivy League did not hold a postseason tournament.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Tennessee received a #7 seed, the lowest in program history.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Kentucky had the chance to play all of its regional games in its home city. The subregional was held on the Kentucky campus at the women's primary home of Memorial Coliseum, and the regional was held at Rupp Arena, normally home to the Kentucky men's team but also an occasional home for the women's team, in downtown Lexington.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Five teams made their first-ever tournament appearance: Buffalo, Central Arkansas, Duquesne, Iona, and Jacksonville. Only Duquesne was an at-large entry; the others all won their conference tournaments.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notables
Upsets were the theme of the day on the first round of Sweet 16 play. In all four contests, the lower seated team knocked off the higher seeded team. Fourth-seeded Syracuse took out the number one seed in their region, South Carolina. Fourth-seeded Stanford defeated the number one seed in their region, Notre Dame. Seventh-seeded Washington played third-seeded Kentucky on their own (secondary) court and won the game — becoming the first team to win a true road game in the Sweet Sixteen round since North Carolina defeated Arizona State in 2005 — to move on to the Elite Eight. Seventh-seeded Tennessee defeated the third-seeded Ohio State. This left two four seeds and two seven seeds in the two regions playing on this day.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Subregionals Tournament & automatic qualifiers, Automatic qualifiers
The following teams automatically qualified for the 2016 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Final four
During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region plays the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region, and the champion of the second overall top seed's region plays the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Television
ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. For the first and second round, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN, ESPNU, or ESPNews. All other games aired regionally on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN3 and were streamed online via WatchESPN. Most of the nation got whip-a-round coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the game that has the closest score. The regional semifinals and national semifinals were split between ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN aired the regional finals and the national championship game.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Media coverage, Radio
Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament. Teams participating in the Regional Finals, Final Four, and Championship are allowed to have their own local broadcasts, but they aren't allowed to stream those broadcasts online.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 35th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The semifinal and championship rounds were played at Talen Energy Stadium (the home of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union) in Chester, Pennsylvania from May 27–29, 2016. All other rounds were played at campus sites, usually at the home field of the higher-seeded team, from May 13–22.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament field
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 26 teams were invited to participate. 13 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 13 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament field, Seeds
1. Maryland (19-0)2. Florida (18-1)3. North Carolina (16-2)4. Syracuse (17-5)5. USC (19-0)6. Notre Dame (13-6)7. Penn (13-4)8. Cornell (13-4)


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 2016 Women's College Cup) was the 35th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semi-finals and championship game were played at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California from December 2–4, 2016 while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country during November 2016.


2016 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 remains fixed at 64 teams. 28 teams received automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments, 3 teams received automatic bids by claiming the conference regular season crown (Ivy League, Pac-12 Conference, and West Coast Conference don't hold conference tournaments) and an additional 33 teams earned at-large bids based on their regular season records.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested March 16–19, 2016 at the 35th 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.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Georgia once again returned to the top of the team standings, finishing 19 points (414–395) ahead of Stanford. This was the Lady Bulldogs' seventh team title.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Lilly King of Indiana was awarded the 2016 CSCAA (College Swimming Coaches Association of America) Swimmer of the Year. King won the 100 and 200 breaststrokes in record breaking fashion, and was the first woman under 57 seconds in the 100 breast, and the first women to go under the 2:04 barrier in the 200 breaststroke. She helped the Hoosiers in the medley relay with monster splits of 56.74 and 26.05 to help Indiana to a 7th-place finish.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Georgia's Jack Bauerle was awarded the 2016 CSCAA Division 1 Women's Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Dawgs to a win over the favored Stanford Cardinal, and helped Olivia Smoliga and Brittany MacLean win individual titles.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 1, 2016 and concluded on December 17 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The tournament field was determined on November 27, 2016. Stanford defeated Texas 3 sets to 1 in the final to claim their seventh title, tying them with Penn State for most all-time.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Qualifying teams
The champions of the NCAA's 32 conferences qualified automatically, while the remaining 32 positions were filled with at-large selections. The Big Ten and Pac-12 led all conferences with eight teams each in the field, followed by the Big 12, which placed six teams.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Bracket
The first two rounds are held on campus sites (the home court of the seeded team). Regional semifinals and finals will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced after play concludes, on December 3.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Final four
National Semifinal and Championship were held at Nationwide Arena, in Columbus, Ohio on December 15 and 17 respectively. The national semifinal matches, originally scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2, were moved to ESPN.


2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Record by conference
The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, CM, and NC respectively stand for the Round of 32,Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, Championship Match, and National Champion.


2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships took place from March 17 to March 19 in New York City, New York at the Madison Square Garden. The tournament was the 86th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and featured seventy two teams across that level.


2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Penn State won their sixth title after their streak of four titles was broken by Ohio State in 2015. PSU's head coach Cael Sanderson was named NCAA Coach of the Year.


2016 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following human polls make up the 2016 NCAA Division I men's baseball rankings. The USAToday/ESPN Coaches Poll is voted on by a panel of 31 Division I baseball coaches. The Baseball America poll is voted on by staff members of the Baseball America magazine. These polls, along with the Perfect Game USA poll, rank the top 25 teams nationally. Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association rank the top 30 teams nationally.


2016 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
The Preseason poll ranked the top 40 teams in the nation. Teams not listed above are: 31. Dallas Baptist; 32. College of Charleston; 33. Coastal Carolina; 34. Missouri; 35. South Carolina; 36. San Diego State; 37. South Alabama; 38. Winthrop; 39 Texas Tech; 40. Texas.


2016 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, NCBWA
The Preseason poll ranked the top 35 teams in the nation. Teams not listed above are: 31. Dallas Baptist; 32. Kentucky; 33. Ole Miss; 34. College of Charleston; 35. Tulane.


2016 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 2016 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 in February 2016. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and 2016 College World Series. The College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held annually in Omaha, Nebraska at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, ended on June 30, 2016, with Coastal Carolina claiming its first NCAA title in a team sport.


2016 NCAA Division I baseball season, Conference standings, Conference winners and tournaments
Twenty-nine athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament or a double-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2016 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 2016 College World Series began on June 18 in Omaha, Nebraska.


2016 NCAA Division I baseball season, Coaching changes
This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2016 season until the day before the first day of the 2017 season.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season
The 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 58th season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The regular season began on August 26 and continued into the first weekend of November 2016. The season culminated with the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship in December 2016. There were 206 teams in men's Division I competition. The defending champions were Stanford who defeated Clemson 4–0  to win its first NCAA soccer title. The season concluded with Stanford defending its title by defeating Wake Forest 5–4 in a penalty kick shootout following a 0–0 double-overtime draw.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Changes from 2015, New programs
Chicago State was initially budgeted to finally start competition in the Western Athletic Conference this season. However, the ongoing State of Illinois budgetary crisis and the school's own critical financial problems have set this back once more.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Changes from 2015, New programs
Mount St. Mary's University announced that their soccer program, which has been dormant since the end of the 2012 season, will be reinstated for the 2018 season.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Changes from 2015, Video review
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved voluntary video review for the 2016 season. Video may be used to determine whether a goal has been scored, to identify players for disciplinary matters, and to determine whether a fight occurred and identify the participants.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Changes from 2015, Video review
Use of video review in both men's and women's soccer is strictly voluntary, with coaches for both teams agreeing to its use before the game. The home team is responsible for the equipment and for making review possible either at the scorer's table or at another ground-level location. As in other NCAA sports, the video review must display indisputable evidence for a call to be overturned.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Changes from 2015, Proposed Division I season change
After many months of extended unofficial discussion, on August 22, 2016, NCAA Division I men’s coaches and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) officially began an "informational campaign" to build support for a proposed change of the playing schedule for Division I men's soccer.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Changes from 2015, Proposed Division I season change
Under the proposed changes of the "Academic Year Season Model", the number of games on the Fall schedule and the number of mid-week games would be reduced, with games added in the Spring following a Winter break, and the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship tournament would be moved from November and December to May and June. In addition to more closely matching the professional season, the changes address issues of player health and safety and of the time demands on student-athletes. The proposal concerns only Division I men's soccer.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Changes from 2015, Proposed Division I season change
While a large majority of men's coaches and players support the changes, only a small minority of women's coaches and players currently do so. At this time, there is only the "informational campaign" "...to educate our Athletic Directors, NCAA leadership, student athletes, coaches and fans on the advantages of this Academic Year Model,” said Sasho Cirovski, NSCAA D1 Men’s committee chair and University of Maryland head coach. No formal proposal has been made to the NCAA, and once proposed, could not come into effect any earlier than the 2017-18 academic year.


2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Regular season, Major upsets
In this list, a "major upset" is defined as a game won by a team ranked 10 or more spots lower or an unranked team that defeats a team ranked #15 or higher.


2016 NCAA Division I softball season
The 2016 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 2016. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 2016 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held annually in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended in June 2016.


2016 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 2016 Women's College World Series began on June 2–8 in Oklahoma City.


2016 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I single game intentional walks:5 – Darian Tautalafua, Long Beach State 49ers; May 8, 2016


2016 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I single game total bases:17 – Carli Kayler, Troy Trojans; March 19, 2016


2016 NCAA Division I women's gymnastics season
The 2016 NCAA Division I women's gymnastics season took place between January 2 and April 17, 2016.


2016 NCAA Division I women's gymnastics season, Rule changes
The only rule change for the 2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics season, which was enforced for both Division II and III, was the devaluation of the start value for the popular full-twisting yurchenko vault from a Perfect 10 to 9.950.


2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings
Four polls make up the 2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings, the NSCAA Coaches Poll, the Soccer America Poll, the Top Drawer Soccer Poll, and the Hero Sports soccer poll. They represent the ranking system for the 2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer season.


2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer season
The 2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer season was the 35th season of NCAA championship women's college soccer. The Penn State Nittany Lions were the defending national champions.


2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer season, Season overview, Polls, Final polls
Note: Soccer America released its final poll on November 7, 2016, before the NCAA Tournament


2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer season, Season overview, Major upsets
Games won by a team ranked 10 or more spots lower or an unranked squad that defeats a team ranked #15 or higher are considered "major upsets". Only NSCAA rankings are used for this list.


2016 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament
The2016 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament decided the champion of baseball in NCAA Division II for the 2016 season. the Nova Southeastern Sharks won their first national championship, beating the Millersville Marauders, both teams in their first College World Series. Nova Southeastern coach Greg Brown won his first title with the team, while NSU outfielder Kevin Suarez was named Tournament MOP.


2016 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament, College World Series, Results, Bracket
Hosted by Mount Olive and Town of Cary at USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, NC.


2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship is the 28th women's collegiate field hockey tournament to determine the top NCAA Division II college field hockey team in the United States. The semifinals and championship match will be played at W.B. Mason Stadium at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts from November 18 to 20, 2016.


2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship
Shippensburg defeated LIU Post, 2–0, in the final, the Raiders' second national title.


2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game
The 2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in NCAA Division II for the 2016 season. It was played at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, on December 17, 2016, with kickoff at 4:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. local CST), and television coverage on ESPN2.


2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the 2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2016 Division II Playoffs, which began with four 7-team brackets to determine super region champions, who then qualified for the national semifinals. The game featured the winners of those national semifinal games: No. 3 seed North Alabama and No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri State. This was the third meeting between the two teams; entering the game, Northwest Missouri State led the series 2–0. This was the Bearcats' tenth championship game appearance, having won 5, while the Lions were making their fifth appearance, having won 3. Additionally, the Bearcats entered the game as the defending national champions and were seeking to extend their streak to having won 3 of the last 4 national titles.


2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game, Teams, National semifinals
Super region champions were seeded 1 to 4 for the national semifinals.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball. It began in March 2016, following the 2015–16 season, and concluded with the championship game on March 26, 2016.