1969 NCAA College Division basketball tournament
The 1969 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division college basketball as a culmination of the 1968–69 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Kentucky Wesleyan College, with Kentucky Wesleyan's George Tinsley named the Most Outstanding Player.

| Teams | 32 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Evansville, Indiana | ||||
| Champions | Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (3rd title) | ||||
| Runner-up | SW Missouri State Bears (3rd title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Bob Daniels (2nd title) | ||||
| MOP | George Tinsley (Kentucky Wesleyan) | ||||
| Attendance | 30,003 | ||||
| |||||
American International College's tournament and semifinal appearances were later vacated due to NCAA rules violations.
Regional participants
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Mount St. Mary's | Runner-up | |
| Norfolk State | Third Place | |
| Oglethorpe | Regional Champion | |
| Old Dominion | Fourth Place | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Alcorn State | Runner-up | |
| Bellarmine | Fourth Place | |
| Kentucky Wesleyan | Regional Champion | |
| Transylvania | Third Place | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco State | Regional Champion | |
| UC Davis | Fourth Place | |
| UC Irvine | Third Place | |
| UNLV | Runner-up | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| American International* | Regional Champion | |
| Assumption | Third Place | |
| Central Connecticut State | Fourth Place | |
| Springfield | Runner-up | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Albany | Third Place | |
| Le Moyne | Fourth Place | |
| Montclair State | Regional Champion | |
| Wagner | Runner-up | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln (MO) | Third Place | |
| South Dakota State | Runner-up | |
| SW Missouri State | Regional Champion | |
| St. Olaf | Fourth Place | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Concordia (IL) | Fourth Place | |
| Illinois State | Regional Champion | |
| North Park | Third Place | |
| Valparaiso | Runner-up | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Ashland | Regional Champion | |
| Cheyney | Runner-up | |
| Philadelphia Textile | Third Place | |
| Wittenberg | Fourth Place | |
*tournament appearance vacated
Regionals
South Atlantic - Norfolk, Virginia
Location: unknown Host: Norfolk State University
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| Oglethorpe | 68 | ||||||||
| Old Dominion | 60 | ||||||||
| Oglethorpe | 74 | ||||||||
| Mount St. Mary's | 56 | ||||||||
| Mount St. Mary's | 95 | ||||||||
| Norfolk State | 80 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Norfolk State 113, Old Dominion 102
South - Owensboro, Kentucky
Location: Owensboro Sportscenter Host: Kentucky Wesleyan College
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| Alcorn State | 76 | ||||||||
| Bellarmine | 75 | ||||||||
| Alcorn State | 79 | ||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 83 | ||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 77 | ||||||||
| Transylvania | 61 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Transylvania 65, Bellarmine 64
Far West - Las Vegas, Nevada
Location: Las Vegas Convention Center Host: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| San Francisco State | 81 | ||||||||
| UC Irvine | 55 | ||||||||
| San Francisco State | 77 | ||||||||
| UNLV | 72 | ||||||||
| UNLV | 84 | ||||||||
| UC Davis | 81 | ||||||||
- Third Place -UC Irvine 82, UC Davis 70
New England - Springfield, Massachusetts
Location: Butova Gymnasium Host: American International College
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| Springfield | 91 | ||||||||
| Central Connecticut State | 80 | ||||||||
| Springfield | 68 | ||||||||
| 91 | |||||||||
| 79 | |||||||||
| Assumption | 77 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Assumption 98, Central Connecticut State 77
East - Syracuse, New York
Location: Henninger Athletic Center Host: LeMoyne College
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| Wagner | 109 | ||||||||
| Albany | 64 | ||||||||
| Wagner | 78 | ||||||||
| Montclair State | 101 | ||||||||
| Montclair State | 79 | ||||||||
| Le Moyne | 75 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Albany 71, Le Moyne 70
Midwest - Springfield, Missouri
Location: McDonald Hall and Arena Host: Southwest Missouri State University
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| South Dakota State | 79 | ||||||||
| Lincoln (MO) | 77 | ||||||||
| South Dakota State | 74 | ||||||||
| SW Missouri State | 87 | ||||||||
| SW Missouri State | 75 | ||||||||
| St. Olaf | 47 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Lincoln 77, St. Olaf 72
Great Lakes - Valparaiso, Indiana
Location: Hilltop Gym [1] Host: Valparaiso University
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| Illinois State | 87 | ||||||||
| North Park | 82 | ||||||||
| Illinois State | 103 | ||||||||
| Valparaiso | 87 | ||||||||
| Valparaiso | 91 | ||||||||
| Concordia (IL) | 81 | ||||||||
- Third Place - North Park 90, Concordia 73
Mideast - Ashland, Ohio
Location: Kates Gymnasium Host: Ashland University
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 8 | ||||||||
| Cheyney | 84 | ||||||||
| Wittenberg | 70 | ||||||||
| Cheyney | 56 | ||||||||
| Ashland | 66 | ||||||||
| Ashland | 43 | ||||||||
| Philadelphia Textile | 40 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Philadelphia Textile 76, Wittenberg 74
*denotes each overtime played
National Finals - Evansville, Indiana
Location: Roberts Municipal Stadium Host: University of Evansville
| National Quarterfinals Elite Eight March 12 | National semifinals Final Four March 13 | National Championship March 14 | ||||||||||||
| Oglethorpe | 68 | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 82 | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 83* | |||||||||||||
| 82 | ||||||||||||||
| San Francisco State | 75 | |||||||||||||
| 80 | ||||||||||||||
| Kentucky Weslayan | 75 | |||||||||||||
| SW Missouri State | 71 | |||||||||||||
| Montcair State | 76 | |||||||||||||
| SW Missouri State | 92 | |||||||||||||
| SW Missouri State | 58 | |||||||||||||
| Ashland | 48 | |||||||||||||
| Illinois State | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Ashland | 41 | |||||||||||||
- Third Place - American International 53, Ashland 51
*denotes each overtime played
All-Tournament team
- Mert Bancroft (Southwest Missouri State)
- Tommy Hobgood (Kentucky Wesleyan)
- Curtis Perry (Southwest Missouri State)
- Bob Rutherford (American International)
- George Tinsley (Kentucky Wesleyan)
References
- Kretchmar, Dick (March 10, 1969). "Crusaders Lose To Redbitds In NCAA Finals". Valparaiso Vidette Messenger.