Printable PDF
1990
Each person entering the general public random computerized ticket drawing was limited to purchasing two Final Four tickets.
The basketball committee defined "home court" as an arena in which a team has played no more than 50 percent of its regular-season schedule, excluding conference tournament games.
The NCAA Executive Committee approved the "play-in" concept to identify the 30 automatic qualifying conferences in December, 1989. The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) was computed for the nonconference schedules of all eligible conferences, with those with the lowest ranking competing for the available automatic-qualifying positions. The "play-in" was implemented in 1991 with 33 eligible conferences. Six conference representatives played for three automaticqualifying berths in the 64-team bracket.
1991
CBS Sports began a new seven-year contract for $1 billion, which included live coverage of all sessions of the championship through 1997. The agreement was signed November 22, 1989.
The NCAA began a new system for distributing championship revenue to the membership. The system was based upon sports sponsorship, grants-in-aid, and basketball performance, and also included funding for academic enhancement and special assistance to student-athletes. The basketball fund was based each conference’s performance over a rolling six-year period.
The definition of "home court" was amended to be a facility in which a team plays more than three games during the regular season, excluding conference tournaments.
1992
Duke University won its second consecutive national championship, becoming the first team to defend its title since UCLA in 1973.
1993
The minimum facility seating capacity for first and second rounds and regionals was established at 12,000.
The basketball committee selected San Antonio, St. Petersburg, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Atlanta to host the Final Four in 1998 thru 2002.
1994
President Bill Clinton became the first sitting president to attend the tournament, when he was present at the Midwest Regional championship game in Dallas and the national semifinals and final in Charlotte.
The use of combined shot clocks/game clocks was required at all sites.
The committee agreed to attempt to assign the top four seeds in each region away from a site that may create a “home-crowd advantage” for their opponents. The committee recognized that it may be necessary to move lower-seeded teams from their natural regions in order to accomplish this.
The weighting of the three factors comprising the ratings percentage index (RPI), Division I winning percentage, opponents' winning percentage and opponents' opponents’ winning percentage, was adjusted from 20-40-20 to 25-50-25. Also a second RPI, adjusted based upon a team's good wins, bad losses and non-conference scheduling, was provided.
1995
The existing CBS Sports contract was replaced with a new agreement for $1.725 billion extending for five years through the 2002 championship.
1996
The NCAA created the first on-line computer page for the Final Four.
Pool reporters were permitted to interview game officials after games under specified conditions.
Participating institutions’ seating locations were moved closer to midcourt and nearer to the playing floor.
1997
Bracketing policies were changed so that, once the highest-seeded team from a conference was assigned to a region, only the eighth team selected from that conference could be placed in that region.
The NCAA's on-line computer page was expanded to include preliminary rounds.
1998
Bracketing policies were changed so that competition at all three sites within each particular region would be conducted on the same days of the week and tournament hosts' teams would be permitted to play on the days they are hosting.
The name of the Southeast Region was changed to the South Region.
The basketball committee continued selecting Final Four host facilities with a minimum seating capacity of 30,000 when it picked New Orleans, San Antonio, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Atlanta to host in 2003-2007.
Effective 1999, bracketing policies were changed so that, once the highest-seeded team from a conference is assigned to a region, no other team from that conference could be assigned to the same region until the sixth team was chosen from the conference.
1999
The basketball committee extended the Final Four signs-covering policy to preliminary-round sites, effective 2002.
On November 18, the NCAA and CBS agreed to a new 11-year agreement, commencing with the 2003 championship. The agreement, for a minimum of $6 billion, included rights to television (over-the-air, cable, satellite, digital and home video), marketing, game programs, radio, Internet, fan festivals and licensing (excluding concessionaire agreements).
In its continuing effort to combat the effects of gambling, the committee began conducting background checks on game officials. The NCAA checked 50 officials randomly selected from among the 96 who worked the previous year's tournament.