College basketball builds its reputation on powerhouse programs, legendary coaches and championship banners. Some of its most enduring memories belong to the teams that interrupted those traditions.

A small school takes down the nation’s best. A tournament afterthought survives long enough to cut down the nets. A No. 16 seed turns a supposedly routine opening game into a permanent place in history.

These victories do more than wreck brackets. They reveal how much can change when preparation, talent and opportunity meet in a single game. From Texas Western’s landmark championship to Fairleigh Dickinson’s stunning defeat of Purdue, the history of the upset is central to the history of college basketball.

In 1966, Texas Western delivered a championship victory whose significance reached far beyond the scoreboard. Coach Don Haskins started five Black players against Adolph Rupp’s all-white Kentucky team, and the Miners won 72–65 on March 19. It was the first NCAA men’s championship won with an all-Black starting lineup.

Texas Western, now UTEP, was an outstanding team in its own right. The Miners were ranked third nationally and finished 28–1. Kentucky entered as the nation’s top-ranked team, but Haskins’ players had already earned their place among the best. Their victory gave Black athletic excellence a defining national stage during the civil rights era. Remembering them only as underdogs understates both their ability and their achievement.

Sixteen years later, a regular-season game in Honolulu produced a different kind of shock. On December 23, 1982, Chaminade defeated No. 1 Virginia 77–72. The Silverswords competed in the NAIA; the Cavaliers featured 7-foot-4 star Ralph Sampson. Coach Merv Lopes’ team overcame that enormous difference in stature and resources to claim a victory that remains a benchmark for improbable results.

Chaminade’s win belongs in any history of college basketball upsets, even though it happened outside the NCAA tournament. March Madness would soon supply its own unforgettable finish.

In the 1983 championship game, sixth-seeded NC State faced top-seeded Houston and its celebrated Phi Slama Jama team, featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. With the score tied at 52, Dereck Whittenburg launched a desperate long-range attempt. Lorenzo Charles caught the short shot and dunked it for a 54–52 victory. Jim Valvano’s search for someone to hug became inseparable from the memory of the play.

The Cardiac Pack gave the tournament an enduring image: a championship decided by an underdog’s readiness to seize the final opportunity.

Two years later, eighth-seeded Villanova defeated top-seeded Georgetown 66–64 in the 1985 title game. Against Patrick Ewing and the defending champions, the Wildcats made 22 of 28 field-goal attempts, shooting 78.6 percent. Rollie Massimino’s team turned extraordinary shooting and composure into one of the sport’s signature championship performances.

Those championship victories showed how far an underdog could travel. The opening rounds would expose another vulnerability: even the highest seeds could be sent home immediately.

Richmond broke through in 1991 as the first No. 15 seed to defeat a No. 2 seed in the men’s tournament, beating Syracuse 73–69. That victory established a possibility later generations would expand. By Princeton’s win over Arizona in 2023, the men’s tournament had recorded 11 such upsets.

The more dramatic seed barrier first fell in the women’s tournament.

On March 14, 1998, No. 16 Harvard defeated No. 1 Stanford 71–67, becoming the first 16 seed to beat a top seed in either NCAA Division I tournament. Allison Feaster led the Crimson with 35 points and 13 rebounds.

Stanford was missing injured standouts Kristin Folkl and Vanessa Nygaard, a significant part of the game’s context. Harvard still had to deliver on Stanford’s home floor. Feaster’s performance and the Crimson’s late execution made the opportunity count. The first chapter of the 16-over-1 story belongs to Harvard and women’s basketball.

In 2012, two No. 15 seeds won on the same day. Norfolk State defeated Missouri 86–84 behind Kyle O’Quinn’s 26 points and 14 rebounds. Lehigh followed with a 75–70 victory over Duke, powered by 30 points from future NBA guard CJ McCollum. Both games demonstrated how dangerous a lower-seeded team could become when its best player commanded the biggest stage.

Florida Gulf Coast brought a different energy in 2013. The Eagles defeated Georgetown 78–68, then beat San Diego State to become the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16. Their soaring dunks and fearless style gave the country Dunk City, a Cinderella remembered for the joy of its basketball as much as its results.

Then came the night the men’s tournament finally saw a No. 1 seed lose to a No. 16.

On March 16, 2018, UMBC defeated Virginia 74–54. The Cavaliers entered as the tournament’s top overall seed. After a 21–21 first half, the Retrievers outscored them 53–33 in the second. Jairus Lyles finished with 28 points. UMBC broke the barrier with a 20-point victory, leaving little room to dismiss the result as a lucky finish.

Saint Peter’s extended the ambitions of another overlooked seed in 2022. The No. 15 Peacocks defeated No. 2 Kentucky 85–79 in overtime, then beat Murray State and Purdue to become the first 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight. Their run showed that an opening-round upset could be the beginning of a much larger achievement.

New Jersey supplied two more historic victories in 2023. Princeton defeated Arizona 59–55, scoring the final nine points and holding the Wildcats scoreless over the last 4:43.

Fairleigh Dickinson followed by defeating Purdue 63–58, becoming the second No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 in the men’s tournament. FDU had received the Northeast Conference’s automatic bid despite losing the conference final because champion Merrimack remained ineligible during its transition to Division I.

Under Tobin Anderson, the Knights made their chance count. Sean Moore scored 19 points, and FDU’s defense helped disrupt Purdue’s offense in the closing stretch. Zach Edey still produced 21 points and 15 rebounds. The achievement was overcoming a dominant center and his team through collective effort and timely execution.

Across these decades, the circumstances differed. Texas Western’s championship carried profound social significance. Chaminade challenged the distance between divisions. Harvard and UMBC broke seed barriers. NC State and Villanova finished their journeys with national titles.

What connects them is the lasting consequence of one performance. A school’s name becomes familiar. A player’s effort becomes part of tournament lore. A result changes what the next underdog believes is possible.

That is why college basketball keeps returning to these games. The giants establish the standard. The teams that beat them help write the history.