You know the names. Duke. Kentucky. North Carolina. Kansas. UCLA. Indiana.
These are the (generally accepted) "blue blood" programs in college basketball, an arguably ill-defined adjective that has achieved a relative consensus in its meaning and application.
They're the historical "who's who" of the sport that have experienced sustained and consistent success at the highest level, elevating them to a class of their own, where the plurality of national championships won, NBA players produced and the power of their respective brands are necessary for entry past the velvet rope and into college basketball's most exclusive club.
But when does a program's membership to this elite group expire? Is that even possible? At what point does present and recent mediocrity overshadow and outweigh the increasingly dusty history books that detail past accomplishments?
These questions lead to Bloomington, Ind., the home of the Hoosiers, who haven't been to a Final Four in 15 years and haven't won a national championship in three decades. Of the six aforementioned blue bloods, Indiana is suffering from the longest dry spell.
Since the Bob Knight-led Hoosiers cut down the nets in 1987, Duke (five - 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015), Kansas (two - 1988, 2008), Kentucky (three - 1996, 1998, 2012), North Carolina (three - 1993, 2005, 2009) and UCLA (one - 1995) have won a combined 14 national championships. Indiana's last Final Four appearance was in 2002, when the No. 5-seeded Hoosiers fell to Maryland in the national championship game under then-head coach Mike Davis. Duke (three), Kansas (three), Kentucky (four), North Carolina (four) and UCLA (three) have since advanced to the Final Four 17 times in 14 seasons.
Admittedly, the stagnation and metaphorical treading of water by a program does not erase its successful past, especially when the change in a program's status -- positively or negatively -- in the national college basketball landscape doesn't happen overnight, but it can force fans, commentators and scribes of the sport to re-evaluate where a program falls in the sport's hierarchy.
For an Indiana program that boasts the last undefeated, national championship season in college basketball, along with four other national championships, the Hoosiers haven't shed the "blue blood" label due to their Final Four and championship droughts. But what happens when the vast majority of Indiana fans, and general college basketball fans, wasn't alive to witness the Hoosiers' last national title in '87, rather having grown up being told that Indiana was part of an elite class despite having a significantly weaker resume in recent years than its blue blood peers.
Of course, it only takes one season, one tournament run -- hell, four consecutive wins in March to make a Final Four -- for any widespread notion of Indiana's decline as a program to go out the window. In the 2001-02 season, the Hoosiers started the season 7-5 after a brutally tough non-conference schedule and they were coached by Mike Davis, who was in his second year at the helm of the program and recently admitted that he "wasn't prepared" for the job. Indiana earned a No. 5 seed and defeated No. 1, 2, 10, 12 and 13 seeds en route to the title game.
Indiana could certainly catch lightning in a bottle again, erasing this whole conversation, but it's dangerous to the perception of the program when in just a few years, the Hoosiers will start recruiting players who weren't alive during the program's last Final Four appearance.
These are the (generally accepted) "blue blood" programs in college basketball, an arguably ill-defined adjective that has achieved a relative consensus in its meaning and application.
They're the historical "who's who" of the sport that have experienced sustained and consistent success at the highest level, elevating them to a class of their own, where the plurality of national championships won, NBA players produced and the power of their respective brands are necessary for entry past the velvet rope and into college basketball's most exclusive club.
But when does a program's membership to this elite group expire? Is that even possible? At what point does present and recent mediocrity overshadow and outweigh the increasingly dusty history books that detail past accomplishments?
These questions lead to Bloomington, Ind., the home of the Hoosiers, who haven't been to a Final Four in 15 years and haven't won a national championship in three decades. Of the six aforementioned blue bloods, Indiana is suffering from the longest dry spell.
Since the Bob Knight-led Hoosiers cut down the nets in 1987, Duke (five - 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015), Kansas (two - 1988, 2008), Kentucky (three - 1996, 1998, 2012), North Carolina (three - 1993, 2005, 2009) and UCLA (one - 1995) have won a combined 14 national championships. Indiana's last Final Four appearance was in 2002, when the No. 5-seeded Hoosiers fell to Maryland in the national championship game under then-head coach Mike Davis. Duke (three), Kansas (three), Kentucky (four), North Carolina (four) and UCLA (three) have since advanced to the Final Four 17 times in 14 seasons.
Admittedly, the stagnation and metaphorical treading of water by a program does not erase its successful past, especially when the change in a program's status -- positively or negatively -- in the national college basketball landscape doesn't happen overnight, but it can force fans, commentators and scribes of the sport to re-evaluate where a program falls in the sport's hierarchy.
For an Indiana program that boasts the last undefeated, national championship season in college basketball, along with four other national championships, the Hoosiers haven't shed the "blue blood" label due to their Final Four and championship droughts. But what happens when the vast majority of Indiana fans, and general college basketball fans, wasn't alive to witness the Hoosiers' last national title in '87, rather having grown up being told that Indiana was part of an elite class despite having a significantly weaker resume in recent years than its blue blood peers.
Of course, it only takes one season, one tournament run -- hell, four consecutive wins in March to make a Final Four -- for any widespread notion of Indiana's decline as a program to go out the window. In the 2001-02 season, the Hoosiers started the season 7-5 after a brutally tough non-conference schedule and they were coached by Mike Davis, who was in his second year at the helm of the program and recently admitted that he "wasn't prepared" for the job. Indiana earned a No. 5 seed and defeated No. 1, 2, 10, 12 and 13 seeds en route to the title game.
Indiana could certainly catch lightning in a bottle again, erasing this whole conversation, but it's dangerous to the perception of the program when in just a few years, the Hoosiers will start recruiting players who weren't alive during the program's last Final Four appearance.