1996 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 1996 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament took place from March 15–31, 1996. The Final Four consisted of Connecticut, Georgia, Stanford, and Tennessee. Tennessee defeated Georgia 83–65 in the championship game.[1]

1996 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament
Teams64
Finals siteCharlotte Coliseum
Charlotte, North Carolina
ChampionsTennessee Volunteers (4th title, 6th title game,
9th Final Four)
Runner-upGeorgia Bulldogs (2nd title game,
4th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachPat Summitt (4th title)
MOPMichelle Marciniak (Tennessee)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments
«1995 1997»

Tournament records

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  • Three-point field goal percentage – Nykesha Sales, Connecticut, hit four of five three-point field goal attempts(80%) in the semi-final game against Tennessee, tying a record for three-point field goal percentage in a Final Four game, held by four other players.
  • Three-point field goal percentage – Abby Conklin, Tennessee hit four of five three-point field goal attempts(80%) in the championship game against Georgia, tying a record for three-point field goal percentage in a Final Four game, held by four other players.
  • Three-point field goals – Harvard hit 16 three-point field goals in a Mideast first-round game, setting the record for most three-point field goals in an NCAA tournament game, subsequently tied by two other teams.[2]

Qualifying teams – automatic

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Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid.[2]

Automatic Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season
Conference Seed
Appalachian State University Southern Conference 24–5 14–0 13
Austin Peay State University Ohio Valley Conference 21–7 13–3 14
Butler University Midwestern Collegiate 21–8 13–3 15
Clemson University ACC 22–7 9–7 3
University of Colorado at Boulder Big Eight 25–8 9–5 3
Colorado State University WAC 25–4 12–2 8
University of Connecticut Big East 30–3 17–1 1
The George Washington University Atlantic 10 25–6 14–2 6
Grambling State University SWAC 21–6 13–1 16
Harvard University Ivy League 20–6 13–1 14
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Big West Conference 23–5 15–3 11
College of the Holy Cross Patriot League 23–9 9–3 15
Howard University MEAC 20–9 13–3 16
Louisiana Tech University Sun Belt Conference 28–1 14–0 1
University of Maine North Atlantic Conference 27–4 18–0 11
Manhattan College MAAC 19–10 11–3 14
University of Memphis Conference USA 20–10 10–4 8
Missouri State University Missouri Valley Conference 25–4 16–2 12
University of Montana Big Sky Conference 24–4 13–1 12
Old Dominion University Colonial 27–2 16–0 2
Pennsylvania State University Big Ten 25–6 13–3 2
Radford University Big South Conference 17–11 10–4 16
University of San Francisco West Coast Conference 22–7 12–2 12
St. Francis (PA) Northeast Conference 19–10 13–5 15
Stanford University Pac-10 25–2 18–0 1
Stephen F. Austin State University Southland 25–3 18–0 11
University of Tennessee SEC 26–4 9–2 1
Texas A&M University Southwest 20–11 8–6 7
University of Toledo MAC 24–5 15–3 10
University of Central Florida Trans America 15–13 7–8 16
Youngstown State University Mid-Continent 20–8 14–4 15

Qualifying teams – at-large

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Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.[2]

At-large Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season
Conference Seed
University of Alabama Southeastern 22–7 7–4 4
Auburn University Southeastern 20–8 6–5 6
DePaul University Conference USA 20–9 13–1 7
Duke University Atlantic Coast 25–6 12–4 4
University of Florida Southeastern 21–8 6–5 5
University of Georgia Southeastern 23–4 10–1 2
University of Iowa Big Ten 25–3 15–1 2
James Madison University Colonial 21–8 12–4 13
University of Kansas Big Eight 20–9 11–3 4
Kent State University Mid-American 23–6 16–2 10
University of Massachusetts Atlantic 10 20–9 11–5 8
Michigan State University Big Ten 17–10 9–7 9
Middle Tennessee State University Ohio Valley 24–5 13–3 13
University of Mississippi Southeastern 18–10 6–5 7
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Big Eight 19–9 8–6 9
North Carolina State University Atlantic Coast 19–9 10–6 5
University of Notre Dame Big East 22–7 15–3 12
Ohio State University Big Ten 20–12 8–8 9
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Big Eight 19–9 8–6 7
University of Oregon Pacific-10 18–10 10–8 11
Oregon State University Pacific-10 19–10 11–7 6
University of Portland West Coast 23–6 12–2 13
Purdue University Big Ten 20–10 11–5 5
University of Rhode Island Atlantic 10 21–7 13–3 10
Southern Methodist University Southwest 19–10 9–5 10
University of Southern Mississippi Conference USA 21–7 11–3 9
University of Texas at Austin Southwest 20–8 13–1 5
Texas Tech University Southwest 25–4 13–1 4
Tulane University Conference USA 21–9 9–5 14
University of Utah Western Athletic 21–7 12–2 8
Vanderbilt University Southeastern 20–7 7–4 3
University of Virginia Atlantic Coast 23–6 13–3 3
University of Wisconsin–Madison Big Ten 21–7 12–4 6

Bids by conference

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Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In seventeen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from fourteen of the conferences.[2]

Bids Conference Teams
7 Southeastern Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt
6 Big Ten Penn St., Iowa, Michigan St., Ohio St., Purdue, Wisconsin
4 Atlantic Coast Clemson, Duke, North Carolina St., Virginia
4 Big Eight Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma St.
4 Conference USA Memphis, DePaul, Southern Miss., Tulane
4 Southwest Texas A&M, SMU, Texas, Texas Tech
3 Atlantic 10 George Washington, Massachusetts, Rhode Island
3 Pacific-10 Stanford, Oregon, Oregon St.
2 Big East Connecticut, Notre Dame
2 Colonial Old Dominion, James Madison
2 Mid-American Toledo, Kent St.
2 Ohio Valley Austin Peay, Middle Tenn.
2 West Coast San Francisco, Portland
2 Western Athletic Colorado St., Utah
1 Big Sky Montana
1 Big South Radford
1 Big West Hawaii
1 Ivy Harvard
1 Metro Atlantic Manhattan
1 Mid-Continent Youngstown St.
1 Mid-Eastern Howard
1 Midwestern Collegiate Butler
1 Missouri Valley Missouri St.
1 North Atlantic Maine
1 Northeast St. Francis (PA)
1 Patriot Holy Cross
1 Southern Appalachian St.
1 Southland Stephen F. Austin
1 Southwestern Grambling State
1 Sun Belt Louisiana Tech
1 Trans-America UCF

First and second rounds

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Norfolk
 
Charlottesville
 
Knoxville
 
Lawrence
 
Iowa City
 
Storrs
 
Nashville
 
Durham
 
Athens
 
Ruston
 
Clemson
 
Lubbock
 
University Park
 
Boulder
 
Stanford
 
Tuscaloosa
1996 NCAA NCAA first and second round venues

In 1996, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first-round game. In all cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity.[3]

The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:

Region Rnd Host Venue City State
East 1&2 Old Dominion University Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Norfolk Virginia
East 1&2 University of Virginia University Hall (University of Virginia) Charlottesville Virginia
East 1&2 University of Tennessee Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville Tennessee
East 1&2 University of Kansas Allen Field House Lawrence Kansas
Mideast 1&2 University of Iowa Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City Iowa
Mideast 1&2 University of Connecticut Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs Connecticut
Mideast 1&2 Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt University) Nashville Tennessee
Mideast 1&2 Duke University Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham North Carolina
Midwest 1&2 University of Georgia Georgia Coliseum (Stegeman Coliseum) Athens Georgia
Midwest 1&2 Louisiana Tech University Thomas Assembly Center Ruston Louisiana
Midwest 1&2 Clemson University Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson South Carolina
Midwest 1&2 Texas Tech University Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock Texas
West 1&2 Pennsylvania State University Recreation Building (Rec Hall) University Park Pennsylvania
West 1&2 University of Colorado CU Events Center (Coors Events Center) Boulder Colorado
West 1&2 Stanford University Maples Pavilion Stanford California
West 1&2 University of Alabama Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa Alabama

Regionals and Final Four

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Charlottesville
 
Nacogdoches
 
Seattle
 
Rosemont
 
Charlotte
1996 NCAA regionals and Final Four

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 23 to March 25 at these sites:

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held on March 29 and March 31 in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Charlotte Coliseum, (co-hosted by Davidson College and UNC Charlotte).

Bids by state

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The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states, plus Washington, D.C. Texas and Tennessee had the most teams with five bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.[2]

 
NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 1996
Bids State Teams
5 Tennessee Austin Peay, Memphis, Tennessee, Middle Tenn., Vanderbilt
5 Texas Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M, SMU, Texas, Texas Tech
4 Ohio Toledo, Youngstown St., Kent St., Ohio St.
4 Virginia Old Dominion, Radford, James Madison, Virginia
3 Indiana Butler, Notre Dame, Purdue
3 Louisiana Grambling State, Louisiana Tech, Tulane
3 Massachusetts Harvard, Holy Cross, Massachusetts
3 North Carolina Appalachian St., Duke, North Carolina St.
3 Oregon Oregon, Oregon St., Portland
2 Alabama Alabama, Auburn
2 California San Francisco, Stanford
2 Colorado Colorado, Colorado St.
2 District of Columbia George Washington, Howard
2 Florida UCF, Florida
2 Mississippi Ole Miss, Southern Miss.
1 New York Manhattan
1 Connecticut Connecticut
1 Georgia Georgia
1 Hawaii Hawaii
1 Illinois DePaul
1 Iowa Iowa
1 Kansas Kansas
1 Maine Maine
1 Michigan Michigan St.
1 Missouri Missouri St.
1 Montana Montana
1 Nebraska Nebraska
1 Oklahoma Oklahoma St.
2 Pennsylvania Penn St., St Francis
1 Rhode Island Rhode Island
1 South Carolina Clemson
1 Utah Utah
1 Wisconsin Wisconsin

Brackets

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East Region

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First round
March 15 and 16
Second round
March 17 and 18
Regional semifinals
March 23

University Hall

Charlottesville, VA

Regional finals
March 25

University Hall

Charlottesville, VA

            
1 Tennessee 97
16 Radford 56
1 Tennessee 97
Knoxville, TN
9 Ohio State 65
8 Memphis 75
9 Ohio State 97
1 Tennessee 92
4 Kansas 71
5 Texas 73
12 SW Missouri St. 55
5 Texas 70
Lawrence, KS
4 Kansas 77
4 Kansas 72
13 Middle Tennessee State 57
1 Tennessee 52
3 Virginia 46
6 George Washington 83
11 Maine 67
6 George Washington 43
Charlottesville, VA
3 Virginia 62
3 Virginia 100
14 Manhattan 55
3 Virginia 72
2 Old Dominion 60
7 Ole Miss 53
10 Toledo 65
10 Toledo 66
Norfolk, VA
2 Old Dominion 72
2 Old Dominion 83
15 Holy Cross 56

Mideast Region

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First round
March 15 and 16
Second round
March 17 and 18
Regional semifinals
March 23

Allstate Arena

Rosemont, IL

Regional finals
March 25

Allstate Arena

Rosemont, IL

            
1 Connecticut 94
16 Howard 63
1 Connecticut 88
Storrs, CT
9 Michigan State 68
8 Massachusetts 57
9 Michigan State 60
1 Connecticut 72
12 San Francisco 44
5 Florida 61
12 San Francisco 68
12 San Francisco 64
Durham, NC
4 Duke 60
4 Duke 85
13 James Madison 53
1 Connecticut 67
3 Vanderbilt 57
6 Wisconsin 74
11 Oregon 60
6 Wisconsin 82
Nashville, TN
3 Vanderbilt 96
3 Vanderbilt 100
14 Harvard 83
3 Vanderbilt 74
2 Iowa 63
7 DePaul 96
10 SMU 82
7 DePaul 71
Iowa City, IA
2 Iowa 72
2 Iowa 72
15 Butler 67

Midwest Region

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First round
March 15 and 16
Second round
March 17 and 18
Regional semifinals
March 23

William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches, Texas

Regional finals
March 25

William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches, Texas

            
1 Louisiana Tech 98
16 Central Florida 41
1 Louisiana Tech 84
Ruston, LA
9 Southern Mississippi 46
8 Utah 66
9 Southern Mississippi 74
1 Louisiana Tech 66
4 Texas Tech 55
5 Purdue 60
12 Notre Dame 73
12 Notre Dame 67
Lubbock, Texas
4 Texas Tech 82
4 Texas Tech 78
13 Portland 61
1 Louisiana Tech 76
2 Georgia 90
6 Oregon State 65
11 Stephen F. Austin 67
11 Stephen F. Austin 93
Clemson, SC
3 Clemson 88
3 Clemson 79
14 Austin Peay 52
11 Stephen F. Austin 64
2 Georgia 78
7 Oklahoma State 90
10 Rhode Island 82
7 Oklahoma State 55
Athens, GA
2 Georgia 83
2 Georgia 98
15 St. Francis PA 66

West Region

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First round
March 15 and 16
Second round
March 17 and 18
Regional semifinals
March 23

Alaska Airlines Arena Seattle, WA

Regional finals
March 25

Alaska Airlines Arena Seattle, WA

            
1 Stanford 82
16 Grambling State 43
1 Stanford 94
Stanford, CA
8 Colorado State 63
8 Colorado State 66
9 Nebraska 62
1 Stanford 78
4 Alabama 76
5 North Carolina State 77
12 Montana 68
5 North Carolina State 68
Tuscaloosa, AL
4 Alabama 88
4 Alabama 95
13 Appalachian State 66
1 Stanford 71
6 Auburn 57
6 Auburn 73
11 Hawaii 53
6 Auburn 68
Boulder, CO
3 Colorado 61
3 Colorado 83
14 Tulane 75
6 Auburn 75
2 Penn State 69
7 Texas A&M 68
10 Kent State 72
10 Kent State 59
University Park, PA
2 Penn State 86
2 Penn State 94
15 Youngstown State 71

Final Four – Charlotte, North Carolina

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National semifinals
March 29
National championship
March 31
      
E1 Tennessee 88
ME1 Connecticut 83OT
E1 Tennessee 83
MW2 Georgia 65
MW2 Georgia 86
W1 Stanford 76

Record by conference

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Sixteen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:[2]

Conference # of Bids Record Win % Round
of 32
Sweet
Sixteen
Elite
Eight
Final
Four
Championship
Game
Southeastern 7 19–6 .760 5 5 4 2 2
Big Ten 6 7–6 .538 5 2
Atlantic Coast 4 6–4 .600 4 1 1
Big Eight 4 4–4 .500 3 1
Southwest 4 3–4 .429 2 1
Conference USA 4 2–4 .333 2
Pacific-10 3 4–3 .571 1 1 1 1
Atlantic 10 3 1–3 .250 1
Big East 2 5–2 .714 2 1 1 1
Colonial 2 2–2 .500 1 1
Mid-American 2 2–2 .500 2
West Coast 2 2–2 .500 1 1
Western Athletic 2 1–2 .333 1
Ohio Valley 2 0–2
Sun Belt 1 3–1 .750 1 1 1
Southland 1 2–1 .667 1 1

Fifteen conferences went 0-1: Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Ivy League, MAAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Midwestern Collegiate, Missouri Valley Conference, North Atlantic Conference, Northeast Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, SWAC, and Trans America[2]

All-Tournament team

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Game officials

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  • Art Bomegen (semifinal)
  • Doug Cloud (semifinal)
  • Wes Dean (semifinal)
  • John Morningstar (semifinal)
  • Bob Trammell (semifinal)
  • Scott Yarborough (semifinal)
  • Sally Bell (final)
  • Dee Kantner (final)
  • Violet Palmer (final) [2]

This was the first year the NCAA used three officials in tournament games, which was the standard for men's games since the 1978-79 season. Several conferences, including the SEC, assigned three officials to its regular season and conference tournament games for several seasons before the NCAA changed its rules.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gregory Cooper. "1996 Tournament". Archived from the original on October 20, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nixon, Rick. "Official 2012 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  3. ^ "Attendance and Sites" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved March 19, 2012.