Where Florida ranks among college basketball's blue blood programs
After winning the 2025 national championship, the Florida Gators cemented themselves as a blue blood program. Here is where they rank.
Florida 's 2025-26 campaign may have come to an unsatisfying conclusion, but the fact of the matter is that the Gators have emerged as a college basketball blue blood since the turn of the millennium. With three national championships in the program's trophy case — including a two-peat in the middle of the first decade — the Orange and Blue have seen more success than most. Obviously, some schools have fared even better, like the UConn Huskies, who are seeking their fifth title this century and seventh overall this spring.
UConn's current success inspired the USA TODAY Sports staff to review and rank the top 10 programs since 1999 , seeking to answer whether the Huskies are a blue blood or a "new blood. " In it, Florida landed at No. 7 on the list, just behind the Gonzaga Bulldogs and a spot ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats .
The group used the following formula to determine their rankings, in which the Gators earned 192 points. 20 points for national title 10 points for Final Four 6 points for regular-season conference title 5 points for Sweet 16 -5 points for losing season "Surprised to see Florida this low on the list, but sandwiched in between Billy Donovan and Todd Golden, the Mike White years were truly forgettable," author Matthew Glenesk notes. Here is how those numbers break down.
Florida basketball's blue blood resume 7 SEC regular season championships 10 Sweet 16s 5 Final Fours 3 national titles 2 losing seasons 686-284 (. 707) Ranking top 25 men's college basketball programs since 1999 Duke – 284 UConn – 270 North Carolina – 251 Michigan State – 245 Kansas – 236 Gonzaga – 234 Florida – 192 Kentucky – 185 Villanova – 158 Arizona – 156 UCLA – 110 Wisconsin – 105 Syracuse – 89 Ohio State – 80 Xavier – 78 Louisville – 77 Maryland – 73 Purdue – 70 Michigan – 69 Butler – 69 Virginia – 67 Illinois – 65 Tennessee – 59 Houston – 56 Texas – 53 Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky , and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball's ranking among blue blood programs since 1999