Over the past 25 years, dozens of stories and moments have significantly added to the lore of men’s college basketball. In that span, the sport has witnessed some of its greatest coaches win championships and, inevitably, end their careers. It’s seen some teenagers enter into its arenas and leave college as bona fide legends.
Beyond the individual figures, the contours and definitions of what constitutes what college basketball is has drastically changed from what we knew it to be 25 years ago. The NBA-initiated one-and-done era was born in the past quarter-century. The NCAA Tournament expanded twice. The rules regarding transfers and how coaches are allowed to recruit have been rewritten a dozen times. Biggest of all, the amateurism model that existed for more than 100 years was finally undone.
There’s been so much that has happened to this great game over the past two and a half decades.
And because I simply can’t help myself, with this being the year 2025, I decided to whittle down the 25 — well, no, actually, I couldn’t even do that. It’s the Top 25 (And 1) biggest stories in the sport since 2000. Hop in the time machine with me as we scan back over the past 25 years in men’s college hoop.
Plus, if you’d like to listen or watch Gary Parrish and I take the scenic route through this list, we recorded a five-episode series this summer on Eye on College Basketball. Here are the episodes on YouTube:
And 1. Early conference realignment earthquake. Miami, Virginia Tech bail on Big East for ACC (2004), Boston College follows (2005).
Realignment has always been a thing in college sports, with teams switching leagues for basically 100 years. One move begets another and another. Some decisions are much more significant than others. In 2004, Miami and Virginia Tech left the Big East for football reasons, and in doing so set in motion the major fissures that would come later in the 21st…
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