Here’s how far every Alabama division one school has made it in March Madness

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March 27, 2017

This past weekend, the NCAA Tournament field narrowed down to the prestigious Final Four, with only North Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon, and South Carolina remaining. Two of the four schools (Gonzaga and USC) will make their first-ever Final Four appearance on Saturday, and another (Oregon) will make its first appearance since it won the tournament in 1939.

Besides the Tarheels of UNC, the tournament field is now devoid of the typical power programs that have come to dominate the sport. But the absence of the Dukes and UCLAs of the world have given other programs the opportunity to reach unprecedented heights.

In Alabama, however, no program has ever experienced the euphoria of a Final Four Appearance. Among the nine division one basketball programs in the state, the highest a team from the Heart of Dixie has ever advanced is the Elite Eight.

But several programs, including Alabama and Auburn, appear to be on the upswing. Recruiting for the state’s two major programs is on the rise, and two smaller schools (Jacksonville State and Troy) both earned bids this year with victories in their conference tournaments.

Every D1 school in the Yellowhammer State has made the tournament at least one time. Each school’s best March Madness performance to-date is listed below.

Alabama Crimson Tide: Elite Eight (2004)
UA’s 2004 tournament run was helmed by Mark Gottfried, who briefly had the Tide ranked number one in the country in 2003. After beating one-seed Stanford, Bama lost to the Huskies of UConn, who went on to claim the national championship.

Auburn Tigers: Elite Eight (1986)
AU’s 1986 tournament campaign was highlighted by a thrashing of one-seed St. Johns in the Round of 32. Like the their arch-rival did in 2004, the Tigers lost to the eventual national champion that year, Louisville.

UAB Blazers: Elite Eight (1982)
Led by school legend Gene Bartow, the Blazers knocked off several blue bloods in the ’82 tourney, including Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers.

South Alabama Jaguars : Round of 32 (1989)
The Jaguar’s deepest run in the tournament was made possible by an upset of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In a close first round game, the Jags upset Bama 86-84 and went on to lose to Michigan in the next round.

Alabama State Hornets: Round of 64 (2001, 2004, 2009)

Troy Trojans: Round of 64 (2003, 2017)

Samford Bulldogs: Round of 64 (1999,2000)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks: Round of 64 (2017)

Alabama A&M Bulldogs: Round of 64 (2005)