The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champion. The tournament was formally held in 1959, when it was an eight-team tournament. Since then, the tournament has expanded to 48 teams, in which every Division I conference tournament champion is allocated a berth. Among the most successful programs, Saint Louis won 10 titles during dynasty years between 1959 and 1973. Indiana has won 8 titles beginning in 1982, whereas Virginia has won 7 titles beginning in 1989.
Although the tournament is frequently referenced as the "College Cup", the NCAA applies the title only to the semifinal and championship rounds of the tournament proper. Since the tournament began, the semifinal and final fixtures have been held at a neutral site predetermined by the NCAA before starting the regular season.
Format
The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament is a 48-team, single-elimination tournament. Currently, 23 spots are reserved for the winners of automatic bids.
As of the current 2026 NCAA men's soccer season, the following conferences are expected to be granted automatic qualification:
America East American Atlantic Coast Atlantic Sun Atlantic 10 Big East Big South Big Ten Big West Coastal Athletic Association Horizon League Ivy League Metro Missouri Valley Mountain West NEC Ohio Valley Pac-12 Patriot League Southern Summit League Sun Belt West Coast
Each conference determines the format for its conference championship, which determines the school that receives its automatic bid. Many use conference tournaments, although three conferences award the championship and automatic bid to the regular-season champion. The remaining 26 teams receive at-large bids. The at-large teams are selected by a committee consisting of representatives from each of the eight regions the NCAA has divided the country into. The committee uses a number of criteria, the most influential supposedly being the Ratings Percentage Index, a mathematical formula designed to objectively compare the results and strength of schedule of all Division I teams.
The top 16 teams are seeded into the bracket and receive first round byes. The other 32 are grouped by geographical proximity. The first four rounds are played on campus sites, with matches being hosted by the higher seed. The College Cup, comprising the semifinal and final matches, is played at a predetermined site.
Washington is the current champion, defeating NC State 3–2 in overtime in the 2025 final.
List of champions Below is a complete list of winning teams and finals held:Men's Soccer - Championship history at NCAA
Ed.Year Final Third-place match/semifinalists City Stadium Champion Score Runner-up 3rd Place Score 4th Place 1959 Saint Louis Bridgeport CCNY West Chester StorrsMemorial Stadium 1960 Saint Louis Maryland West Chester ConnecticutBrooklynBrooklyn College Field 1961 West Chester Saint Louis Bridgeport Rutgers St. Louis Public Schools Stadium 1962 Saint Louis Maryland Springfield Michigan State Francis Field 1963 Saint Louis Navy Maryland ArmyPiscatawayRutgers Stadium 1964 Navy Michigan State Saint Louis ArmyProvidenceBrown Stadium 1965 Saint Louis Michigan State Navy Army Francis Field 1966 San Francisco 5–2LIU Michigan State ArmyBerkeleyCalifornia Memorial 1967 Michigan State Saint Louis — Navy LIU St. Louis Francis Field 1968 Maryland Michigan State — Brown San Jose State Atlanta Grant Field 1969 Saint Louis San Francisco Maryland HarvardSan JoseSpartan Stadium 1970 Saint Louis 1–0UCLA Hartwick HowardEdwardsvilleCougar Field, SIUE 1971 Howard 3–2 Saint Louis Harvard San FranciscoMiamiOrange Bowl 1972 Saint Louis UCLA Howard Cornell Miami Orange Bowl 1973 Saint Louis UCLA Brown ClemsonMiamiOrange Bowl 1974 Howard Saint LouisHartwick3–1 UCLA Busch Memorial Stadium 1975 San Francisco 4–0SIU Edwardsville Brown2–0HowardEdwardsvilleCougar Field 1976 San Francisco 1–0IndianaHartwick4–3ClemsonPhiladelphiaFranklin Field 1977 Hartwick 2–1San FranciscoSIU Edwardsville3–2BrownBerkeleyCalifornia Memorial 1978San Francisco 2–0IndianaClemson6–2Philadelphia TextileTampaTampa Stadium 1979 SIU Edwardsville 3–2ClemsonPenn State2–1ColumbiaTampaTampa Stadium 1980 San Francisco Indiana Alabama A&M HartwickTampaTampa Stadium 1981 Connecticut Alabama A&M Eastern Illinois Philadelphia TextileStanfordStanford Stadium 1982 Indiana Duke Connecticut SIU EdwardsvilleFort LauderdaleLockhart Stadium 1983 Indiana Columbia Connecticut VirginiaFort LauderdaleLockhart Stadium 1984 Clemson 2–1IndianaHartwick UCLASeattleKingdome 1985 UCLA American Hartwick EvansvilleSeattleKingdome 1986 Duke 1–0Akron Harvard Fresno StateTacomaTacoma Dome 1987 Clemson 2–0San Diego State Harvard North CarolinaClemsonRiggs Field 1988 Indiana 1–0Howard Portland South CarolinaBloomingtonBill Armstrong 1989 Santa Clara Virginia —Indiana RutgersPiscatawayRutgers Stadium 1990 UCLA Rutgers Evansville NC StateTampaUSF Soccer Stadium 1991 Virginia Santa ClaraIndiana Saint Louis Tampa USF Soccer Stadium 1992 Virginia San Diego Duke DavidsonDavidsonRichardson Stadium 1993 Virginia 2–0South Carolina Cal State Fullerton PrincetonDavidsonRichardson Stadium 1994 Virginia 1–0Indiana UCLA RutgersDavidsonRichardson Stadium 1995 Wisconsin 2–0DukeVirginia PortlandRichmondRichmond Stadium 1996 St. John's FIUCreighton UNC CharlotteRichmondRichmond Stadium 1997 UCLA 2–0Virginia Indiana Saint LouisRichmondRichmond Stadium 1998 Indiana 3–1StanfordMaryland Santa ClaraRichmondRichmond Stadium 1999 Indiana 1–0Santa ClaraConnecticut UCLACharlotteEricsson Stadium 2000 Connecticut 2–0Creighton Indiana SMUCharlotteEricsson Stadium 2001 North Carolina 2–0Indiana Stanford ColumbusColumbus Crew Stadium 2002 UCLA 1–0Stanford Maryland CreightonUniversity ParkGerald J. Ford Stadium 2003 Indiana 2–1 Maryland Santa ClaraColumbusColumbus Crew Stadium 2004 Indiana UC Santa Barbara Maryland DukeCarsonHome Depot Center 2005 Maryland 1–0New Mexico SMU ClemsonCarySAS Soccer Park 2006UC Santa Barbara UCLA Wake Forest Virginia Hermann Stadium 2007 Wake Forest 2–1Ohio State Virginia Tech MassachusettsCarySAS Soccer Park 2008 Maryland 1–0North Carolina Wake ForestFriscoPizza Hut Park 2009 Virginia Akron Wake Forest North Carolina Cary WakeMed Soccer Park 2010 Akron 1–0Louisville North Carolina MichiganSanta BarbaraHarder Stadium 2011 North Carolina 1–0Charlotte UCLA CreightonHooverRegions Park 2012 Indiana 1–0 Georgetown Maryland CreightonHooverRegions Park 2013 Notre Dame 2–1Maryland New Mexico VirginiaChesterPPL Park 2014 Virginia UCLA Providence UMBC CaryWakeMed Soccer Park 2015 Stanford ClemsonAkron SyracuseKansas CityChildren's Mercy Park 2016 Stanford Wake Forest Denver North CarolinaHoustonBBVA Compass Stadium 2017 Stanford IndianaNorth Carolina AkronChesterTalen Energy Stadium 2018 Maryland Akron Indiana Michigan StateSanta BarbaraHarder Stadium 2019 Georgetown Virginia Stanford Wake ForestCaryWakeMed Soccer Park 2020 Marshall Indiana North Carolina Pittsburgh Cary WakeMed Soccer Park 2021 Clemson Washington Notre Dame Georgetown Cary WakeMed Soccer Park 2022 Syracuse Indiana Pittsburgh Creighton Cary WakeMed Soccer Park 2023 Clemson Notre Dame Oregon State West Virginia Louisville Lynn Family Stadium 2024 Vermont Marshall Denver Ohio State Cary WakeMed Soccer Park 2025 Washington NC State Saint Louis Furman Cary WakeMed Soccer Park 2026 Cary WakeMed Soccer Park 2027 Cary WakeMed Soccer Park Notes
Most successful schools
Team titles
Team TitlesYears won 10 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973 8 1982, 1983, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2012 7 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2009, 2014 4 1984, 1987, 2021, 2023 4 1968, 2005, 2008, 2018 4 1985, 1990, 1997, 2002 4 1966, 1975, 1976, 1980 3 2015, 2016, 2017 2 2001, 2011 2 1981, 2000 2 1967, 1968 1 2025 1 2024 1 2022 1 2020 1 2019 1 2013 1 2010 1 2007 1 2006 1 1996 1 1995 1 1989 1 1986 1 1979 1 1977 1 1974 1 1964 1 1961 Notes
Appearances by team
Key National Champion National Runner-up Semifinals Quarterfinals Round of 16 First Round (3 to 12 teams, 1968 to 1992); Round of 32 (1993 to present) First Round (2001 to present) The team achieved the placement shown, but the participation was later vacated. These vacated appearances are not included in the totals columns. Vacated appearances include two national championships, won by San Francisco and Howard.
Starting in 1994, the NCAA began seeding the top 4 teams, which expanded to the top 8 in 1997 and the top 16 in 2003. These teams' seeds are show in superscript next to the result.