The 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 4, 2024. The regular season ended on March 16, 2025, with the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament that began with the First Four on March 18 and ended with the championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 7.
Rule changes On May 2, 2024, the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee proposed a few rule changes for the 2024–25 season. These changes were approved on June 6 by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel. Officials will be able to review whether a player's foot last touching the court was inbounds on a made shot before time expired. If a player's foot is determined to be out of bounds, officials would put the exact time of the violation on the game clock. However, if the shot is made and time remains on the game clock, a video review would not occur. A one-game suspension has been added to the ejection of any player, coach, or bench personnel who "disrespectfully contacts an official or makes a threat of physical intimidation or harm, to include pushing, shoving, spitting or attempting to make physical contact with an official". An experimental rule for the 2025 NIT will allow a coach to appeal out-of-bounds calls for video replay review in the last two minutes of games, pending NIT board approval.
Season headlines April 10, 2024 – Longtime head coach John Calipari left Kentucky after 15 years and was named the head coach at Arkansas. May 29 – Stephen F. Austin announced it would leave the Western Athletic Conference on July 1 to rejoin the Southland Conference after a three-year absence. July 1 – IUPUI's athletic teams renamed to Indiana University Indianapolis (IU Indy) after the Indiana and Purdue university systems split the university into IU Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis. September 12 – The Pac-12 Conference, which had been reduced to two members after its remaining ten schools left for other power conferences, began a rebuilding process by announcing that Mountain West Conference members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State would join the Pac-12 in 2026–27. September 24 – The Pac-12 Conference's rebuilding continued as Utah State would join the other Mountain West defectors in 2026–27. September 30 – Gonzaga announced it would leave the West Coast Conference to join the Pac-12 Conference for all sports except for football in 2026–27. October 1 – UTEP announced it would join the Mountain West Conference from Conference USA in 2026–27. October 9: The NCAA Division I Council approved a proposal that reduced the duration of the transfer portal to 30 days. Going forward, the window opens on the day after the completion of the second round of the Division I men's tournament. The council also abolished the National Letter of Intent (NLI) program effective immediately. Written offers of athletics aid replaced the NLI. The council introduced a proposal that would shorten the transition periods for schools wishing to reclassify from Division II or Division III to Division I. If approved at the council's January 2025 meeting, the transition periods for D-II and D-III schools would drop by a year, respectively, to three and four years. October 15 – The Mountain West Conference announced that Hawaiʻi, which has been a football-only member of that conference since 2012, would leave the Big West Conference in 2026 to become a full MW member. October 21 – The Associated Press released its preseason All-America team. Alabama guard Mark Sears was the leading vote-getter (54 of 55 possible votes), joined by guard R. J. Davis of North Carolina (51 votes), center Hunter Dickinson of Kansas (42), center Johni Broome of Auburn (34), freshman forward Cooper Flagg of Duke (24), and guard Caleb Love of Arizona (24). A tie in voting between Flagg and Love created a sixth spot on the preseason team. October 24 – South Florida head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim died unexpectedly at the age of 43. November 1 – The Mountain West Conference announced that Grand Canyon would join the conference no later than 2026 for all sports except for football. Grand Canyon's official announcement stated that it would not compete in the West Coast Conference, which it had previously been scheduled to join in July 2025, and that if MW bylaws allowed, it would join that conference in 2025. GCU would ultimately join the MW in July 2025. November 7 – The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the name change of the former Texas A&M University–Commerce to East Texas A&M University. December 10 – The Mountain West Conference announced that UC Davis would leave the Big West alongside Hawaiʻi to join in 2026 for all sports except for football, where they will remain in the Big Sky Conference as an affiliate. January 15, 2025: The Division I Council adopted new criteria for divisional reclassification. Schools moving from Division II or III must meet objective measures of academic success and athletic financial aid. Reclassification periods are now three years for moves from Division II and four years for moves from Division III, contingent on schools meeting these new criteria. Schools already in the reclassification process could opt for the new schedule. The Division I Men's Basketball Oversight Committee approved a proposal that, starting in 2025–26, allows teams to play up to two preseason exhibitions against any four-year institution, including other D-I members. The host institution would also have full control over allocation of proceeds from the games. Through 2024–25, D-I teams had to go through a waiver process to schedule exhibitions against other D-I teams, and had to donate proceeds to a charity. The new rule also eliminated requirements that preseason practice scrimmages be conducted in private and without official scoring. February 27 – The Horizon League announced that Northern Illinois would join the conference in 2026–27, coinciding with the football team's departure from the Mid-American Conference to the MW. March 19 – The Big West Conference announced that California Baptist would join the conference in 2026–27. March 25 – Saint Francis announced that it would reclassify to NCAA Division III starting in 2026–27, when it will leave the Northeast Conference for the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
Milestones and records During the season, the following players reached the 2,000-career-point milestone: Grand Canyon guard Rayshon Harrison, Temple guard Jamal Mashburn Jr., Saint Louis guard Gibson Jimerson, Baylor forward Norchad Omier, Arizona forward Trey Townsend, Villanova forward Eric Dixon, Saint Joseph's guard Erik Reynolds II, Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr., Butler guard Jahmyl Telfort, North Texas guard Atin Wright, Kansas guard Zeke Mayo, LSU guard Jordan Sears, Oral Roberts guard Issac McBride, Tulsa guard Keaston Willis, Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV, Minnesota forward Dawson Garcia, Eastern Kentucky forward Devontae Blanton, Marquette guard Kam Jones, Boise State forward Tyson Degenhart, Florida guard Alijah Martin and Alabama guard Chris Youngblood. November 12 – Bill Self became Kansas' all-time leader in wins after recording a 77–69 win over Michigan State in Atlanta. The win was his 591st with the Jayhawks, surpassing Phog Allen as the winngest coach in program history. On November 20, he won his 800th career game in an 84–66 home win over UNC Wilmington. Prior to Kansas, Self coached at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois. November 13 – Creighton coach Greg McDermott defeated Houston Christian 78–43 to became the school's all-time leader in wins with 328. November 18 – Kansas City defeated local NCCAA member Calvary 119–19, setting several school records, including most lopsided win and fewest points allowed. With the Roos having defeated another local NCCAA school, Kansas Christian, 124–36 on November 8, they became the first Division I men's team with two wins by 85 or more points in a single season. December 18 – Following a narrow 62–61 win at home against Davidson, Temple became the sixth college basketball program in history to earn 2,000 all-time wins, joining Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and UCLA. January 7 – Following a 62–55 win at home against Georgia Tech, Syracuse became the seventh college program in history to earn 2,000 all-time wins. January 11 – Kansas basketball coach Bill Self won his 600th career game after a 54–40 defeat of Cincinnati. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl became the school's leader in all time wins with 228 after a 66–63 defeat of South Carolina. January 22 – Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd won his 100th career game becoming the tenth-fastest coach to do so in a Power Conference after his 126th game. February 15 – Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo surpassed Bob Knight to become the winningest coach in conference games in Big Ten history with 354, following a 79–65 win on the road over Illinois. February 23 – Oakland basketball coach Greg Kampe surpassed Perry Watson to become the winningest coach in conference games in Horizon history with 132, following a 91–86 win on the road over Cleveland State.
Conference membership changes A total of 23 schools joined new conferences for the 2024–25 season. Of these, 20 moved within Division I, two began reclassification from NCAA Division II, and Chicago State ended its two-year stint as an all-sports independent to join the Northeast Conference. SchoolFormer conferenceNew conferenceArizonaPac-12Big 12Arizona StatePac-12Big 12CaliforniaPac-12ACCChicago StateIndependentNECColoradoPac-12Big 12Kennesaw StateASUNCUSAMercyhurstPSAC (D–II)NECMerrimackNECMAACOklahomaBig 12SECOregonPac-12Big TenOregon StatePac-12WCCSacred HeartNECMAACSMUAACACCStanfordPac-12ACCStephen F. AustinWACSouthlandTexasBig 12SECUCLAPac-12Big TenUSCPac-12Big TenUtahPac-12Big 12UTRGVWACSouthlandWashingtonPac-12Big TenWashington StatePac-12WCCWest GeorgiaGulf South (D–II)ASUN
The 2024–25 season was the last for five Division I schools and one Division II school in their respective conferences.
School2024–25 conferenceFuture conference Delaware CAA CUSA Grand Canyon WAC MW Missouri State Missouri Valley CUSA New Haven NE-10 (D–II) NEC Seattle WAC WCC UMass A-10 MAC
Arenas New arenas Georgia Southern left the Hanner Fieldhouse, after 55 seasons, for the new Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. The team played its first game in the Hill Convocation Center on December 7, 2024 against North Florida, despite playing their first three home games at the Hanner Fieldhouse. St. Thomas played their final season at Schoenecker Arena, where they have played since 1981, before moving to the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, which will open in the 2025–26 season. Tarleton State played their final season at Wisdom Gym, where they have played since 1970, before moving to the new EECU Center, which will open in the 2025–26 season. Vermont was originally slated to open their new arena, Tarrant Event Center, as a replacement for the current arena, Patrick Gym. Construction was to continue in 2021 but it has been delayed indefinitely.
Arenas of new D-I teams West Georgia began a transition from Division II to Division I, playing at its home since 2000, The Coliseum on the school's Carrollton, Georgia campus. The Wolves will be ineligible for NCAA-organized postseason play until 2028. Mercyhurst also started a transition from Division II to Division I, playing at its home since 1977, Mercyhurst Athletic Center on the school's Erie, Pennsylvania campus. The Lakers will also be ineligible for NCAA-organized postseason play until 2028.
Arena name changes September 2024: The name of PNC Arena, the home arena of NC State, was changed to the Lenovo Center. Tom Gola Arena, the home arena of La Salle, was renamed to John Glaser Arena after renovations were completed. October 2024: