University of Mary Washington won its first NCAA Division III men’s basketball national championship, edging Emory 75-73 in a tense title game held April 5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The close finish capped a 64-team tournament that began with the NCAA selection show on March 2. The field included 43 automatic qualifiers from conference champions and 21 at-large bids, representing the culmination of the 2026 Division III season. Mary Washington’s victory marks the program’s inaugural crown in the DIII men’s bracket and its highest-ever finish in the national tournament.
The championship game was decided by two points, underscoring how tightly contested the final was between Mary Washington and Emory. Emory — the losing finalist — fell just short of claiming the title in a match that concluded the NCAA Division III championship schedule at the Indianapolis venue normally associated with major college events.
This season’s tournament reaffirmed the depth and geographic diversity of Division III basketball. The 64-team format, featuring dozens of conference champions alongside selected at-large teams, offers programs outside the Division I spotlight an opportunity to compete for a national crown on a prominent stage. The Gainbridge Fieldhouse finals returned the DIII title game to a professional arena, providing student-athletes a high-profile setting for the championship’s conclusion.
For Mary Washington, the victory is a program milestone that will be recorded in school history and in NCAA DIII annals. The two-point margin highlights the competitiveness of the final matchup and the fine lines that often separate champions from runners-up in March postseason play.
The 2026 Division III men’s tournament concluded with Mary Washington holding the national title, while Emory finished as national runner-up. The NCAA will archive the full bracket and game results on NCAA.com, where fans can review the complete road each team took to reach Indianapolis.