Once again, CBS Sports has released our Candid Coaches series, which highlights relevant topics and issues in men’s college basketball. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed nearly 100 coaches in recent weeks on a variety of topics. The coaches spoke in the background and were granted anonymity to offer unfiltered opinions. Today we discuss the top coaches who have yet to win a national championship.
Winning the NCAA Tournament is a career-defining feat, something so difficult that some of the sport’s greatest coaches — men who have led programs for more than 30 years and coached nearly 1,000 games or more — have failed to achieve it.
If you’re curious about some of the greats who never won it all, here’s the list of Division I men’s coaches with more than 700 wins but no NCAA tournament titles: Bob Huggins, Rick Barnes, Eddie Sutton, Kelvin Sampson, Lefty Driesell, Dana Altman, Lou Henson, Ed Diddle, John Beilein, Mark Few, Ray Meyer and Norm Stewart. (Bruce Pearl won a Division II title in 1995, so that technically counts.)
Winning even one NCAA crown changes a coach’s legacy, so much so that it’s the event that can propel him to eventual Naismith Hall of Fame status.
There are only seven active men’s DI coaches who can claim an NCAA tournament title on their resume: John Calipari, Scott Drew, Todd Golden, Dan Hurley, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino and Bill Self. This leaves plenty of opportunity for others to join this club. Golden, who just turned 40 this summer, is the new champion for the first time. And before him, Hurley changed his reputation forever: he went from zero NCAA Tournament wins to UConn to back-to-back national titles and landed a possible Hall of Fame ceremony for himself years from now.
So who’s next? It’s today’s Q survey.
Which coach will be the next first-time national champion?
Others receiving multiple votes: Nate Oats (Alabama), Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), Dusty May (Michigan), Grant McCasland (Texas Technology)
Quotes that stood out
About Samson
- “He was obviously one possession away last year. He’s got a really good mix of young talent and retaining big plays. This is the year he gets it done.”
- “That’s the easy, easy answer, but he’s way too good of a coach and has gotten too close for this not to happen in the next 1-2 years and then potentially into the sunset. KenPom’s average over the last five years: 2.6 overall, 12th in offense, fifth in defense.”
- “They still have the defense and toughness to win a national championship, but they’re now recruiting talented McDonald’s All-Americans on offense who will put them over the hump. And they’ll still be old.”
- “I’m going with Kelvin Sampson because I think they’re the team to beat this year.”
- “Has created one of the best cultures in college basketball. His teams play harder and more together than most. They’ve had success on the recruiting trail. It’s only a matter of time before talent and toughness equals the title.”
About the painter
- “I don’t know if I answer with my head or my heart, but I will choose Paint. He is so good and so deserving. I think he will get it this year. I hope he does.”
- “Has been incredibly consistent. CULTURE. Recruits, retains, X’s and O’s. Probably the best team in the country heading into the season.”
- “A team full of experience. He played every position possible, from losing in the first round to playing in the championship game. He’s doing it this season.”
Outspoken Coaches: Are you convinced that your competitors will follow the new recruitment rules?
Gary Parrish
About Scheyer
- “He has proven in three years that he can recruit the best, coach with the best and replaces arguably the greatest coach in any sport in history, showing he can take on the challenge at Duke. He’s not talking about himself. It’s about Duke and its players. I have to point out that he is a national champion Duke alumnus. He has incredible cachet and that will only grow.”
- “I think they’ll always be in play for the best talent in the country. They’ll always have what you hope to have to compete for a national championship, first and foremost, but I also think he’s a very good coach and leader. As a young head coach, he has the ‘It’ factor. He’s ready to be next. And that’s Duke.”
About the Pope
- “Since UK can do things that no other school can do financially, they would have to be a complete idiot not to win one any time soon.”
Takeaways
For those keeping track, the top two vote-getters for this question are also the two coaches who lead the teams that finished in the top two when we asked which team would be the best in the country for 2025-26. Oddly enough, Purdue won the award for best team, but Kelvin Sampson and his Cougars win here, which of course may be the case. Purdue could prove that the plurality of coaches who voted him No. 1 were right; he could be the No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA tournament, but that doesn’t guarantee he wins the tournament.
As for Sampson, he has reached the Final Four three times (2002, 2021, 2025). A fourth trip seems on the table with such a solid group. And a lot of coaches in the game are encouraging him to get there and cut down the nets because they think he’s too good not to win at least one title.
While Sampson will turn 70 in October, Painter is 55 and still has a lot more tread on his tires. Purdue roster could have NPOY in Brad Smithand in terms of talent, this could prove to be as good as any team Painter has put on a field during his tenure. Generally speaking (and in a very non-mathematical way), it looks like Painter and Sampson together have about a 40% chance of winning it all this season. It seems one or the other is due.
Then there’s Scheyer, who is entering his 4th year with Duke. He appears early on the path to winning a match at some point. It could be 2026, it could be 2036. The NCAA tournament is so fickle. But as long as he maintains a recruiting advantage over the rest of college circles, he will consistently make the short list of top coaches without a title. Pope’s fourth place was a surprise on my part, mainly because I didn’t receive a single vote for him; all of his nominations came from Parrish’s poll. Pope hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game before this year, but being at Kentucky gives him fuel to get one — and ideally have the roster in the next few years to take a chance.
Many coaches I’ve discussed this question with have primarily viewed it through the prism of the upcoming season, which makes sense. If you don’t think Hurley, Golden, Pitino, Calipari, Self, Izzo or Drew add another to their trophies, then it makes sense to pick the coach of the team you think is strongest in 26. That said, a semi-surprise on the overall voting result: not a single mention for Mark Few. If we had done this poll three years ago, I’d be willing to bet GonzagaThe coach would have easily been in the top five. This suggests that Few’s compatriots believe his window has passed.
As a journalist, I will say it’s always a privilege to be able to write and opine on winning programs with a first-time national championship coach. Tracing that journey in the weeks leading up to that Monday evening in April is always a unique story. In 2026, I expect there to be a coach who will rise through the ranks in Indianapolis and put on a championship net for the first time in his career.
