Determining the true “Blue Bloods” of women’s college basketball

For 14 years now, the Men’s Champions Classic tournament has been an annual event that pits what many consider to be blue-blooded programs – Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and Michigan State – against each other.

This weekend, women’s basketball fans will get a taste of a similar event.

The inaugural women’s Champions Classic takes place Saturday at the Barclay Center, with No. 17 Iowa playing Tennessee at 7 p.m. and No. 2 Connecticut taking on No. 22 Louisville at 9 p.m

The primetime doubleheader raises an interesting debate: who is considered a blue blood program?

The criteria for a true blueblood varies depending on who you ask.

For this exercise, The Post defined a blue blood as a program that has won titles over multiple decades, played in five or more championship games and earned more than 10 Final Four berths.

A program can extend over several years. But combining several decades of dominance?

That’s what separates an iconic Blue Blood program from an up-and-coming program.

This is where we ended up:

True blue blood

Connecticut: Of course, the most dominant women’s basketball program of the last three-plus decades is as blue-blooded as it gets. The Huskies under Geno Auriemma have played in 23 of the last 33 Final Fours. They have won 11 times overall and are tied with the UCLA men’s program for the most NCAA Tournament titles.

Tennessee: With 18 Final Four appearances on the court from 1982 to 2008 and eight NCAA Tournament titles, he is the Last and Great Pat Summitt turned Tennessee women’s basketball into a formidable blue blood. The Lady Volunteers haven’t made it past a Sweet 16 since 2016, but their dominant streak over nearly three decades under Summitt is a success story only repeated by one other program.

Stanford: Legendary Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer surpassed Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as the winningest head coach in college basketball in 2024. VanDerveer retired after last season and her record has since been surpassed by Auriemma. But under VanDerveer, the Cardinals have consistently been at the top of women’s basketball. Stanford won three titles (1990, 1992 and 2021) and reached 13 Final Fours in 31 years.

Notre Dame: Former head coach Muffet McGraw put Notre Dame women’s basketball on the map. She led the Fighting Irish to nine Final Four appearances and coached seven national championship games, winning two (2001 and 2018). Notre Dame’s last appearance in a title game was in 2019.

Borderline blue blood

South Carolina: South Carolina has been the most dominant women’s basketball program in the 2020s, making four straight Final Four appearances and winning two of the last three championships. But the Gamecocks’ turnaround only came in the last 10 years. If Dawn Staley’s crew keeps it up for a few more years, there’s no doubt that South Carolina will establish itself as an iconic blue blood.

Baylor: The Lady Bears have won titles in 2005, 2012 and 2019 and a total of four Final Four berths, but they don’t have as long a history or as dominant runs as the four aforementioned true bluebloods.

LSU: Angel Reese led LSU to the program’s first national championship in 2023. That run also marked the Tigers’ first Final Four berth since 2008. Yes, LSU has six Final Four berths, but hasn’t won the NCAA Tournament enough to be considered one of the crème de la crème of the women’s basketball programs.

Special Mentions

Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech were once elite women’s basketball programs.

But in the new millennium they were unable to achieve the same national success.