Which NCAA team was the most successful in men's college basketball in the 1960s and 1970s? Deep dive into NCAA record books

In the 1960s and 70s, it seemed that no one could defeat John Wooden's UCLA Bruins.

In 11 seasons, Wooden and his Bruins managed 11 national titles, including seven between 1967 and 1973. Add to that 15 Pac-12 championships, which started in the 1950s, and you have one of, if not the most dominant, dynasties in the history of American college athletics.

Wooden started his tenure as the coach of the Los Angeles school in 1948, just a few years after serving with the Navy in WW2.

He quickly got set in the winning ways, winning the Pac-12 championship in 1950. Back then, the conference was known as the Athletic Association of Western Universities, before becoming the Pac-8 in 1968.

He always created teams ready to fight and raised players of incredible character. A famous quote of him goes as follows:

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

---

What made John Wooden so special? Creating a program from scratch

When Wooden took charge of the UCLA program fresh off the Navy, the Bruins were one of the least well-known programs in college basketball. They didn't even have proper facilities in the campus.

When he left two and a half decades later, he had constructed one of the top programs in the nation from scratch. Some of their records still stand, as the 14 straight qualifications into the Sweet 16 in March Madness.

His coaching record at UCLA was 620-147, a winning percentile of .808. His rebuilding of the Bruins is considered the most complete turnaround in college athletics. Sporting News once named him, the "greatest coach of all time."

For his efforts, he was inducted into the Basketball of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame and was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.