Editing Elite Eight (section)

{{Short description|Final eight teams of the NCAA men's Division I basketball tournament}}
{{About|NCAA men's Division I basketball championship|National Ringette League|National Ringette League#NRL National Champions}}
[[File:NCAA Elite Eight wordmark color.svg|right|alt=NCAA Elite Eight logo]]
In the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA men's Division I basketball championship]] or the [[NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|NCAA women's Division I basketball championship]], the "'''Elite Eight'''" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] and [[NCAA Division III|Division III]], the Elite Eight consists of the two teams in each of the four regional championship games. The winners advance to the [[Final Four]]. Since 1997, when the NCAA trademarked the phrase,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=74687330|title=Trademark record for serial no. 74687330 (Elite Eight)|publisher=[[United States Patent and Trademark Office]]|access-date=2011-03-27}}</ref> in [[NCAA Division II|Division II]], the Elite Eight consists of the eight winners of the eight Division II regions. Like the Division I Final Four, the Division II Elite Eight games are all held in one predetermined location.

In the men's Division I, the lowest-seeded team ever to reach this round in the modern 64-team tournament era is No. 15 seed [[2021–22 Saint Peter's Peacocks men's basketball team|Saint Peter's University]] in [[2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2022]].<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Peter's becomes the first 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight after stunning March Madness win against Purdue |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/march-madness-2022-bracket-buster-st-peters-first-15-seed-elite-eight/ |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=March 25, 2022 |access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref>

Two No. 12 seeds have advanced to the Elite Eight: [[Missouri Tigers men's basketball|Missouri]] in [[2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2002]], and the [[2020–21 Oregon State Beavers men's basketball team|Oregon State Beavers]] in [[2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2021]].

Ten No. 11 seeds have advanced to the Elite Eight: [[LSU Tigers men's basketball|LSU]] ([[1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1986]]), [[Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball|Loyola Marymount]] ([[1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1990]]), [[Temple Owls men's basketball|Temple]] ([[2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2001]]), [[George Mason Patriots men's basketball|George Mason]] ([[2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2006]]), [[VCU Rams men's basketball|Virginia Commonwealth]] ([[2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2011]]), [[Dayton Flyers men's basketball|Dayton]] ([[2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2014]]), [[Xavier Musketeers men's basketball|Xavier]] ([[2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2017]]), [[Loyola Ramblers men's basketball|Loyola Chicago]] ([[2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2018]]), [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]] ([[2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2021]]), and [[North Carolina State University|North Carolina State]] (2024). There have only been four seasons where two double-digit-seeded teams have made it to the Elite Eight: 1990 (10 seed [[1989–90 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team|Texas]] and 11 seed [[1989–90 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team|LMU]]); 2002 (12 seed [[2001–02 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team|Missouri]] and 10 seed [[2001–02 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team|Kent State]]); 2021, where both were from the same conference (12 seed [[2020–21 Oregon State Beavers men's basketball team|Oregon State]] and 11 seed [[2020–21 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|UCLA]]); and 2022 (10 seed [[2021–22 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team|Miami]] and 15 seed [[2021–22 Saint Peter's Peacocks men's basketball team|Saint Peter's]]).

On average, three of the four No. 1 seeds make it to the Elite Eight each year. There has only been one occurrence in history in which no No. 1 seeds made the Elite Eight (2023). In men's play, the Elite Eight exists intact for less than 24 hours between the second Friday evening and the following Saturday afternoon of the tournament. The Elite Eight also represents the halfway mark of the men's tournament since each qualifying team must win three rounds (games) to reach the national quarterfinals, with three rounds remaining to reach and win the national championship game.

Like "March Madness," the phrase "Elite Eight" originally referred to the [[Illinois High School Boys Basketball Championship]], the single-elimination [[basketball#High school basketball|high school basketball]] tournament run by the [[Illinois High School Association]] (IHSA). When the IHSA finals were reduced from sixteen to eight teams in 1956, a replacement nickname for [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|Sweet Sixteen]] was needed, and Elite Eight won popular favor. The IHSA trademarked the term in 1995; the trademark rights are now held by the March Madness Athletic Association, a joint venture between the NCAA and IHSA formed after a 1996 court case allowed both organizations to use "March Madness" for their own tournaments.

The Elite Eight can also refer to the eight NCAA Division I baseball teams that reach the [[College World Series]].

In addition, the term is often colloquially used to denote quarterfinalists in the four major North American professional sports; i.e., the teams that reach the [[American League Division Series]] and the [[National League Division Series]] in [[Major League Baseball]], the Divisional Playoffs in either conference of the [[National Football League]], and the conference semi-finals in the [[National Basketball Association]] and the [[National Hockey League]].