At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships, the Associated Press selects a Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but almost always is a member of the Championship team, especially since the third-place game was eliminated after 1981. The last man to win the award despite not being on the Championship team was Akeem Olajuwon in 1983. Dawn Staley was the only woman to do so, when she won the award in 1991.
Beginning in 1984, Soccer America Magazine began naming a college player of the year. At the time Soccer America was the best source for U.S. soccer, especially collegiate soccer which was rarely covered by the national news services. Consequently, its end of year awards have been recognized as among the most important and are listed by the NCAA in its official awards.
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup Final Four was held at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. All the other games were played at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The final was held on December 3, 2006. UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, Virginia, and Wake Forest made the Final Four. UC Santa Barbara beat Wake Forest and UCLA defeated Virginia. In the final UC Santa Barbara won the title game overcoming UCLA, 2–1.
The 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup for the final four teams was held at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. All other games were played at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The final was held on December 16, 2007.
The 1955 college football season saw the Oklahoma Sooners win the national championship after going 10-0-0. Although the final poll was taken before the postseason bowl games, Oklahoma played against the nation's other unbeaten and untied (10-0-0) team, the Maryland Terrapins, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and won 20-6.
The 1953 college football season finished with the Maryland Terrapins capturing the AP, INS, and UPI national championship after Notre Dame held the top spot for the first nine weeks. The #4 Oklahoma Sooners defeated Maryland in the Orange Bowl, but there was no further polling after the November 30 results were released. However, Notre Dame was selected as the National Champions by 10 other polls and the Oklahoma Sooners received first in 2 polls. However, despite the team receiving National Championship rings, the University of Notre Dame does not recognize this title due to their policy of only recognizing AP or coaches' poll titles during the polling era (1936–present). Maryland was also the first champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which had been formed earlier in 1953 by seven colleges formerly with the Southern Conference. The year 1953 also saw the Michigan State Spartans, previously an independent, join the Big Nine Conference, which then became the Big Ten; MSU won the conference title in that first year and was the conference representative to the Rose Bowl, which it won 28-20 over UCLA.
The 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament is a single-elimination tournament involving 48 teams to determine the champion of the 2012 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 54th edition of the tournament. Indiana defeated Georgetown, 1–0, to win its 8th national title.
The 2012 Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team was the college's 67th season of playing organized men's college soccer. The Terrapins played in the Atlantic Coast Conference where they emerged as the regular season and tournament champions.
The 2013 Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer team was the college's 41st season playing organized men's college soccer.
The 2014 Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team was the college's 69th season of playing organized men's college soccer, and the school's first in the Big Ten Conference.
The 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament is the 56th annual edition of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship tournament. The brackets for the tournament were announced on November 17, 2014, with each of the 48 participating teams gaining an invitation through either an automatic or at-large bid determined by the NCAA. The First, Second, Third, and Quarterfinal Rounds were held at college campus sites across the United States determined by seeding and record. The four team College Cup finals tournament were held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina on December 12 and 14, 2014.
The 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 57th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's collegiate soccer. The first, second, third, and quarterfinal rounds were held at college campus sites across the United States during November and December 2015, with host sites determined by seeding and record. The four-team College Cup finals were played at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas from December 11–13, 2015.
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 58th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's collegiate soccer. The first, second, third, and quarterfinal rounds were held at college campus sites across the United States during November and December 2016, with host sites determined by seeding and record. The four-team College Cup finals was played at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas on December 9 and 11, 2016.
The 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 59th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's collegiate soccer. The first, second, third, and quarterfinal rounds were held at college campus sites across the United States during November and December 2017, with host sites determined by seeding and record. The four-team College Cup finals were played at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania on December 8 and 10.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 60th edition of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, a postseason tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's college soccer. The first four rounds of the competition were held at the home ground of the higher seed, while the College Cup were held at Harder Stadium on the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara. The championship match was held on December 10, 2018 with the Maryland Terrapins defeating the Akron Zips 1-0 to claim their fourth title in program history.
The 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament was the 36th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semi-finals and championship game were played at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Florida on December 1 and 3, 2017, while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country during November 2017. The Stanford Cardinal were tournament champions, winning the final 3–2 over the UCLA Bruins.
The 1994–95 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament whose finals were held at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. The UCLA Bruins earned their eleventh national championship by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 89–78 on April 3, 1995. They were coached by Jim Harrick and the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player was UCLA's Ed O'Bannon.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament will be the 37th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina from November 30 – December 2, 2018 while the preceding rounds will be played at various sites across the country during November 2018.
At the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, United Soccer Coaches selects two Most Outstanding Players: one for the Offensive Most Outstanding Player and the Defensive Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but is often a member of the Championship team.
