The 1969 NCAA University Division men's basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1969, and ended with the championship game on March 22 in Louisville, Kentucky. Including consolation games in each of the regions and an overall consolation game, a total of 29 games were played. UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with a 92–72 victory in the final game over Purdue, coached by George King. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In the game, John Vallely, the "Money Man", scored 22 points and Alcindor had 37 points, to give UCLA a win over Purdue, which is Wooden's alma mater. Purdue was hampered due to injuries to starting point guard Billy Keller and forward Herm Gilliam; Purdue had also lost 7'0" center Chuck Bavis to a broken collarbone during the Mideast Regionals against Miami, (OH). In earlier matchups, Bavis had provided an ample challenge to Alcindor. Wooden was an All-American guard for the Boilermakers from 1928 to 1932.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1969 tournament, and their host(s): First round Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

Bracket

• – Denotes overtime period

East region

Mideast region

Midwest region

West region

Final Four

National third-place game

Regional third-place games

Announcers

Curt Gowdy, Charlie Jones, Pat Hernon and Jim Simpson - First Round at Raleigh, North Carolina (Davidson-Villanova, St John's-Princeton); Mideast Regional Final at Madison, Wisconsin; Final Four at Louisville, Kentucky; Jones was used at the sideline reporter for the first round, Hernon was used for the Regional Final, and Simpson was used for the Final Four.