The 1963 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAADivision Icollege basketball in the United States. It began on March 9, 1963, and ended with the championship game on March 23 in Louisville, Kentucky. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
For the fourth time, Louisville and Freedom Hall hosted the Final Four, the last time a host repeated in back-to-back years. Like the preceding year, all nine venues were either on-campus arenas or the primary off-campus arena for college teams. The tournament saw three new venues being used. For the first time, the tournament came to the state of Michigan, when Jenison Fieldhouse on the campus of Michigan State University hosted games for the first and only time. (All other games held in the state have been in the Detroit metropolitan area.) Texas saw its third host city become Lubbock, when the Municipal Coliseum at Texas Technological College hosted games for the first time. And for the first time, the University of Oregon hosted the tournament at historic McArthur Court, something it would do twice more. Of the nine venues used, only Jenison Fieldhouse would not be used again.
In the Loyola vs. Mississippi State game at East Lansing, Michigan in a Mideast regional semifinal, Mississippi State, an all-white team, played despite protests from the governor and state police of Mississippi. Mississippi State overcame a state prohibition against playing integrated teams. Loyola beat Mississippi State and went on to the Mideast Region Championship game. In the National Championship game, Loyola started four African-Americans and Cincinnati started three, marking the first time that a majority of African-Americans participated in the championship game.
Loyola's first-round regional victory over Tennessee Tech, 111-42, continues to be a record margin of victory for an NCAA men's basketball tournament game.
