The NCAA began holding the annual basketball tournament for women in the 1981-82 season. Below is a complete list of champions from that time forward.
| Year | Champion | Coach | Score | Runner-up |
|---|
| 1982 | Louisiana Tech | Sonja Hogg | 76 - 62 | Cheyney |
| 1983 | Southern California | Linda Sharp | 69 - 67 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1984 | Southern California | Linda Sharp | 72 - 61 | Tennessee |
| 1985 | Old Dominion | Marianne Stanley | 70 - 65 | Georgia |
| 1986 | Texas | Jody Conradt | 97 - 81 | Southern California |
| 1987 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 67 - 44 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1988 | Louisiana Tech | Leon Barmore | 56 - 54 | Auburn |
| 1989 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 76 - 60 | Auburn |
| 1990 | Stanford | Tara VanDerveer | 88 - 81 | Auburn |
| 1991 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 70 - 67 (OT) | Virginia |
| 1992 | Stanford | Tara VanDerveer | 78 - 62 | Western Kentucky |
| 1993 | Texas Tech | Marsha Sharp | 84 - 74 | Ohio State |
| 1994 | North Carolina | Sylvia Hatchell | 60 - 59 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1995 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 70 - 64 | Tennessee |
| 1996 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 83 - 65 | Georgia |
| 1997 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 68 - 59 | Old Dominion |
| 1998 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 93 - 75 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1999 | Purdue | Carolyn Peck | 62 - 45 | Duke |
| 2000 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 71 - 52 | Tennessee |
| 2001 | Notre Dame | Muffet McGraw | 68 - 66 | Purdue |
| 2002 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 82 - 70 | Oklahoma |
| 2003 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 73 - 68 | Tennessee |
| 2004 | Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | 70 - 61 | Tennessee |
| 2005 | Baylor | Kim Mulkey-Robertson | 84 - 62 | Michigan State |
| 2006 | Maryland | Brenda Frese | 78 - 75 (OT) | Duke |
| 2007 | Tennessee | Pat Summitt | 59 - 46 | Rutgers |
Multi-Championship Coaches: Pat Summitt, Tennessee (7); Geno Auriemma, UConn (5); Tara VanDerveer, Stanford (2); and Linda Sharp, Southern California (2).
