At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships (the "Final Four" tournaments), 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 Hakeem Olajuwon in 1983. Dawn Staley was the only woman to do so when she won the award in 1991. Only one player has been selected as MOP despite not being on his or her team's starting lineup, Louisville's Luke Hancock in 2013.
Past winners
An asterisk (*) next to a players name indicates they did not play for the championship team. Howard Porter of Villanova won the award in 1971 and did not play for the championship team, however, he later vacated his MOP award.