History
The now-defunct Helms Athletic Foundation, which was founded in 1936, put together a panel of basketball experts to select national collegiate basketball champions from 1901 on.
The panel met annually to vote on a champion from the previous season through 1982. In most cases, but not all, the Helms champion was the team that had won the NCAA Division I tournament.
The list shown below includes only the champions selected by the Helms committee before the national tournament began in 1939.