On April 4 , 2016 , the Wildcats won their second NCAA Championship in Men 's Basketball , the first time in 31 years . They beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 77-74 off a buzzer-beater shot by Kris Jenkins with 0.5 seconds remaining in regulation . Two years later , on April 2 , 2018 , Villanova earned its third national championship beating the Michigan Wolverines 79-62 . The Villanova Wildcats women 's basketball team are coached by Harry Perretta , now serving his 34th year as head coach of the team . For the 2017 – 18 season , they will play their home games at Jake Nevin Field House on the Villanova campus while the future Finneran Pavilion is undergoing renovations . The Women 's basketball program started in 1969 and played under CIAW and AIAW through 1981-82 season before moving to NCAA Division I . In the 81-82 season , the Wildcats posted an outstanding 29-4 record and reached the Final Four of the 1982 AIAW Women 's Basketball Tournament before losing to eventual National Champion , Rutgers . Through the 2009-10 season , the Villanova Women have a 669-413 alltime record since the program started in 1969 . Previous head coaches include Liz Cawley ( 1969 – 70 ) , Jane Sefranek-Stoltz ( 1970 – 75 ) and Joan King ( 1975 – 78 ) . The 1982-83 season was the initial season for Villanova Women 's basketball to play NCAA Division I and they joined the Big East Conference that same season . Villanova was the Big East regular season and tournament champions in both 1985-86 and 1986-87 behind All-American Shelly Pennefather
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Villanova Wildcats