Reduced genetic diversity has been observed in several different crop species due to selection during varietal improvement.  A decline in genetic diversity can be detrimental to future breeding efforts and increase susceptibility to biotic stresses.  The purpose of this study was to analyze levels of allelic diversity at gene and population levels in 90 bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) cultivars released between 1936 and 2016 through the use of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Fifty-five SSR markers were used to determine whether allelic diversity has changed among these cultivars over a several decades of modern plant breeding.  These findings will illustrate if modern plant breeding has resulted in a decline in bermudagrass genetic diversity.