The study aimed to identify the reality of the application of standards of institutional excellence in Saudi universities in light of the standards of the Malcolm Baldrige National Award for Quality (MBNQA), taking the reality of the University of Tabuk as a model. For the purpose of achieving the objectives of the study, the descriptive survey method was used, and a questionnaire based on self-assessment questions for organizations wishing to apply standards of excellence or competition to be nominated for the Malcolm Baldrige Award was used as a tool for collecting data and responses from a sample of (332) faculty members. The study concluded that the study sample members agree on the reality of institutional excellence in Saudi universities in light of the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) by 80%, and that the most prominent aspects of institutional excellence in Saudi universities are represented in the dimension of students and other clients by 83.4%, followed by the dimension of Measurement, analysis and knowledge management by 82.2%, followed by the leadership and workforce dimensions by 81%, followed by the results dimension by 78.6%, then the operations dimension by 77.8%, and finally came the strategy dimension by 75.6% .