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| National Invitation Tournament (NIT) | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Invitation Tournament |
| Sport | College basketball |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Organizer | Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association |
| Country | United States |
| Current champion | 2023 champion |
| Most titles | Long Island (5) |
| Venue | Madison Square Garden |
National Invitation Tournament (NIT) The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is a post-season men's college basketball competition in the United States with origins predating the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Founded in 1938 by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association and originally centered at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the event has featured teams from institutions such as Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana, and North Carolina. Over decades the tournament has involved changes driven by organizations including the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the NCAA Tournament Committee, and conferences such as the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten Conference, the Southeastern Conference, and the Big East Conference.
The NIT began in 1938 when the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association invited teams from programs like Temple, CCNY, Bradley, and Duquesne to compete at Madison Square Garden. Early champions included schools such as Adelphi (exhibition era), and established programs including CCNY which later won both the NIT and the NCAA Tournament in 1950. During the 1950s and 1960s, coaching figures like Adolph Rupp, Phog Allen, Naismith-era followers, and later John Wooden and Adolph Rupp-era rivals influenced the prestige of post-season play. The 1970s saw shifts with the NCAA expanding the NCAA Tournament field, and legal actions involving the NCAA and institutions including Tulane University and University of Louisville altered automatic-invitation practices. In 2005 the NCAA acquired the NIT following an antitrust settlement; governance moved under NCAA administration while maintaining traditions at Madison Square Garden.
The NIT typically fields teams not selected for the NCAA Tournament and includes automatic qualifiers such as regular-season conference champions from leagues like the Sun Belt Conference, the Mountain West Conference, and the Ivy League when they fail to win conference tournaments. Selection involves the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee-related processes, with metrics influenced by bodies like the Ratings Percentage Index and other analytics used across programs such as Arizona, Duke, Michigan, Villanova, and Texas. Brackets have varied from 8 to 32 teams; modern formats commonly use a 32-team bracket with early rounds at campus sites—venues including Cameron Indoor Stadium, Rupp Arena, Allen Fieldhouse, and Maples Pavilion—and semifinals and finals at Madison Square Garden. The NIT also features seeding and regional placement influenced by conferences such as the Pac-12 Conference and selection committees that consider head-to-head results between schools like Marquette, Syracuse, Louisville, and Notre Dame.
Historical champions include programs with multiple titles such as LIU, Bradley, Utah, and Cincinnati. Individual records feature performances by players from institutions like Georgetown, St. John's, Purdue, Arkansas, USC, and Michigan State. Coaches with notable NIT success include Lou Carnesecca, Joe Lapchick, Adolph Rupp, Lefty Driesell, and Jim Calhoun. Statistical milestones—most points in a tournament game, most rebounds, and longest single-game winning streaks—have been achieved by athletes associated with programs such as Syracuse, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and Maryland.
Teams that have used the NIT as springboards include Dayton, Memphis, Alabama, Florida State, Vanderbilt, and Illinois. Players who made impacts during NIT runs and later in the National Basketball Association include alumni from Louisville (Pervis Ellison-era), Connecticut (Ray Allen as a college-era star), Cincinnati (Oscar Robertson earlier era), Kansas (Wilt Chamberlain legacy affects era comparisons), North Carolina (Michael Jordan-era comparisons), and Syracuse (Dave Bing-era). Coaches who elevated career profiles via NIT success include Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, Tom Izzo, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Bobby Knight, and Jim Calhoun.
Broadcast rights have been managed by networks such as ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, and cable outlets like ESPN2 and CBS Sports Network. Radio coverage has involved outlets including Westwood One and local affiliates tied to universities such as WFAN and student-run stations. Media attention includes reporting from organizations like The New York Times, Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, Bleacher Report, The Athletic, and regional newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, New York Daily News, and New York Post. Digital streaming platforms and conference-specific networks like the Big Ten Network and ACC Network have increased accessibility.
The NIT has influenced the development of post-season college basketball by providing additional exposure for programs including St. John's, Bradley, CCNY, Seton Hall, Fordham, and Princeton. Its role shaped debates involving the NCAA about tournament expansion, selection policy, and television contracts with broadcasters like CBS and ESPN. The tournament has cultural links to venues such as Madison Square Garden and to eras shaped by schools from urban centers including New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston. Alumni and historians from institutions such as Rutgers, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, and Brown study the NIT’s impact on program building, recruiting, and college-basketball historiography.
Category:College basketball tournaments in the United States