National Invitation Tournament

The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is a college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The association plays two tournaments each year: one played each spring, with its final rounds in New York City at Madison Square Garden and one each November (the pre-season NIT). The tournament was operated by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) up until 2005.

History

The post-season tournament pre-dates the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament by one year; in the tournaments' early years there was often some contention as to which champion was in fact the nation's best collegiate basketball team. Since the rise to prominence of the NCAA tournament, the post-season NIT has generally consisted of teams who failed to qualify for the NCAA event. As such, it has been nicknamed by some as the "Not Invited Tournament," indicating its lower status.

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Since the 1970s there have been separate men's and women's tournaments. The women's tournament originally consisted of eight teams and was held in Amarillo, Texas.

Related Topics:
1970s - Amarillo, Texas

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Originated by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in 1938, responsibility for administering the NIT was transferred two years later to local colleges, first known as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee and in 1948, as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA), which was comprised of representatives from the five New York City schools, Fordham University, Manhattan College, New York University, St. John's University and Wagner College.

Related Topics:
1938 - 1948 - Fordham University - Manhattan College - New York University - St. John's University - Wagner College

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Originally all of the men's teams qualifying for the tournament were invited to New York City and all games were played at Madison Square Garden. In recent years, as interest in collegiate sports in general has declined in the Metropolitan New York area as interest in professional sports has increased, and interest in the NIT has declined as it has been dismissed as "playing for 66th place", earlier rounds are now played on campus sites and only the semi-final and final rounds are held at the Garden.

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In 2005, the NCAA purchased the NIT tournament to settle anti-trust concerns brought by the MIBA. As part of the purchase of the NIT by the NCAA, the MIBA disbanded.

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