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National Invitational Tournament shrinks field from 32 to 24 teams as NCAA Tournament expansion looms
Confirmed
In Short: The NCAA announced Thursday that the men's and women's National Invitation Tournaments (NIT and WBIT) will reduce from 32 to 24 teams starting in 2027, aligning with the expansion of the NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams each.
The changes come as multiple Power Five programs have opted out of the NIT in recent years, such as Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, Belmont, and San Diego State, who declined invitations after missing the NCAA Tournament.
Teams that won their regular-season conference championship and have an average WAB and NET ranking of 110 or better will receive automatic entry into the WBIT, while at-large teams must have a minimum.500 overall winning percentage.
The NCAA also announced that bids will be awarded to regular-season conference champions that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament, provided they are ranked 125th or better when using the average of the ESPN Basketball Power Index, Ken Pomeroy Rating, Kevin Pauga Index, NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), Strength of Record, Torvik, and Wins Above Bubble (WAB) rankings.
The NIT field has been set at 32 teams since 2006, when the bracket shrank from 40 back to the format that started in 1980.
The NCAA's decision to reduce the NIT field was seen as inevitable due to the expansion of the NCAA Tournament and the trend of top-tier programs opting out of the NIT.
The NCAA said it will distribute more than $131 million of the new revenue to schools that make the tournament, with the expansion of the NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams each.
Amanda Braun, the women’s tournament committee chair, said, “Things will look a little different, but feel very, very similar.”
What this adds
The reduction of the NIT and WBIT fields to 24 teams is a significant change that reflects the evolving landscape of college basketball tournaments.
The NCAA's decision to reduce the NIT field is a direct response to the trend of top-tier programs opting out of the tournament in recent years.
What's confirmed
- The quarter-final encounter at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center showcased Gauff’s resilience.
What's still developing
- The men's National Invitational Tournament will be shrinking from 32 teams to 24 starting in 2027, the NCAA announced on Thursday.
- The season before, Indiana, South Carolina and Wake Forest were among the power conference teams that declined an invite.
- How the NIT field is selected will also be different starting next year.
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- The NCAA on Thursday announced a long-expected expansion of its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to 76 teams each starting next season, explaining that it made the money part work by opening sponsorship opportunities to a long-restricted alcohol category.