Death of the NIT?

[Coastal89]

The NCAA purchased the rights to the preseason and postseason National Invitation Tournaments as part of a settlement that ends a four-year legal fight between the two parties.

In the deal announced Wednesday, the NCAA will pay $56.5 million to the five New York City colleges that operate the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, the organization that has run the NIT since 1940
http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050817/APS/508171001&Login=1

[kardplayer]

Now that they're one big happy family, I'd like to see the "NIT" take on more small schools. Give the conference championship game runner-ups an autobid to the tournament. The big conference runner ups (ACC, PAC-10, etc.) usually will end up in the main tournament, but the Patriot, Big Sky, and other similar conference runner ups that usually go home will now get their chance in the NIT.

This sets up some additional opportunities for a Cinderella story - even if its a lesser story... Imagine Weber State having gotten an autobid last year to the NIT (based on losing to Montana in the Big Sky finals). There would be additional excitement for the kids just for making the conference finals.

Plus, then our schools will get to use the "NIT" chant to mock the losing squad ;)

[TexasTerror]

It said in the article that I read on ESPN.com that they were not sure how this impacts the 2005 Preseason NIT. Sam Houston State is in that tournament as we make a return trip to Missouri (where we played them in the Guardian's Classic last year), so we'll see...

[Marcus Garvey]

Eventually, I suspect the post-season NIT will disappear. Frankly, the NIT should have sued the NCAA in the early 70's when they adopted the rule requiring members to accept a bid to the NCAA tournament above all others. I read somewhere that the NCAA adopted that rule because Marquette, who was a top-10 team one year, turned down the NCAA and played in the NIT instead. I guess Al McGuire liked his chances in Madison Square Garden better than having to face UCLA if they made it to the title game.

When the NCAA tournament was still 32 teams, the NIT still got ranked teams. Back then, there were odd rules in place limiting the number of teams from a conference in the NCAA tournament. But starting in the late 70's, that changed. The NIT has been irrelevant for nearly 30 years.

[dbackjon]

If they don't eliminate the Post-season tournament, at least hopefully the bids will be distributed better - with the schools that ran it, there was a strong NE bias to the bids - and West Coast/Midwest schools got left out.

[Marcus Garvey]

with the schools that ran it, there was a strong NE bias to the bids

Agreed. That's because the semi-finals and finals are in Madison Square Garden. The tourney people would like the biggest crowd possible. Let's face it, Utah St. fans aren't going to show up in Manhattan in droves. They were quite happy to see St. Joseph's make the final, because the Hawks always bring a crowd to NYC.

[Mr. C]

Eventually, I suspect the post-season NIT will disappear. Frankly, the NIT should have sued the NCAA in the early 70's when they adopted the rule requiring members to accept a bid to the NCAA tournament above all others. I read somewhere that the NCAA adopted that rule because Marquette, who was a top-10 team one year, turned down the NCAA and played in the NIT instead. I guess Al McGuire liked his chances in Madison Square Garden better than having to face UCLA if they made it to the title game.

This story actually has a I-AA tie to it. McGuire didn't like the seed that Marquette received when the NCAA announced its bids in 1967, so he skipped the NCAAs in protest and took his team to the NIT instead. Marquette advanced to the final at Madison Square Garden, where they met up with the Southern Illinois Salukis and a certain point guard named Walt Frazier. Southern Illinois (which also featured another future NBA gaurd named Dick Garrett) beat the Warriors behind Frazier's heroics.

[89rabbit]

Interesting story from the Indy Star:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050819/SPORTS/508190484/1004/SPORTS

August 19, 2005


Mid-major teams excited about NIT's future

By Jeff Rabjohns


Now that the NCAA is in charge of the National Invitation Tournament, coaches of college basketball's mid-major programs say they're hopeful.

Hopeful that selection will be based on a team's performance, rather than the prestige of a school's name and its potential to draw a television audience. . . . (read more)

[bkrownd]

Hopeful that selection will be based on a team's performance, rather than the prestige of a school's name and its potential to draw a television audience. . . . (read more)

That would be the death of it. The NIT is "all about the Benjamins". Big schools can bring more Benjamins. (Ech, why am I posting about basketball?)