National Invitation Tournament
Current season, competition or edition: 2016 National Invitation Tournament
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National Invitation Tournament
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| Sport | Basketball |
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| Founded | 1938 |
| Founder | Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association |
| No. of teams | 32 |
| Most recent champion(s) |
George Washington |
| Most titles | St. John's (5) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| Related competitions |
NIT Season Tip-Off NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship College Basketball Invitational CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Vegas 16 |
| Official website | http://www.ncaa.com/championships/basketball-men/nit |
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City each March and April, it was founded in 1938 and originally the most prestigious post-season showcase for college basketball.
Over time it became eclipsed by the NCAA Basketball Tournament – known today informally as March Madness and The Big Dance.
A second, much more recent "NIT" tournament, is played in November and known as the NIT Season Tip-Off. Formerly the "Preseason NIT", it was founded in 1985. Like the postseason NIT, its final rounds are played at Madison Square Garden. Both tournaments were operated by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) until 2005, when they were purchased by the NCAA, and the MIBA disbanded.
Unless otherwise qualified, the terms"NIT" or "National Invitation Tournament" refer to the post-season tournament in both common and official use.
The post-season National Invitation Tournament was founded in 1938 by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, one year after the NAIA Tournament was created by basketball's inventer Dr. James Naismith, and one before the NCAA Tournament. The first NIT was won by the Temple University Owls over the Colorado Buffaloes.
Responsibility for the NIT's administration was transferred in 1940 to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee, a body of local New York colleges: Fordham University, Manhattan College, New York University, St. John's University, and Wagner College. This became the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) in 1948.
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