Every March, America gets swept up in college basketball, taking part in the madness created by the NCAA tournament in men's and women's hoops. Fans and bracket pool enthusiasts are drawn to the compelling drama played out on the hardwood.

The NCAA tournament hasn't always been the premier postseason competition of college basketball. There was a time when another showcase event held more prestige and even packed Madison Square Garden with games featuring the nation's best talent.

The event was the National Invitation Tournament. After it debuted in 1938, the NIT reigned supreme as the top men's college basketball tournament.

The NIT remains an important postseason competition for Division I teams in men's and women's college basketball. While the NCAA tournaments officially crown the national champions each year, the NIT still provides top teams the opportunity to battle for a tourney title during "March Madness."

What Does NIT Stand For?

In 1938, the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association brought six teams featuring some of the best players in men's college basketball to New York City to participate in a brand-new competition. The invitation-only event was called the National Invitation Tournament.

Entry to the NIT in women's basketball is also by invitation. The event was known as the National Women's Invitation Tournament from 1969 to 1997 and changed its name to the Women's National Invitation Tournament in 1998.

The NIT in men's and women's hoops sends its tournament invites after the NCAA tournament completes its 68-team fields.

When and Why Was the NIT Created?

The Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association created the NIT in 1938 to bring the best men's college basketball teams together in New York City. The inaugural tournament included six teams — Bradley, Colorado, Long Island, NYU, Oklahoma A&M and Temple — and the games were played at Madison Square Garden.

Temple defeated Colorado 60-36 to win the first NIT championship while shooting underhanded free throws. Temple's Don Shields was voted Most Outstanding Player.

A women's version of the NIT called the National Women's Invitation Tournament (NWIT) began in 1969 and was held every year until 1996. The event was resurrected in 1998 as the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) with the same mission "to give deserving teams a quality opportunity to play exciting games for a postseason title."

Was the NIT Ever More Prestigious Than the NCAA Tournament?

The NIT started in 1938, a year before James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, created the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship. In 1939, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) launched their own postseason competition that would become the NCAA tournament.

In Bill Bradley's book, "A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton," the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer said the NIT in the 1940s "was the most glamorous of the postseason tournaments and generally had better teams" and the NIT winner "was regarded as more of a national champion than the ... winner of the NCAA tournament."

Both the NIT and NCAA events quickly grew to prominence. In 1943, the winners of each tournament faced off for the first time to determine a true national champion in a Red Cross benefit game. At Madison Square Garden, NCAA champion Wyoming defeated NIT champion St. John's 52-47 in overtime to earn the title of "world champions of 1943."

How the NCAA Took Over the NIT

The NIT began to lose its luster in 1951 when a gambling scandal threatened college basketball.

Caught in the middle of the point shaving scheme was City College of New York, which won the NIT and NCAA titles in 1950 when teams were allowed to compete in both competitions. CCNY went from "heroes to villains," tarnishing its legacy as well as the reputation of the New York-based NIT.

The fallout also saw the NCAA gain more influence in men's college basketball. It expanded its tournament field by including non-conference champions as at-large bids, and by the early 1960s, it established its postseason competition as the tournament of choice.

By the 1970s, TV networks also preferred the NCAA tournament over the NIT. By the 1980s, the NIT had become a secondary tournament for teams excluded from the NCAAs.

In 2005, the NCAA settled an antitrust suit brought on by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association — the owners of the NIT — by purchasing the rights to the rival tournament for $56.5 million.

"We've now unified postseason basketball," NCAA president Myles Brand said.

Who Gets Invited to the NIT?

The NIT invites teams to its annual postseason competition after the NCAA tournament chooses participants for its 68-team field in men's and women's basketball.

A committee chooses the 32 best-available teams to fill the NIT men's field. Forty-eight women's squads are selected for the WNIT.

For the men's NIT, automatic bids are given to the regular-season conference champions with a "KNIT" score of 125 or higher. KNIT is determined by the sum of seven advanced metrics scores (BPI, KPI, NET, KenPom, SOR, TOR, WAB) divided by 7.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as What Does NIT Stand For And How Did It Come To Be?.