national invitational tournament field ...

[tmcats]

back when knight and coach k were coaching army, the ncaa field was much smaller - 22-25 during bob's time at army. knight actually preferred playing in nyc. he was 102-50 and took the black knights to the nit 4 times in 6 years. k was 73-59 with one nit invite.



What happened to the NIT’s prestige?
The NCAA’s uncanny ability to impose its will on teams and fans was just as potent in the 1950s as it is now. Starting in the 1950s, the NCAA forced any team that won its conference to automatically accept its NCAA Tournament bid. The new rule began the slow process of draining the top teams away from the NIT.

Over the 1960s the NIT’s reputation dwindled, but it didn’t totally die. The tournament became national news in 1970 thanks to a protest by Marquette coach Al McGuire. Marquette had nabbed the 8th spot in the final Associated Press poll of the season, but the Warriors found themselves seeded in the NCAA’s Midwest Region rather than the Mideast Region. McGuire didn’t love the seeding because it meant his team would have to play in Fort Worth rather than closer to home in Dayton. To protest the decision, McGuire snubbed the NCAA by rejecting its at-large bid in favor of playing in (and winning) the NIT.

McGuire’s decision didn’t sit well with the NCAA, which reacted by instituting a new rule that forced all teams to accept a March Madness bid if they received one. (Remember that rule; it became important later.)

The real death knell for the NIT’s prestige probably came when the NCAA changed another rule in 1975. March Madness expanded to 32 teams that year, and the NCAA began allowing multiple teams from each conference to play in the Big Dance.