Women's National Invitation Tournament

The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year. It is operated in a similar fashion to the men's college National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and NIT Season Tip-Off. Unlike the NIT, the women's tournament is not run by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), but is an independent national championship. Triple Crown Sports, a company based in Fort Collins, Colorado that specializes in the promotion of amateur sporting events,[1] created the WNIT in 1994 as a preseason counterpart to the then-current National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT). After the NWIT folded in 1996, Triple Crown Sports resurrected the postseason version in 1998 under the NWIT name, but changed the following season to the current name.[2]

For the TV station in South Bend, Indiana, see WNIT (TV).
Women's National Invitation Tournament
Current season, competition or edition:
2021 Women's National Invitation Tournament
Logo of the Women's National Invitational Tournament
SportBasketball
Founded1994 (preseason)
1998 (postseason)
FounderTriple Crown Sports
Inaugural season1994 (preseason)
1998 (postseason)
No. of teams16 (preseason)
64 (postseason)
Country United States
Most recent
champion(s)		Arizona (2019 postseason)
TV partner(s)CBS Sports Network
Related
competitions		Women's Basketball Invitational
Official websitewww.womensnit.com

Format

The WNIT began in 1994 as a 16-team preseason tournament; the preseason version has remained at that field size throughout its history. Originally, the preseason WNIT was a single-elimination tournament, but since the 2007 edition has used a format which guarantees all participating teams three games. Since it is classified by the NCAA as an "exempt" event, a team can only participate in the preseason WNIT once every four years; additionally, only one team per conference may participate.[3]

The postseason WNIT started in 1998 as a 16-team tournament. It was doubled to a 32-team tournament in 1999. In 2006, competing schools assumed more responsibility, hosting the early rounds of the tourney, and additional expansion was made to forty teams. At that time, schools which won their regular-season conference title but were excluded from the NCAA tournament by having lost their conference tournament were awarded automatic bids. The field was further expanded in 2007 to 48 teams, with automatic bids awarded to each Division I conference. The tournament was expanded to its current 64 teams in 2010.[4]

The postseason field consists of 32 automatic berths – one from each conference – and 32 at-large teams. Thirty-two spots in the Postseason WNIT are filled automatically by the best team available in each of the nation's 32 conferences, If a conference's automatic qualifier team declines the WNIT invitation, the conference forfeits that automatic spot, and that selection goes into the pool of at-large schools. The remaining 32 team slots in the Postseason WNIT are filled by the top teams available. Any team from a Division I conference, or a Division I independent team, will be considered. Any team considered for an at-large berth must have an overall record of .500 or better. Bids are announced on the evening of the same day that the NCAA tourney bids are made.[4]

The current, 64-team tournament has 32 first-round games, followed by 16 second-round games, eight third-round games, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal games, and the championship. Since the WNIT is a for-profit tournament, all games are played on the site of the higher bidding team.[5] The national championship game is currently carried on CBS Sports Network.[4]

Championship history

Postseason
Year Champion Runner-up Venue and city
1998* Penn State59 Baylor56 Ferrell CenterWaco, Texas
1999 Arkansas67 Wisconsin64 Bud Walton ArenaFayetteville, Arkansas
2000 Wisconsin75 Florida74 Kohl CenterMadison, Wisconsin
2001 Ohio State62 New Mexico61 University ArenaAlbuquerque, New Mexico
2002 Oregon54 Houston52 McArthur CourtEugene, Oregon
2003 Auburn64 Baylor63 Ferrell CenterWaco, Texas
2004 Creighton73 UNLV52 Omaha Civic AuditoriumOmaha, Nebraska
2005 SW Missouri State 78 West Virginia70 Hammons Student CenterSpringfield, Missouri
2006 Kansas State77 Marquette65 Bramlage ColiseumManhattan, Kansas
2007 Wyoming72 Wisconsin56 Arena-Auditorium Laramie, Wyoming
2008 Marquette81 Michigan State66 Breslin Student Events CenterEast Lansing, Michigan
2009 South Florida75 Kansas71 Allen FieldhouseLawrence, Kansas
2010 California73 Miami (FL)61 Haas PavilionBerkeley, California
2011 Toledo76 USC68 Savage Arena Toledo, Ohio
2012 Oklahoma State75 James Madison68 Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma
2013 Drexel46 Utah43 Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2014 Rutgers56 UTEP54 Don Haskins Center El Paso, Texas
2015 UCLA62 West Virginia60 Charleston Civic Center Charleston, West Virginia
2016 South Dakota71 Florida Gulf Coast65 DakotaDome Vermillion, South Dakota
2017 Michigan89 Georgia Tech79 Calihan Hall Detroit, Michigan
2018 Indiana 65 Virginia Tech 57 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana
2019 Arizona 56 Northwestern 42 McKale Center Tucson, Arizona
2020 No tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

*Was called National Women's Invitational Tournament.

Preseason
Year Champion Runner-up Final venue and city
1994*[6] Washington79 Texas Tech75 Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas[7]
1995*[8] Colorado73 Arkansas71 Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas
1996*[9] Louisiana Tech66 Tennessee64 Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, Louisiana
1997*[10] Connecticut71 Nebraska61 Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
1998[11] Colorado State71 Rutgers60 Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colorado
1999[12] Georgia85 UC Santa Barbara64 Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois
2000[13] Louisiana Tech68 Purdue63 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana
2001[14] Connecticut69 Vanderbilt50 Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
2002[15] Kansas State88 Penn State66 Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, Kansas
2003[16] Texas Tech73 Rutgers45 United Spirit Arena Lubbock, Texas
2004[17] Notre Dame66 Ohio State62 Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana
2005[18] Connecticut82 Oklahoma62 Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
2006[19] Purdue69 Baylor55 Ferrell Center Waco, Texas
2007[20] Maryland75 LSU62 Comcast Center College Park, Maryland
2008[21] North Carolina80 Oklahoma79 Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma
2009[22] Ohio State93 Oklahoma State72 Value City Arena Columbus, Ohio
2010[23] Purdue67 DePaul58 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana
2011[24] Baylor94 Notre Dame81 Ferrell Center Waco, Texas
2012[25] North Carolina77 Iowa64 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa
2013[26] Louisville97OT Oklahoma92 Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma
2014[27] Mississippi State88 Western Kentucky77 Humphrey Coliseum Mississippi State, Mississippi
2015[28] Baylor86 DePaul72 Ferrell Center Waco, Texas
2016[29] Notre Dame71 Washington60 Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana
2017[30] Louisville74 Oregon61 KFC Yum! Center Louisville, Kentucky
2018[31] Iowa State75 Miami (FL)52 Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa
2019[32] Oregon State 80 Missouri State 69 Gill Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon
2020 No tournament because of COVID-19 pandemic.

*Was called National Women's Invitational Tournament.

See also

References
  1. "Triple Crown Sports - Home". www.triplecrownsports.com.
  2. Cooper, Gregory. "Women's College Basketball Championship Page". womenscollegebasketballhistory.com.
  3. "WNIT: Event Info". Triple Crown Sports. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  4. "Event Info". womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  5. "FGCU sees payoff to being postseason hosts". The News-Press. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  6. "1994 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  7. "Washington Huskies" (PDF). Washington Huskies. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  8. "1995 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  9. "1996 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  10. "1997 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  11. "1998 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  12. "1999 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  13. "2000 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  14. "2001 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  15. "2002 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  16. "2003 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  17. "2004 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  18. "2005 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  19. "2006 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  20. "2007 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  21. "2008 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  22. "2009 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  23. "2010 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  24. "2011 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  25. "2012 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  26. "2013 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  27. "2014 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  28. "2015 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  29. "2016 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  30. "2017 Preseason Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  31. "2018 Preseason Championship Bracket (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  32. "2019 Preseason WNIT". womensnit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.