When was the nit bigger than the ncaa tournament

The schools took home thousands of dollars as their share of the gate receipts for playing in Madison Square Garden. In the NCAA eliminations, they were lucky to make expenses. The NIT also is the senior competition, organized in as a six-team affair by entrepreneurial New York City sportswriters. That first year the Temple University Owls won all three of their games, prevailing in the final over the University of Colorado Buffaloes They had seen how successful a college basketball tournament could be and wanted a piece of the action.

By the time DePaul ascended as a regional power, the NIT fielded eight teams it currently has a team format. The NCAA — yes, they had a tournament, but it was really an afterthought tournament at that point.

So, how to explain the outcome of the head-to-head matchups during the war years? In all three years the NCAA representative was the victor. Yet, even into the s, some people still argued that the NIT was the better tournament. NCAA regulations eventually put that argument to rest when they made it a rule that any team invited to its tournament was required to participate. But the tournament owes a debt of gratitude to the NIT. The second year saw the Indiana Hoosiers prevail over the Kansas Jayhawks In New York, schools were compensated for their expenses and given a large percentage of the tournament profits.

Meanwhile, the NCAA could barely meet the costs of its invitees. Local schools like St. The Red Cross at the time was deeply involved in charity games to raise funds for the war effort. In , authorities uncovered a point-shaving scandal that went back years and which involved mostly, but not exclusively, New York area schools. Representing an increasing number of university athletic departments, the NCAA grew in influence and was able to dictate stricter terms to its participants and independents.

Some people do like it, though! Normal basketball?? Unhappy fans of slumping powers always call for their teams to avoid sullying their pristine bodies with sub-stellar basketball, but almost all players choose to keep playing.

More importantly, one time, Indiana accepted a trip to the tourney but declined to host , then lost an upset at Georgia Tech. You watch the NIT for oddity like that. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

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