How the NIT works: Bracket, format and what to know
The 32-team field for the 2026 National Invitation Tournament will be announced Sunday, March 15.
First round play is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 17 and 18, with the second round on March 21 and 22. Quarterfinals will be held March 24 and 25, with those four winners advancing to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the semifinals Tuesday, April 2. The championship will be held Sunday, April 5, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Here is everything else you need to know:
2026 NIT bracket
*All times ET and subject to change.
2026 NIT schedule, TV channels
- Selections: Sunday, March 15
- Tuesday, March 17 — First Round
- Wednesday, March 18 — First Round
- Saturday, March 21 — Second Round
- Sunday, March 22 — Second Round
- Tuesday, March 24 — Quarterfinals
- Wednesday, March 25 — Quarterfinals
- Thursday, April 2 — Semifinals
- Hinkle Fieldhouse | 7 & 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
- Sunday, April 5 — Championship
- Gainbridge Fieldhouse | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN2
NIT championship history
| YEAR | SCHOOL | SCORE | RUNNER UP | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Temple | 60-36 | Colorado | Don Shields, Temple |
| 1939 | Long Island | 44-32 | Loyola | Bill Lloyd, St. John's |
| 1940 | Colorado | 51-40 | Duquesne | Bob Doll, Colorado |
| 1941 | Long Island | 56-42 | Ohio | Frankie Baumholtz, Ohio |
| 1942 | West Virginia | 47-45 | Western Kentucky State | Rudy Baric, West Virginia |
| 1943 | St. John's | 48-27 | Toledo | Harry Boykoff, St. John's |
| 1944 | St. John's | 47-39 | DePaul | Bill Kotsores, St. John's |
| 1945 | DePaul | 71-54 | Bowling Green | George Mikan, DePaul |
| 1946 | Kentucky | 46-45 | Rhode Island | Ernie Calverley, Rhode Island |
| 1947 | Utah | 49-45 | Kentucky | Vern Gardner, Utah |
| 1948 | Saint Louis | 65-52 | NYU | Ed Macauley, Saint Louis |
| 1949 | San Francisco | 48-47 | Loyola Chicago | Don Lofgran, San Francisco |
| 1950 | CCNY | 69-61 | Bradley | Ed Warner, CCNY |
| 1951 | BYU | 62-43 | Dayton | Roland Minson, BYU |
| 1952 | La Salle | 75-64 | Dayton | Tom Gola and Norm Grekin, La Salle |
| 1953 | Seton Hall | 58-46 | St. John's | Walter Dukes, Seton Hall |
| 1954 | Holy Cross | 71-62 | Duquesne | Togo Palazzi, Holy Cross |
| 1955 | Duquesne | 70-58 | Dayton | Maurice Stokes, St. Francis (PA) |
| 1956 | Louisville | 93-80 | Dayton | Charlie Tyra, Louisville |
| 1957 | Bradley | 84-83 | Memphis State | Win Wilfong, Memphis State |
| 1958 | Xavier | 78-74 | Dayton | Hank Stein, Xavier |
| 1959 | St. John's | 76-71 | Bradley | Tony Jackson, St. John's |
| 1960 | Bradley | 88-72 | Providence | Lenny Wilkens, Providence |
| 1961 | Providence | 62-59 | Saint Louis | Vin Ernst, Providence |
| 1962 | Dayton | 73-67 | St. John's | Bill Chmielewski, Dayton |
| 1963 | Providence | 81-66 | Canisius | Raymond Flynn, Providence |
| 1964 | Bradley | 86-54 | New Mexico | Levern Tart, Bradley |
| 1965 | St. John's | 55-51 | Villanova | Ken McIntyre, St. John's |
| 1966 | BYU | 97-84 | NYU | Bill Melchionni, Villanova |
| 1967 | Southern Illinois | 71-56 | Marquette | Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois |
| 1968 | Dayton | 61-48 | Kansas | Don May, Dayton |
| 1969 | Temple | 89-76 | Boston College | Terry Driscoll, Boston College |
| 1970 | Marquette | 65-53 | St. John's | Dean Meminger, Marquette |
| 1971 | North Carolina | 84-66 | Georgia Tech | Bill Chamberlain, North Carolina |
| 1972 | Maryland | 100-69 | Niagara | Tom McMillen, Maryland |
| 1973 | Virginia Tech | 92-91 | Notre Dame | John Schumate, Notre Dame |
| 1974 | Purdue | 87-81 | Utah | Mike Sojourner, Utah |
| 1975 | Princeton | 80-69 | Providence | Ron Lee, Oregon |
| 1976 | Kentucky | 71-67 | Charlotte | Cedric Maxwell, Charlotte |
| 1977 | St. Bonaventure | 94-91 | Houston | Greg Sanders, St. Bonaventure |
| 1978 | Texas | 101-93 | NC State | Jim Krivacs and Ron Baxter, Texas |
| 1979 | Indiana | 53-52 | Purdue | Butch Carter and Ray Tolbert, Indiana |
| 1980 | Virginia | 58-55 | Minnesota | Ralph Sampson, Virginia |
| 1981 | Tulsa | 86-84 | Syracuse | Greg Stewart, Tulsa |
| 1982 | Bradley | 67-58 | Purdue | J.J. Anderson, Bradley |
| 1983 | Fresno State | 69-60 | DePaul | Ron Anderson, Fresno State |
| 1984 | Michigan | 83-63 | Notre Dame | Tim McCormick, Michigan |
| 1985 | UCLA | 65-62 | Indiana | Reggie Miller, UCLA |
| 1986 | Ohio State | 73-63 | Wyoming | Brad Sellers, Ohio State |
| 1987 | Southern Miss | 84-80 | La Salle | Randolph Keys, Southern Miss |
| 1988 | Connecticut | 72-67 | Ohio State | Phil Gamble, Connecticut |
| 1989 | St. John's | 73-65 | Saint Louis | Jayson Williams, St. John's |
| 1990 | Vanderbilt | 74-72 | Saint Louis | Scott Draud, Vanderbilt |
| 1991 | Stanford | 78-72 | Oklahoma | Adam Keefe, Stanford |
| 1992 | Virginia | 81-76 (OT) | Notre Dame | Bryant Stith, Virginia |
| 1993 | Minnesota | 62-61 | Georgetown | Voshon Lenard, Minnesota |
| 1994 | Villanova | 80-73 | Vanderbilt | Doremus Bennerman, Siena |
| 1995 | Virginia Tech | 65-64 | Marquette | Shawn Smith, Virginia Tech |
| 1996 | Nebraska | 60-56 | Saint Joseph's | Erick Strickland, Nebraska |
| 1997 | Michigan* | 82-73 | Florida State | Robert Traylor, Michigan |
| 1998 | Minnesota* | 79-72 | Penn State | Kevin Clark, Minnesota |
| 1999 | California | 61-60 | Clemson | Sean Lampley, California |
| 2000 | Wake Forest | 71-61 | Notre Dame | Robert O'Kelley, Wake Forest |
| 2001 | Tulsa | 79-66 | Alabama | Marcus Hill, Tulsa |
| 2002 | Memphis | 72-62 | South Carolina | Dejuan Wagner, Memphis |
| 2003 | St. John's* | 70-67 | Georgetown | Marcus Hatten, St. John's |
| 2004 | Michigan | 62-55 | Rutgers | Daniel Horton, Michigan |
| 2005 | South Carolina | 60-57 | Saint Joseph's | Carlos Powell, South Carolina |
| 2006 | South Carolina | 76-64 | Michigan | Renaldo Balkman, South Carolina |
| 2007 | West Virginia | 78-73 | Clemson | Frank Young, West Virginia |
| 2008 | Ohio State | 92-85 | Massachusetts | Kosta Koufos, Ohio State |
| 2009 | Penn State | 69-63 | Baylor | Jamelle Cornley, Penn State |
| 2010 | Dayton | 79-68 | North Carolina | Chris Johnson, Dayton |
| 2011 | Wichita State | 66-57 | Alabama | Graham Hatch, Wichita State |
| 2012 | Stanford | 75-51 | Minnesota | Aaron Bright, Stanford |
| 2013 | Baylor | 74-54 | Iowa | Pierre Jackson, Baylor |
| 2014 | Minnesota | 65-63 | SMU | Austin Hollins, Minnesota |
| 2015 | Stanford | 66-64 (OT) | Miami | Chasson Randle, Stanford |
| 2016 | George Washington | 76-60 | Valparaiso | Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington |
| 2017 | TCU | 88-56 | Georgia Tech | Kenrich Williams, TCU |
| 2018 | Penn State | 82-66 | Utah | Lamar Stevens, Penn State |
| 2019 | Texas | 81-66 | Lipscomb | Kerwin Roach, Texas |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | Memphis | 77-64 | Mississippi State | Landers Nolley II, Memphis |
| 2022 | Xavier | 73-72 | Texas A&M | Colby Jones, Xavier |
| 2023 | North Texas | 68-61 | UAB | Tylor Perry, North Texas |
| 2024 | Seton Hall | 79-77 | Indiana State | Al-Amir Dawes, Seton Hall |
| 2025 | Chattanooga | 85-84 (OT) | UC Irvine | Trey Bonham, Chattanooga |
*-Vacated
