Indianapolis — Exciting changes are coming for the 2025 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) as the Board of Managers has introduced new qualification procedures. One of the most notable updates is the introduction of 16 “exempt” teams that will get automatic bids, along with the chance for other teams to qualify as regular-season conference champions.
The exempt teams will include the top two teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Southeastern Conference (SEC) that don’t make it to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Moreover, the top team not selected from the top 12 conferences based on the Ken Pomeroy Rating will also earn an exempt bid to the NIT.
Determining the top teams from each conference will involve a combination of various metrics. The average rankings from the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), Kevin Pauga Index (KPI), NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), Ken Pomeroy Rating (KenPom), Strength of Record (SOR), Torvik ranking, and Wins Above Bubble (WAB) will help in this selection process. Teams given an exempt bid are guaranteed a chance to host a first-round game.
Additionally, any regular-season conference champion that fails to qualify for the NCAA championship will have the opportunity to gain an automatic bid to the NIT, provided they maintain an average ranking of at least 125 across the specified metrics.
The NIT Committee will still choose the remaining 32 teams as at-large selections. In an announcement filled with surprises, the NIT Board also welcomed former head coaches Tubby Smith and Jeff Jones to the NIT Committee. Smith boasts an impressive 642-370 record over 31 seasons and has led teams to multiple NCAA tournament appearances, including winning a national championship with Kentucky. Meanwhile, Jones has a solid 560-418 record over 32 years, winning the NIT Championship in 1992 with Virginia.
Tim Duncan, who serves as the senior deputy athletics director at Memphis, will be chairing the NIT Committee. A diverse group of other members includes athletic directors and former coaches who will help shape the future of the tournament.
Another significant move from the NIT Board includes an experimental rule that will allow coaches to appeal out-of-bounds calls in the last two minutes of games. This new process will revolve around the number of timeouts left for a team. If a coach’s appeal is successful, they will keep their timeouts; if not, they will lose one. A failed appeal without timeouts remaining could result in a technical foul for the team making the appeal.
The bracket and pairings for the 2025 NIT will be revealed on Sunday, March 16, with first-round games kicking off on Tuesday, March 18. Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will host the NIT semifinals on Tuesday, April 1, and the championship game on Thursday, April 3. Fans can catch all NIT games live across ESPN platforms. For more details on the event, check out the official NCAA website dedicated to the NIT.
