The NCAA announced Monday that it is shrinking the National Invitational Tournament and moving its annual tournament.
The NIT features 16 teams all playing in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, with games held at the Comerica Center in Frisco and UNT Coliseum on campus in North Texas at Denton.
In previous years, there were 32 teams with the matches held on campus grounds until the semifinals and championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Another notable change is the invitation process. Since 2017, all champions in the regular season who have not won their conference tournament have received an automatic bid to the NIT, while the rest of the field has been filled with huge choices. Due to the reduced field, all 16 teams will be a big choice, without automatic heats.
There was no tournament last season due to the coronavirus pandemic, which left Texas as the defending champion. The Longhorns beat Lipscomb in the 2019 game.