The 2021 National Invitation Tournament will include 16 teams with all games being played in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The decision to lead the NIT in one geographic location was made with the interest of having a protected and healthy environment for all members.
Conference USA and the University of North Texas will serve as hosts for the 83rd NIT, and explicit venues for each round are being finished. Games will be played at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas and at UNT Coliseum on the campus of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
First-round games will be played Wednesday, March 17, through Saturday, March 20. Quarterfinals likewise will happen Thursday, March 25. The semifinals and championship will happen Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28. 2021 additionally will highlight a third-place game Sunday, March 28, which hasn’t been played at the NIT since 2003. Each of the 16 games of the 2021 NIT will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.
Teams and pairings for the 2021 NIT are scheduled to be released by the NIT Committee at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, March 14, on ESPNU. Due to the decreased field size, each of the 16 teams will be selected as at-large participants, and there will be no automatic qualifiers for the NIT.
The NIT, which started in 1938, is the country’s oldest postseason competition. In 2019, Texas won the NIT title. The 2020 competition was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.