As the NCAA Tournament contestants are revealed and thousands of pens meet paper on Sunday night to fill out brackets, a select handful of college basketball sickos will turn to the NIT Selection Show. There we will learn which 32 teams left out of March Madness will compete for college basketball's second-most prestigous postseason title.
Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The 2026 NIT Selection Show will take place on Sunday, March 15 at 9:30 p.m. ET, marking a key moment for teams left out of March Madness.
- Unlike previous years, the bracket will be revealed exclusively through official social media channels, skipping traditional TV broadcasts entirely.
- This shift to digital highlights the evolving landscape of college basketball postseason opportunities and fan engagement strategies.
The NIT consists of NCAA Tournament near-misses — the "first four" are near locks, assuming invitations are accepted. There are also automatic bids for regular season conference champs who don't crack the big dance, which means Navy, UNC-Wilmington, Belmont and Portland State are among the notable projected competitors. Auburn, Stanford and Indiana are notable high-major teams that could participate.
NIT Selection Show 2026: Date, start time, TV channel and how to watch and stream
- Date: Sunday, March 15
- Time: 9:30 p.m ET
- TV Channel: None
- Live Stream: None
- Official NIT Social Media Accounts: X.com and Instagram
The NIT Selection Show has historically aired on ESPN2, but last year the "broadcast" became virtual, as the NIT bracket was revealed through official social media channels. That newfangled strategy will continue in 2026, so you needn't flip channels once the March Madness reveal is complete. Simply pull up X or Instagram from your phone (or laptop, or tablet) and monitor the NIT's pages. You can also turn on notifications.
All will be revealed at 9:30 p.m. ET on Selection Sunday right here and on our IG.#NIT2026 pic.twitter.com/POiuHY7ZW8
— NIT (@NITMBB) March 12, 2026
The NIT has seen waning popularity in recent years as new tournaments arise — chiefly The College Basketball Crown, which featured notable teams such as Villanova, Arizona State, Nebraska and Georgetown in 2025. That could purge several potential NIT teams, many of which would have felt like locks for the NIT a couple years ago.
As Bob Dylan once said: the times, they are a-changin'.
Still, there should be plenty of spirited and entertaining basketball on the NIT stage. Generally, jaded regular season champs and teams who feel disrespected by the broader March Madness apparatus come into the NIT with a chip on their shoulders.
Who won the NIT last year?
Chattanooga won the NIT in 2025 with a thrilling 85-84 win over No. 1 seed UC Irvine. Collin Mulholland and Trey Bonham both scored 19 in the victory. It was a significant upset for the Mocs, who joined a long and, yes, prestigious list of NIT champs, etching their names in a niche section of college basketball history. This stuff matters!
Here are the last 10 winners of the NIT:
YEAR | NIT CHAMP | RUNNER-UP |
|---|---|---|
2025 | Chattanooga | UC Irvine |
2024 | Seton Hall | Indiana State |
2023 | North Texas | UAB |
2022 | Xavier | Texas A&M |
2021 | Memphis | Mississippi State |
2019 | Texas | Lipsomb |
2018 | Penn State | Utah |
2017 | TCU | Georgia Tech |
2016 | George Washington | Valparaiso |
2015 | Stanford | Miami (FL) |
While the perceived caliber of competition in the NIT may be on the decline, last year's tournament was proof that the product has not suffered. Chattanooga's upset win in the championship game was must-watch TV. Hopefully we get more great basketball this time around.