NEW YORK — The 16-team field for the 2008 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament was announced today by C.M. Newton, chair of the NIT Selection Committee.
“Once again, the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament features an outstanding field and we look forward to another exciting start to college basketball,” commented Newton.
The 2008 NIT Season Tip-Off teams and brackets are as follows:
The East Regional will take place at Boston College and the Eagles will play Loyola (Maryland) while Cornell squares off against St. John’s. In the North Regional, Purdue is the host site for its game against Eastern Michigan and for the Georgia vs. Loyola (Chicago) matchup. Oklahoma is the site for the South Regional, and the Sooners will tip against Mississippi Valley State and James Madison will play Davidson. In the West Regional, Arizona is the host against Florida Atlantic and Santa Clara faces University of Alabama-Birmingham. All first-round games will take place on November 17 with the championship and consolation games of the four regions to follow on November 18.
The NIT Season Tip-Off, which began in 1985, has evolved to an enhanced format this year that guarantees every team four games.
First- and second-round games will be played at the home campus sites of the four highest-seeded teams. The winners of those sites will move onto New York’s Madison Square Garden over the Thanksgiving holiday for the semifinal and final doubleheaders November 26 and 28.
The remaining 12 teams will play third- and fourth-round games on November 24 and 25. These games will be played on the home campus sites of the three highest remaining seeds. Participating teams will not play any team twice and third and fourth rounds will be assigned to the most geographically compatible site possible.
ESPN will provide coverage throughout the event; televising games on ESPN2 and ESPNU, with select games also simulcast on ESPN360.com.
About the NIT
In August of 2005, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), LLC, which is under the umbrella of the NCAA, assumed control of the post season NIT and the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament. The post season NIT was founded in 1938 by a group of New York City sportswriters while the NIT Season Tip-Off, formerly known as the preseason NIT, started in 1985. An independent at-large committee chooses the filed for both events. Since the inception of the two Tournaments, tens of thousands of student-athletes and coaches have participated. Visit www.nit.org for more details on Tournament history, selection committee and procedures.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA Championships in Division I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
- Brackets located in helpful links box above.
-30-
CF:GD
