Teams opting out of NIT . . .

[Dave_Glaser]

So I see Mississippi, Pitt and St. John’s have already announced they won’t accept NIT invitations. Collegiate sports . . . what to make of it? No thanks to postseason bids, players opting out of bowl games, free agency transfer process, UCLA and Rutgers in the same conference, etc. It’s becoming really hard to justify paying attention to any of this.

Edited March 17 by Dave_Glaser

[Gat-Rat Bull]

Serious question... Why would any school opt out of the NIT? I can think of legitimate reasons, but if it's only because they are butt-hurt for getting left out of the NCAAs, then I am embarrassed for them. It's another chance to keep competing.

[Cat941]

Love the NIT. Touch the NIT. Trust no one who declines a spot in that shopworn event.

WWW.THEGAZETTE.COM

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To paraphrase Jimmy Dugan, the National Invitation Tournament isn’t supposed to be fun. If it were fun, everyone would want to be in it.

Why, it’s ageism to decline an NIT berth.

Of course, it’s more than a little funny that the NCAA changed the NIT’s selection rules to add more major-conference teams, leaving out regular-season champions from mid-majors that would appreciate being there.

 

[Friscobull]

21 minutes ago, Dave_Glaser said:

So I see Mississippi, Pitt and St. John’s have already announced they won’t accept NIT invitations. Collegiate sports . . . what to make of it? No thanks to postseason bids, players opting out of bowl games, free agency transfer process, UCLA and Rutgers in the same conference, etc. It’s becoming really hard to justify paying attention to any of this.

The opt out in the bowls are a way bigger deal.  If you didn’t post that these 3 teams won’t accept an invite then I never would have noticed.  The people that watch the NIT are only fans of those schools and watch only those schools and they don’t pay attention to the rest of the brackets.  

[bcgruber]

21 minutes ago, Gat-Rat Bull said:

Serious question... Why would any school opt out of the NIT? I can think of legitimate reasons, but if it's only because they are butt-hurt for getting left out of the NCAAs, then I am embarrassed for them. It's another chance to keep competing.

its still an opportunity for the kids, I thought we are trying to give them memories.  Why you wouldn't play in the NIT is an embarassment for any school that turns it down

[Triple B]

You would hope they left the decision to the players ...

[M50_BULL]

1 minute ago, Triple B said:

You would hope they left the decision to the players ...

Agreed. As someone said, no matter the decision it'll be the right one.

And I do think for USF if we get invited, the decision will be left for the kids bc something tells me that CAAR is disgusted by being left out of the NCAAT and would probably rather defer to the kids than say no on his own account.

[John Lewis]

I'm sure the players would still want to keep playing,

[flsportsfan83]

27 minutes ago, 350_BULL said:

Agreed. As someone said, no matter the decision it'll be the right one.

And I do think for USF if we get invited, the decision will be left for the kids bc something tells me that CAAR is disgusted by being left out of the NCAAT and would probably rather defer to the kids than say no on his own account.

If USF declined an invite that would be one of the dumbest things we ever did.

[ClassOf2005Bull]

I think some people are missing the point of NIT declines. 

1. With how the transfer portal works now, it actually can be beneficial to decline the invite b/c you get a jump on the teams in the tournament and if the goal is to make the tournament, then you need to upgrade where needed. It's not always about the team declining due to "sour grapes."

2. Everyone **** on UNC last year saying they were "arrogant" for declining, but it gave them a jump on the portal and look at them this season. Are we UNC? Absolutely not, but it doesn't mean we can just overlook any competitive advantage we can get for next season. If it means opting out of a secondary tournament that generates little interest, then so be it. 

3. At the end of the day, all the "good sports" can argue "it's more games," "It's a chance to compete", etc. The tournament is looked on as a JV trophy and most guys at this level don't really get "amped up" to play for a JV trophy and save the "The best way to show them we deserved to be in it, is to go win the NIT." Cause those who have the power to make those determinations don't care and aren't thinking "You know, USF really proved us wrong by going and winning that tournament." 

Support the team no matter what, but let's not act like if we play or don't play that the NIT is going to have much of an impact, if any, on next season. This isn't thirty years ago, it's a new era in college sports, whether we like it or not and championships matter to these kids. Not consolation games.