An Invitation to the NIT

Dear NIT,

My name is Chris and I love college basketball. I also love the history of college basketball and know you were once an important tournament.

You could be again.

I have an idea that will bring you back to relevance, excite college basketball fans and revolutionize college basketball. Here it is:

Open next year's college basketball season with a repeat of this year's 64-team tournament.

Seriously.

Okay, it won't work next year but figure out how to do it soon.

First, your current preseason NIT is irrelevant. I don't even know who won it this year and I WENT TO THE SCHOOL THAT WON IT. What you have now isn't working and isn't worth saving. It needs fixing.

Second, your current postseason NIT is irrelevant. I am expecting to see my beloved Vols returning there soon and that saddens me. It does not excite me. Or anyone else.

Establishing your tournaments are now worthless, let's look for a hole in the college basketball market for you to fill. The obvious place is at the beginning of the basketball season. You cannot compete with March Madness, so don't try. Instead, the NIT should become the Daytona 500 of college basketball. Start the year with a main event.

After watching Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette, Harrison Barnes, etc., I am currently fired up about college basketball. And now it is over. I have gotten to know these guys and they are gone. College basketball is such a one-and-done culture now that I know most of these guys will never play it again. There are no more Christian Laettners or Patrick Ewings anymore. College basketball is basically a one-night stand that lasts until One Shining Moment happens.

What if I got to know all these guys at the beginning of the year. What if I could start my year with brackets and college basketball weekends? What if instead of the Maui Classic I was watching a 64-team rematch of the previous March's Madness? How much better would that be than the stupid and meaningless ACC/Big 10 Challenge?

I also think there should be a greater reward for making the Big Dance than getting to play one game (which goes for 32 teams). Give them TWO games - one in March and one in the November. Give Louisville another shot at Morehead State. Let's see Pitt vs. Butler II. I want the exact same tournament again in November.

You could cram the whole thing into two awesome weeks of college basketball before finishing up in Madison Square Garden (which beats playing in dome by leaps and bounds). The higher seeds could host the games like they do in the women's game.

The only objection I can imagine is the silly too-much-of-a-good-thing argument. Nonsense. I want more tournament basketball. I want meaningful games. I want more than one-night stands with these guys and these teams. I want to fall in love with VCU in November and then watch them for the rest of the season. I want another shot to win my office pool. I want MSG basketball.

The basketball is in your court, NIT.

Sincerely,
CC