National Women's Invitational Tournament
The National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) was a post-season tournament for women's intercollegiate basketball programs that was contested from 1969 to 1996. The original sponsorship information appears to have been lost over the ensuing years. After the NWIT folded in 1996, the concept was resurrected in 1998 by Triple Crown Sports under the same name, but the name was changed the following season to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (also known as the WNIT).[1]
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Unknown |
| Ceased | 1996 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  United States |
| Most titles | Wayland Baptist – 9 |
| Related competitions | Women's NIT Women's Basketball Invitational |
Format
Begun in the same year as the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women's invitational tournament (which was assumed by the now-defunct Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1972), the NWIT was an eight team, consolation bracket tournament held at the Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas. Through 1974, the tournament included teams from both four-year colleges and junior colleges.[1]
Championship history
Source: [1]
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Wayland Baptist | 54 | Ouachita Baptist | 34 |
| 1970 | Wayland Baptist | 50 | Midwestern State | 46 |
| 1971 | Wayland Baptist | 63 | Parsons | 44 |
| 1972 | Wayland Baptist | 48 | John F. Kennedy College | 41 |
| 1973 | Wayland Baptist | 52 | John F. Kennedy College | 49 |
| 1974 | Wayland Baptist | 59 | John F. Kennedy College | 52 |
| 1975 | Wayland Baptist | 79 | UCLA | 41 |
| 1976 | Wayland Baptist | 90 | UCLA | 77 |
| 1977 | Wayland Baptist | 79 | UCLA | 75 |
| 1978 | Old Dominion | 70 | Texas | 60 |
| 1979 | South Carolina | 74 | Drake | 71 |
| 1980 | Oregon State | 71 | North Carolina | 62 |
| 1981 | Georgia | 75* | Arizona State | 73 |
| 1982 | Oregon State | 76 | Florida State | 60 |
| 1983 | New Orleans | 68 | Memphis State | 58 |
| 1984 | Vanderbilt | 67 | Chattanooga | 66 |
| 1985 | LSU | 74 | Florida | 54 |
| 1986 | Idaho | 100 | Northwestern State | 91 |
| 1987 | Arkansas | 112 | California | 80 |
| 1988 | DePaul | 83 | Purdue | 55 |
| 1989 | Oregon | 67 | San Diego State | 64 |
| 1990 | Kentucky | 85 | Toledo | 76 |
| 1991 | Santa Clara | 71 | Indiana | 68 |
| 1992 | Georgia Tech | 90 | Hawaiʻi | 72 |
| 1993 | Arkansas State | 67 | SMU | 54 |
| 1994 | Oklahoma | 69 | Arkansas State | 65 |
| 1995 | Texas A&M | 85 | Northwestern State | 81 |
| 1996 | Arizona | 79 | Northwestern | 63 |
*Overtime