History
The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) was established in 1969 as a post-season tournament for women's college basketball teams, played in Amarillo, Texas.
Operated by Triple Crown Sports of Denver, the WNIT isn't associated with the men's NIT, which is owned by the NCAA.
The WNIT originally had an eight-team field. It expanded to 16 teams in 1998, to 32 teams in 1999, to 40 in 2006, to 48 in 2007, and to 64 in 2010. Each of the 31 major college conferences sends its highest finishing team that isn't playing in the NCAA tournament, and 33 at-large teams are invited.
There was no tournament in 1997. Triple Crown Sports then took over. Since then, games are hosted by participating teams. Seeding is based on regular-season records, with the highest-seeded teams hosting lower-seeded competitors. In the first round, teams from the same conference don't play one another and games between teams that met during the regular season are also avoided, if possible. The emphasis is on geographical proximity.
