Selection Sunday is just a day away, as many women’s basketball teams await their fate at 8 p.m. ET. to find out their seeding and even whether they made it into the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
However, for those teams who are disappointed and left out of the Selection Sunday announcements, their hopes at continuing their season with a postseason run are not over quite yet. Teams still have the opportunity to play in either the WBIT (Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament) or the WNIT (Women’s National Invitation Tournament).
For years, the WNIT has given teams not selected to the 68-team NCAA Tournament Field a chance at continuing their season with another postseason tournament. Around since 1998 and operated by Triple Crown Sports, the WNIT consists of 48 teams who receive either an automatic berth or an at-large selection to compete in a postseason tournament similar to that of the NCAA Tournament.
But despite the WNIT’s longstanding history as an alternate postseason tournament, it has been surpassed by the WBIT, which is run by the NCAA. Inaugurated in 2024, the WBIT has overtaken the WNIT as the premier postseason basketball tournament for teams not selected to the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
The WBIT is made up of 32 teams, with the bracket consisting of top teams like the “First Four Out” and regular-season NCAA Division I champions who were not selected to the NCAA Tournament. Those first four teams are automatic qualifiers and receive the top four seeds while regular-season champions will also receive automatic qualification. The remaining at-large selections will be voted upon by secret ballot and seeded accordingly.
With the NCAA running and funding the WBIT, it has taken priority over the WNIT, with the WBIT bracket getting selected ahead of the WNIT after the NCAA Tournament field is announced. The WBIT will be broadcast across ESPN platforms, with selection taking place at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+, while the WNIT will wait until the WBIT announces its lineup to announce its own, with the full bracket revealed the next day on Monday, March 16.
