The Twitter post that sparked this story made a bold claim. The new NIT rules did not sell out. They saved March for the schools that built their seasons from November to March with the NIT selection revamp. The video thread walked through the tweaks and the ripple effects, then pointed to who benefited in real life. In the replies, the tone felt relieved. A fan said, “This finally feels like the NIT is for the best small conference teams again.” That line frames the debate. One year later we can test it with results. Which rules changed in the NIT selection revamp, which teams got in, and which stories made sense of a crowded postseason once the College Basketball Crown entered the picture and began pulling bids away.
What changed and why it mattered
Start with the timeline. In 2024 the NIT moved away from automatic spots for regular season champions that missed the NCAA field. Critics said the event leaned too far toward power programs. In October 2024 the NIT answered with a protocol for 2025 that stitched together access and quality. First, 16 exempt bids would seed the bracket with strong teams, including the top teams not chosen for the NCAA field from select leagues. Second, automatic bids returned for regular season champions that met a clear standard. If a champion missed the NCAA bracket and held an average of 125 or better across seven public metrics, that team earned a place. The remaining slots would be filled at large.
This mattered because the College Basketball Crown arrived in 2025 and offered a new lane for brands from the Big Ten, Big 12, and Big East. That new event, with national TV and prize money, siphoned off a share of the big names that used to default to the NIT. Instead of weakening the NIT, the shift opened room for high-quality mid-majors that had been squeezed. The composite approach also protected the bracket from gaming a single metric. If a team proved itself across NET, KenPom, BPI, KPI, Strength of Record, Torvik, and Wins Above Bubble, it was in the conversation no matter the logo on the jersey.
“This finally feels like the NIT is for the best small conference teams again.” — a fan on social media
Proof after the first season
Accuracy matters, so let us set the record straight. The 2024 NIT champion was Seton Hall, which beat Indiana State 79 to 77. That was the final year under the controversial format. The revamped system was tested the very next spring. In 2025 the new composite rule placed real champions into the field. Chattanooga cleared the 125 line. Northern Colorado cleared it as well. Both validated the idea that a sustained body of work should be rewarded with a focus on the NIT selection revamp.
Then came the result that answered the sellout claim with action. Chattanooga won the 2025 NIT, edging UC Irvine in overtime at Hinkle Fieldhouse. A champion from a one-bid type league lifted the trophy in the first year of the composite era. Reform was designed to perform this. Earn it from November to March. Prove it again in April. Along the way the field itself looked different. Fewer power programs appeared because many followed league guidance toward the College Basketball Crown. That choice had a simple effect. It pushed more NIT opportunities to teams that had carried their leagues all winter.
The process was not spotless. A late selection mix-up briefly placed South Alabama in the bracket before the error was corrected, and the public apology that followed showed the committee still has operations to tighten. But even that flare-up underscores the central point. Those resumes from smaller leagues were in the room. They were weighed by a transparent standard. They mattered to the overall success of the NIT selection revamp.
