Indianapolis to host 2025 NIT Championship, announces new committee members

INDIANAPOLIS — The semifinals and championship of the 2025 National Invitation Tournament will remain in Indianapolis and be played at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse for the second consecutive year.

Indianapolis will also host the 2026 NIT semifinals and championship as part of the combined Divisions I, II and III Men’s Basketball Championships previously announced.

The 2025 semifinals will take place Tuesday, April 1, with the championship game set for Thursday, April 3. Butler University and the Indiana Sports Corporation once again will serve as hosts for the event.

The 88th NIT will continue to feature a 32-team field with the first round, second round and quarterfinals played at campus sites. For the fourth year, the 2025 NIT will seed only the top 16 teams (top-four teams in each pod) and place the remaining 16 teams selected into the bracket geographically where possible.

In the 2024 NIT, both the semifinals and championship game were sold out at Hinkle Fieldhouse with more than 9,000 in attendance over both nights.

Additionally, the NIT added former men’s basketball coach Phil Martelli and Conference USA Associate Commissioner for Basketball Clifton Douglass to the NIT committee starting with the 2024-25 season.

A legend among Big Five coaches, Martelli is the winningest coach in the history of Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball. With an all-time record of 444-328 during his 24 years as head coach of the Hawks, Martelli led Saint Joseph’s to the NCAA tournament seven times and to six NIT appearances. In 2003-04, Martelli’s team reeled off 27-straight wins finishing the regular season undefeated and ranked number one in the country before being upset in the Atlantic 10 Conference quarterfinals. That team then won three NCAA tournament games before losing to Oklahoma State in the East Rutherford Regional final.

Douglass joined the Conference USA staff in 2016 and became associate commissioner for basketball in 2021. In addition to his responsibilities with both men’s and women’s basketball, Douglass also provides oversight for women’s soccer and women’s golf and served as chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Committee for two years. As a student-athlete, Douglass was a two-year captain of the men’s basketball team at Alcorn State.

Martelli and Douglass will join an NIT committee that will be chaired by Tim Duncan, vice president of athletics and recreation at New Orleans. Other members of the 2024-25 NIT Committee are Morgan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Dena Freeman-Patton, and former Division I men’s basketball coaches, Bob McKillop, Gary Waters and Bob Williams.

All NIT games will be broadcast live across ESPN platforms. For more information on the championship visit ncaa.com/NIT.