While the NCAA tournament captures most of the headlines in March, the National Invitation Tournament offers fans even more college basketball in the spring.
While the NCAA tournament captures most of the headlines in March, the National Invitation Tournament offers fans even more college basketball in the spring.
Primarily comprised of teams that just missed the cut for the NCAA tournament, the NIT usually delivers high-intensity matchups throughout the bracket, with much of the drama you’d expect from March Madness.
That being said, there are a few key differences between the NCAA tournament and the NIT, particularly around where the games are played, and therefore the prices of the tickets.
Here, we’ll be breaking down the cost of attending the 2025 men’s NIT.
What is the NIT? Is it Part of the NCAA Tournament?
While the NIT and the NCAA tournament are occurring at the same time and are both officially sanctioned by the NCAA, the tournaments are not the same.
The NIT is often jokingly referred to as the ‘Not In Tournament’ Tournament, which, while tongue-in-cheek, isn’t entirely inaccurate.
Teams invited to participate in the NIT are those who missed out on the NCAA tournament. Last year, the NCAA changed the selection process for the NIT. Now, 16 teams (half the bracket) are considered “exempt.”
Those exempt teams include the top two teams that were not selected to the NCAA tournament from the ACC, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. Each of those teams will receive an automatic bid.
Unlike the NCAA tournament, where neutral site host cities are selected years in advance, NIT games are played on campus for the first three rounds. The Final Four and championship games will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
That means tickets are usually the easiest to secure when going through each school’s official ticket website. But for the semifinals and finals, tickets are available right now.
Overview of Ticket Pricing for the NIT
Currently, the cheapest all-sessions ticket for the men’s NCAA tournament Final Four (a three-game package, giving one access to both Final Four games and the national championship) on Ticketmaster is $400.
The same bundle for the NIT starts at $60.
Now, obviously there’s a difference in prestige between winning the national championship and winning the NIT, but that’s a staggering price discrepancy.
Currently, you can go through the official NCAA website for tickets, or through any of the other major ticket sites. Many lower bowl seats are currently still available, starting around $110 on StubHub.
Keep in mind that we don’t know which teams will be playing in those games, which is keeping the price lower than it will be in a few weeks. Once the matchup is set, prices will likely spike as diehard fans try to see their teams win.
So, it all depends on your situation. If your school makes the NIT and you want to hold off on getting tickets until you know the Final Four, that’s a safer (but more expensive approach). If you just want to see some great college basketball inside of an incredible arena (they call it the “Basketball Cathedral of Indiana”), then you might want to nab those tickets sooner rather than later.
How Ticket Prices Compare to Other College Basketball Games
Obviously, there’s practically no comparison between NIT tickets and other major events. The NIT is extremely affordable when compared to the NCAA tournament.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NIT Ticket Prices: What Are the Cheapest and Most Expensive Tickets to Attend?.
