Why is NIT scheduling opposite NCAA games?

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

My memory may be faulty, but I always thought the NIT only played its games when there were no NCAA games. But this year the NIT is playing at the same time as the NCAA. This Sunday is a prime example with several conflicts including the Iowa-TCU NIT game being played at the same time as the NCAA game between Michigan State and Kansas.

In the past, those Sunday NIT games would have been played on Monday or Tuesday night when there were no NCAA games, which makes a lot more sense to me.

Does anyone know what the rationale is for the NIT to schedule games at the same time as the NCAA games?

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

NIT is trying to overtake them in ratings...

 

[DirtyJohns97]

Maybe they are thinking the best way to get eyes on the screen for the NIT is as runoff in sports bars that are packed for the NCAA games. I know I've found myself intermittently watching things I would otherwise never watch, like women's bowling, during commercials for the event I'm actually there to see.

Edit: this is probably dumb since it wouldn't count towards the ratings number and that's all that really matters to them....

 

[markfromj]

I just don't think it could all fit with no overlap.

 

[kceasthawk]

Maybe they are thinking the best way to get eyes on the screen for the NIT is as runoff in sports bars that are packed for the NCAA games. I know I've found myself intermittently watching things I would otherwise never watch, like women's bowling, during commercials for the event I'm actually there to see.

Edit: this is probably dumb since it wouldn't count towards the ratings number and that's all that really matters to them....

That still makes some sense though, because they'll have some of those screens tuned to NIT games as well. If they stagger the starting times, they may get some of the hard core fans as their switching back and forth, waiting for their teams games. I imagine when they play on different days they get little traffic from fans not aligned with the NIT teams.

 

[buttermypancakes]

People just seem to remember the games in NYC which is understandable because if your team is not in the NIT you're not watching the early round games. It has always been this way for the second round games of the NIT. You can't fit 5 rounds of the NIT into three weeks and not overlap with the NCAA which is taking up 4 days of the week. I guess you could but ESPN wouldn't be able to show every game like they want to.

 

[jberesford]

I wondered the same, and no one answered it, so I looked it up. I thought they were always on NCAA off days, but in the 2013 NIT tourney Iowa played Wednesday, Friday (opposite NCAA games), Wednesday, Tuesday, and the championship on Thursday, but there were no games as it was the lead in to final four weekend. So it appears the second round does overlap, but I also don't remember that. Interesting note the attendance for that championship was only 5,301 after sellouts at Carver and big crowds at Virginia and the first New York game with Maryland...

 

[hawkcub]

ESPN needs to show something. MLB is still in ST. Doesnt have NHL rights. Only can show 100 total NBA regular season games. Of course doesn't have NCAA tourney.

 

[unoHawkeye]

I would think that the tournament people assume that fans of NIT teams will pretty much be the only ones watching the first couple of games regardless of whether there are NCAA games on or not. The average sports watcher isn't just going to flip on a game between Iowa and South Dakota.

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate the observations.

 

[soybean]

ESPN needs to show something. MLB is still in ST. Doesnt have NHL rights. Only can show 100 total NBA regular season games. Of course doesn't have NCAA tourney.

This is the real reason.

 

[bagdropper]

Or maybe Sunday = larger ticket sales versus Monday/Tuesday?

 

[El Simbolo]

Are most of the NIT games that will be on ESPN or ESPN2 during times that CBS/Turner are only airing one game at a time? If so, that's probably not a coincidence