Postseason WNIT | 1/21/2020 1:26:18 PM
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – With the depth and talent level of women’s basketball teams commanding both headlines and airtime, tournament officials with the Postseason WNIT continue to put pieces in place for the upcoming 64-team event that will pull thousands of fans into the excitement of a chase for the championship.
The bracket for the 2020 Postseason WNIT will be announced on the evening of March 16. The first round of the 23rd Postseason WNIT will kick off Wednesday, March 18, with the event culminating Saturday, April 4 with the championship game.
Selection – Monday, March 16
Round 1 – March 18-20
Round 2 – March 21-24
Round 3 – March 25-27
Round 4 – March 28-30
Semifinals – April 1-2
Championship – Saturday, April 4, 3 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
The WNIT offers teams an opportunity to get more practices, to experience playoff-atmosphere games, to play in front of passionate fans and to use WNIT competition as a springboard to the next season. Last year’s champion, Arizona drew more than 14,600 fans to the title game (the most ever for a Pac-12 women’s game), and the Wildcats won their first 13 games this season.
The WNIT understands many schools interested in hosting cannot hold their facilities for the entirety of the tournament, but if teams choose to hold one or two dates open in each round, along with the championship date, that helps those schools to be considered as host sites. Please note: A school’s ability and/or desire to host games in the Postseason WNIT has absolutely no bearing on being selected for the tournament.
Selecting Teams
The 2020 Postseason WNIT field will consist of 32 automatic berths – one from each conference – and 32 at-large teams. The intention of the WNIT Selection Committee is to select the 32 best available at-large teams in the nation.
Automatic Berths
A team offered an automatic berth by the WNIT shall be the team that is a.) the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings, and b.) is not selected for the NCAA Tournament. A team that fulfills these qualities will earn the WNIT automatic berth for its respective conference, regardless of overall record.
At-large Berths
The remaining 32 berths in the Postseason WNIT will be filled by the best teams available. All Division I teams are eligible for consideration. Any team considered for an at-large berth must have an overall record of .500 or better. Overall record includes conference tournament games.
Contacting Teams
The WNIT will contact potential teams over the next few months. Prospective schools will submit paperwork in anticipation of being invited to the tournament.
Selection Night
The Postseason WNIT field will be announced before midnight Eastern Time on Monday, March 16. All information will be disseminated via the WNIT website and social media that night, shortly after the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced.
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing college and youth events for more than 35 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. TCS youth fastpitch tournaments (including the 900-team Colorado 4th of July event) draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes.