WHOOPSIE DAISY

NIT Tournament Rescinds School’s Invite in College Basketball Stunner

One minute, the South Alabama Jaguars had a promising future. The next, their season was over.

In a sudden take-back Sunday, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) rescinded the South Alabama Jaguars’ invitation only hours after it invited the team to join the annual tournament. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)’s Dan Gavitt, the senior vice president of basketball, called the men’s team Sunday night to extend the exciting invite. They were offered the rare opportunity after a previously invited team, UC Riverside, committed to play in a less prestigious tournament. Thinking that UC Riverside backed out, the NCAA needed to quickly find another crew to fill the empty spot, so he told Jaguars coach Richie Riley “congratulations” and that his team made it in. Riley immediately told his players. But only a few hours later, Gavitt called back with bad news—UC Riverside had managed to get out of their original obligation and were committed to playing in the NIT after all. Riley said that the mixup was “unacceptable” and “unfair” and had to tell his players the next morning that their season was actually officially over. Gavitt apologized through the NIT, expressing regret for the “emotional impact this confusion created.”