The Women's NIT is kind of a forgotten gem in women's basketball. Not only does it field 64 teams (the same amount as combining the men's NIT and CiT together after they increased the women's NIT from 48 teams in 2010), but it actually does the same thing as the old NIT for the first few rounds- it is done on a regional basis. This saves teams travel costs, but it also puts together closer rivals than you often see. For example they could have done a BYU/ Utah match, but those two play each other every year. On the other hand Idaho State has played BYU a few times, but they aren't a traditional rival.
Perhaps the biggest disrespect for the women's NIT is the lack of TV time. Sure, the championship is shown on CBS Sports Network, and last year so was one of the semi's. In terms of coverage though, there are some games that don't even have audio available. It's a sad shame for the fans across the country that can't make it to their teams games. However it is a forgotten tournament for most people unless you have a team involved in the tourney.
Well not only do I have a team involved in the tourney, but with some time to spare it is easy enough to compile a list of the first round games for all are interested. If the game has an online video stream I have included a link to that stream. For the record 1 game will even be shown on national TV, and it should be no surprise considering they showed two WNIT games on national TV back in 2011.
So without further ado, here's an Eye on Sky and Air Sports first- the women's NIT 1st Round schedule. The announcers for the TV broadcast are listed, but since I don't know if these online streams use radio broadcasters or use the public scoreboard, then I have chosen just to show the link. It's a courtesy from the site aiming to help out the most with the Atomic Reach March Madness community.
Wednesday, March 20
7 PM- UAB at Auburn (Auburn All Access)
8 PM- Eastern Illinois at Missouri (Mizzou Network)
9 PM- Idaho State at BYU (BYUtv) Robbie Bullough, Kristen Kozlowski
10 PM- Utah at Long Beach State
10 PM- UCSB at San Diego State (Aztecs UStream)
Thursday, March 21
7 PM- IUPUI at Illinois State
7 PM- Butler at Toledo
7 PM- Indiana State at Youngstown State (HLN)
7 PM- Miami [OH] at Illinois
7 PM- East Carolina at Western Kentucky (Hilltopper TV)
7 PM- Iona at Drexel
7 PM- Harvard at Hartford
7 PM- SMU at Bowling Green (BCSN) Greg Franke, Casey McDowell
7 PM- Akron at Duquesne
7 PM- Sacred Heart at Boston U (Boston U All Access)
7 PM- Army at Fordham (Fordham All Access)
7 PM- North Carolina A&T at James Madison (MadiZone)
7 PM- Richmond at NC State (GoPack All Access)
7 PM- Davidson at Old Dominion (Monarch All Access)
7 PM- Appalachian State at Charlotte (Charlotte All Access)
7 PM- Florida at Florida International (PantherVision)
7 PM- Winthrop at Florida Gulf Coast (A-Sun TV)
8 PM- Memphis at Arkansas (Razorvision)
8 PM- Sam Houston State at Tulane (Tulane All Access)
8 PM- Texas Southern at Kansas State (K-StateHD.TV)
9 PM- Hawaii at San Diego
9 PM- Northern Colorado at Wyoming (Wyoming All Access)
10 PM- Seattle at Saint Mary's (Gaels Live)
Friday, March 22
8 PM- Northern Iowa at Marquette (Marquette All Access)
8 PM- Ball State at Minnesota (Minnesota All Access)
10 PM- Eastern Washington at Washington (Pac-12 Digital)
10 PM- Arkansas- Little Rock at Pacific
From @CoxTV - Part of the Atomic Reach March Madness Campaign.
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Thanks go to each schools/ conferences individual media relations person for providing the broadcaster information that is posted here. This will likely be the home teams radio broadcast. However the CiT allows teams local TV broadcaster to pick up games up until the championship is shown. If this does occur, you will see the TV station and the announcers listed above.
Be sure to visit Fang's Bites for great TV viewing picks and sports information. Also be sure to visit Awful Announcing for some of the best, and worst, sports stories and blunders going on today. You can catch the college football guide found here at both locations and you can catch the weekend basketball announcing assignments at Fang's Bites.
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