ESPN Sets NIT Field

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

ESPN will provide exclusive coverage of every game of the National Invitational Tournament college basketball event, which begins March 15.

ESPN will kick off its coverage of the 32-team NIT field with first round action March 15-16 with live games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3, said network officials.

Monmouth, South Carolina, St. Bonaventure and Valparaiso will serve as the number one seeds in the tournament, which features 22 teams with 20 or more wins. A total of 24 NCAA conferences are represented in the tournament, according to ESPN.

The network will cover the semifinal (March 29) and championship game from Madison Square Garden (March 31) from New York’s Madison Square Garden.

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.