FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Old Dominion University women's basketball team (20-12) will host the University of Virginia (17-13) Thursday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in the 2015 Women’s National Invitation Tournament, with tipoff time slated for 7:00 p.m. Both ODU and UVA earned at-large bids to the WNIT. The Lady Monarchs currently sit on 996 all-time wins, needing just four more victories to obtain 1,000.
Tickets are $11 for adults, $8 youth (17 and under) and $5 ODU students. But first 500 ODU students are FREE by validating online at www.odusports.com/students.
Old Dominion has made a post-season tournament in 22 of the past 24 seasons. This will be the third consecutive appearance in the WNIT by the Lady Monarchs and the fifth time in the last six years. Old Dominion leads the all-time series with Virginia, 18-14. The last time these two teams met was in 2008, when the Lady Monarchs took down the Cavaliers in Norfolk by a score of 78-70.
The Women’s National Invitation Tournament Selection Committee is excited to announce the 64-team field for the 2015 Postseason WNIT. In the 18th year of the tournament, the committee has selected a competitive field which includes 35 teams with 20 or more victories.
First-round action tips off Wednesday, March 18 and concludes Friday, March 20. Second-round games begin March 21-24, round three March 25-27, quarterfinals March 28-30, and semifinals April 1-2. The championship game will be played Saturday, April 4 and will be televised live and in HD on CBS Sports Network at 3 p.m. ET. All games are hosted by participating schools.
This year’s tournament features 6 teams from the Mid-American Conference and 4 from the West Coast Conference. Ten conferences each placed 3 teams – American, Atlantic 10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Sky, Colonial, C-USA, Horizon and Missouri Valley. Other conferences represented include: Big West (2), Mountain West (2), Pac-12 (2), SEC (2), American East (1), Atlantic Sun (1), Big South (1), Big Ten (1), Ivy League (1), MAAC (1), MEAC (1), Northeastern (1), Ohio Valley (1), Patriot (1), Southern (1), Southland (1), SWAC (1), Summit (1), Sun Belt (1) and WAC (1).
Seven teams won their regular season conference title: Colorado State (MWC), Hampton (MEAC), Hawaii (Big West), South Dakota (Summit), Stephen F Austin (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC) and UT Martin (OVC).
“The quality depth within Division-I women’s basketball is more obvious with each passing season, and the 2015 Postseason WNIT field is another example of how many high-achieving programs are out there,” said WNIT Director Renee Carlson. “And now, these teams will direct their energies toward wrapping up the season with a sense of purpose, and that should make for some great competition.”
Tournament officials award an Automatic Qualifying berth to each of the nation’s 32 conferences. The spot goes to the team that finishes the highest in the regular-season conference standings that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament. If there is a tie, the WNIT abides by the conference tiebreaker. A team earns the AQ berth regardless of its overall record. A total of 32 teams are then given an At-Large berth; a team must have an overall record of .500 or better to be considered.
The Postseason WNIT is owned and produced by Triple Crown Sports based in Fort Collins, Colo. TCS also organizes men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments in Cancun, and the Preseason WNIT. TCS is the leader in youth and collegiate sports and manages more than 300 amateur sporting events across the country in volleyball, fastpitch softball, baseball, and basketball. With 32 years of experience in the event business, TCS is nationally recognized as a premier tournament organization.
The official WNIT bracket, which will include matchups and dates, will be announced later tonight by 11:30 p.m. ET. Game times will be announced by officials on Tuesday, March 17. For complete information on the tournament, please visit www.womensnit.com
2015 Tournament Field (Alphabetical Order)
AQ = Automatic Qualifier
School Record Conference
Akron 22-8 MAC
Arkansas State (AQ) 23-10 Sun Belt
Army (AQ) 23-7 Patriot
Ball State (AQ) 17-13 MAC
Buffalo 19-12 MAC
Central Connecticut St (AQ) 19-12 NEC
Cleveland State 19-12 Horizon
Colorado State (AQ) 23-7 MWC
CSU Bakersfield (AQ) 23-8 WAC
Creighton 17-13 Big East
Drake (AQ) 20-10 MVC
Drexel (AQ) 20-10 Colonial
Duquesne (AQ) 21-10 Atlantic 10
East Carolina 21-10 American
Eastern Michigan 22-12 MAC
Eastern Washington 20-11 Big Sky
Elon 19-12 Colonial
ETSU (AQ) 21-11 Southern
Fordham 20-11 Atlantic 10
Fresno State 22-9 MWC
Georgia Tech 18-14 ACC
Hampton (AQ) 18-12 MEAC
Hawaii (AQ) 23-8 Big West
Hofstra 20-12 Colonial
Kansas State 18-13 Big 12
Long Beach State 22-9 Big West
Maine (AQ) 23-8 America East
Marist (AQ) 21-11 MAAC
Michigan (AQ) 16-14 Big Ten
Missouri (AQ) 17-13 SEC
Missouri State 18-14 MVC
Middle Tennessee (AQ) 21-9 C-USA
NC State 16-14 ACC
Northern Colorado 20-12 Big Sky
Northern Iowa 17-14 MVC
Old Dominion 20-12 C-USA
Ole Miss 17-13 SEC
Pacific 21-9 WCC
Penn (AQ) 20-8 Ivy
Radford (AQ) 17-13 Big South
Richmond 18-13 Atlantic 10
Sacramento State (AQ) 16-15 Big Sky
Saint Mary’s 20-10 WCC
San Diego (AQ) 24-6 WCC
San Francisco 19-13 WCC
South Dakota (AQ) 25-7 Summit
Southern Miss 22-10 C-USA
St John’s 21-10 Big East
Stephen F Austin (AQ) 23-7 Southland
Stetson (AQ) 23-7 Atlantic Sun
TCU (AQ) 17-13 Big 12
Temple 16-16 American
Texas Southern (AQ) 19-10 SWAC
Toledo 18-13 MAC
Tulsa (AQ) 17-13 American
UCLA (AQ) 13-18 Pacific 12
UT Martin (AQ) 22-10 OVC
Villanova (AQ) 19-13 Big East
Virginia (AQ) 17-13 ACC
Washington State 17-14 Pacific 12
West Virginia 18-14 Big 12
Western Michigan 20-12 MAC
Wright State (AQ) 25-8 Horizon
Youngstown State 21-10 Horizon
Conference Representation
Mid-American – 6
West Coast – 4
American – 3
Atlantic 10 – 3
ACC – 3
Big 12 – 3
Big East – 3
Big Sky – 3
Colonial – 3
C-USA – 3
Horizon – 3
MVC – 3
Big West – 2
MWC – 2
Pac-12 – 2
SEC – 2
America East – 1
Atlantic Sun – 1
Big South – 1
Big Ten – 1
Ivy – 1
MAAC – 1
MEAC – 1
Northeast – 1
OVC – 1
Patriot – 1
Southern – 1
Southland – 1
SWAC – 1
Summit – 1
Sun Belt – 1
WAC – 1