UTR Sports is announcing the official team selection for the 2024 UTR Sports National Invitational Tennis Championship (NIT Championship).
The NIT Championship will take place May 5-8 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. All matches will be aired on Amazon Prime Video, free for Prime members.
Last year, in the tournament’s inaugural year, Liberty and TCU took home the men’s and women’s national titles, respectively.
“The NIT championship was extremely well done, just so professional in every way, and made our girls feel special from the moment we walked in,” said TCU women's head coach Lee Taylor Walker. “We got to play another month of the season with a great team, and so this has been amazing.”
Revealing the 2024 NIT Field
Eight men’s and eight women’s teams have been selected to participate with the team’s UTR Power 6 ranking among the top criteria for consideration. Notably, Liberty will be defending its men's title and the Liberty women's team will makes its NIT debut. Also returning from last year are three women's teams: Colorado (the top seed in 2024), Appalachian State, and Wyoming.
The selected teams for the 2024 NIT Championship are:
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The 2024 NIT Draws
The draws have been revealed! The men’s quarterfinals will kick off on Sunday, May 5 followed by the women’s quarterfinals on Monday, May 6.
Tulsa leads as the top men's seed, with the defending champion Liberty Flames seeded No. 3.
The women's tournament features Colorado as the top seed, followed by West Virginia.
Previewing the 2024 NIT Championship
The tournament format will be playoff knockout rounds and all matches will count toward Verified UTR Ratings.
Teams will play standard college dual matches, meaning each matchup will be three doubles sets (first to 6 games; the team that wins two sets wins the doubles point) followed by six singles matches (best two out of three sets; each match is worth one point). Play will stop when the dual match is clinched (a team reaches four points).
Continuing the NIT Championship is another step forward for UTR Sports as the company continues to elevate the college tennis experience and showcase the sport globally.
UTR Sports Vice President Chase Hodges, a 15-time national champion and 23-time national coach of the year, previews the women's and men's draws:
The 2024 NIT Championship Women's Draw
Leading the way with the No. 1 seed, we have Colorado, with the 57.82 UTR Power Six, coming to us from the PAC-12 conference. Colorado has amassed victories this year over UN LV, Missouri, Indiana, and Oregon.
At the No. 2 seed spot, we have the Mountaineers of West Virginia with a UTR Power Six of 57.49, from the Big 12 conference. West Virginia has posted wins over Virginia Tech, Indiana, and Iowa State.
Our No. 3 seed is Tulsa from the American Athletic Conference with a UTR Power 6 of 56.64. Tulsa has wins over Furman, UT Arlington, and nationally-ranked Wichita State.
The No. 4 seed is Liberty, a Conference USA finalist, boasting a UTR Power 6 of 56.62 and a 17-6 record on the season. The Flames have wins over Missouri, VCU, and James Madison.
Appalachian State is our fifth-highest team and a finalist in the Sun Belt Conference championship.The Mountaineers hold a 15-10 season record and a 54.98 UTR Power 6 with wins over JMU, Marshall, and Troy.
At No. 6 is Wyoming with a UTR Power 6 of 54.84 and a win loss record of 16-10 on the season out of the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming has wins over Idaho, Northern Arizona, UNLV, Fresno State, and Colorado State.
The No. 7 seeds are the Pacific Tigers with a UTR Power 6 of 54.82, a 14-7 record out of the West Coast conference, and wins over UC Davis, Nevada, Hawaii, and Santa Clara.
Rounding out the field is Saint Mary’s College of California, with a UTR Power 6 of 54.61 and a 12-8 record on the season, with wins over Fresno State, Sacramento State, and Portland.
Previewing 2024 NIT Championship Men's Draw
Leading the way with the No. 1 seeding position is Tulsa with a UTR Power 6 of 75.92. A American Athletic Conference, team, Tulsa has wins this year over Princeton, Tulane, and SMU.
The No. 2 seed, out of the West Coast Conference, are the Pacific Tigers with a UTR Power 6 of 75.00 and a win-loss record of 17-5. Pacific's most notable win of the season was an upset victory over a ranked San Diego team.
The No. 3 seed is defending champion Liberty. The Flames, Conference USA finalists, are 17-8 on the season. Liberty's most notable wins is beating AAC Champion Charlotte and Sun Belt champion Old Dominion.
In the No. 4 seed position on the men’s side is Santa Clara, with a UTR Power 6 of 74.65, arriving in from the West Coast Conference. Santa Clara boasts an 18-7 record on the season with four significant wins, over California, South Florida, New Mexico, and Washington.
In the fifth position with a UTR Power 6 of 74.27 is the Big Northwestern. Northwestern's wins this year include Ole Miss, Duke, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Purdue.
Next is North Alabama, coming out of the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 16-8 record on the season, 70.79 UTR Power 6, and wins over UT Arlington, Troy, and Kennesaw State.
Our seventh-highest team is Eastern Kentucky University from the Atlantic Sun conference. EKU has a record of 20-9 on the season, a 70.00 UTR Power 6, and wins this year over Xavier, Butler, and Stetson.
The last team in the men's field is Saint Louis University from the Atlantic 10 Conference. Saint Lous has a UTR Power 6 of 66.87, 15-4 season record, and wins over Butler, Rider, and George Mason.
