Fair enough... here's what I found...
Selection process
In the past, NIT teams were selected in consultation with
ESPN, the television home of the NIT
[2]. The goal of the NIT was to sustain the MIBA financially. Therefore, schools selected to play in the NIT were often major conference teams with records near .500 that had large television fan bases and would likely have a respectable attendance for tournament games on their home court. The latter is one reason why
New Mexico was invited virtually every year the Lobos had a winning season but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
[12] Seeding considerations and home court advantage included the number of fans willing to show up to each game.
In an effort to maintain some quality, a rule saying that a team must have a .500 record to qualify for the NIT was imposed. This prevented ESPN from suggesting major conference teams that finished at or very near the bottom of their conference standings but would likely garner good fan interest.
The NCAA announced a revamped selection process starting with the 2006 tournament. The main highlights are:
- Teams are no longer required to have .500 or greater records to receive bids. Even with this change, however, all teams receiving invitations for the NIT have had .500 or greater records.