The NCAA announced the creation of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament, a 32-team postseason tournament that will be held annually starting in 2024. More details about the format of the tournament and selection process will be released at a later date.
Last year, the women's NCAA tournament expanded from 64 to 68 teams. Men's college basketball has a 68-team NCAA tournament and the 32-team National Invitation Tournament. With the WBIT, women's college basketball will now also have 100 NCAA-funded postseason opportunities.
"Women's basketball is at an all-time high with records being set for national championship and Final Four viewership, and the tournament was the most viewed since 2009," said Jamie Boggs, chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee and vice president of athletics for Grand Canyon, in the official press release. "This tournament will create an additional NCAA-funded postseason opportunity for women's basketball, and it comes at a time when we are seeing tremendous growth in popularity for women's basketball."
The NCAA will identify a selection committee in the coming months. The WBIT logo includes a backboard and net. It features the color blue, which is the NCAA's primary branding color, as well as orange, which has been part of the women's March Madness branding.