Today's Asinine Idea To 'Fix' Perfection: People Are Actually Suggesting The NIT Winner Gets An Automatic Bid To Next Year's NCAA Tournament

Alright, let's all just take a breath here and remember we have the Final Four coming up. I know we go crazy this week when we just don't have weekday NCAA Tournament games. We watch the semifinals of the NIT and fall in love, again, with Robbie Avila aka Cream Abdul-Jabbar, aka Larry Nird, aka Larry Blurred. How can't you? Dude put on a show in Hinkle last night: 

But giving the NIT winner an automatic bid to next year's NCAA Tournament is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. If we do that, should the Final Four teams get automatic bids too? That's a bigger accomplishment than winning the NIT. Not to mention, what happens this year means NOTHING for next year. You don't get a bid because of what you did the year before (unless you're FAU this year). Think about it, the team who wins the actual NCAA Tournament doesn't get an autobid the following year! But, sure, the NIT winner deserves one? We really were gonna have North fucking Texas as the one team who started this past year with an autobid? How many people knew North Texas won the NIT last year? They went 19-15 this year. Let's make sure that team is in!

Let's just take Indiana State for a second. They fucking rule. They should have been in over Virginia. But we're looking at an Indiana State next team with a likely new head coach (Schertz expected to take St. Louis) and who knows what players remain on the roster. What if they finish like 15-14? That's a team who gets an automatic bid? Come on. 

If we wanna get nuts, let's say they get an automatic bid to the Maui Invitational or Battle 4 Atlantis. That seems fair, especially if it's a good mid-major like Indiana State who wins it. Give them the chance to play the big boys where the high majors can't say no. Keep one spot open, NIT winner gets to go there next year. Give them a better chance at making the NCAA Tournament than just an automatic bid. That I'd be down with and it adds some stakes for those mid-majors to get 2-3 more quad 1 opportunities that they wouldn't get in a normal year. Or better idea that might be easier to execute. The winner of the NIT gets the winner of the NCAA Tournament on a neutral court the following year. Play it at Hinkle! Look, problem solved and a new idea created without going as extreme as possible. 

We just don't need the Tournament changed. We don't need expansion, we don't need a new automatic bid suggestion. What we do need is a new committee, that's a fair change. Get people who aren't AD's in there and can understand what the hell is going on in the sport to determine who is in. That's the one change I'll listen to and support. 

Again, I'll say it all the time. We already have a 'Champions League' spot. It's winning your conference tournament! Every team can do that - look at NC State. Look at all the bid stealers this year who won their conference tournament. There's your Champions League spot. Don't like that, take it up with the conferences. They are the ones who determine who gets the autobid from their league and how conference tournaments are set up. But come on. I feel like I'm the insane one for arguing against this idea.