The NIT expanded its field by eight teams to 40 this year. There will be one big name missing, however.
Georgetown turned down an NIT bid Sunday night, citing problems with having to play on the road and missing classes.
"We wanted to play but didn't want to play at all costs. We're in school now," Hoyas coach Craig Esherick said. "Last year we spent two weeks out West and didn't want to do it again."
The Hoyas were in the West Regional of the NCAA tournament last season, playing two games in Boise before losing to Maryland in the regional semifinal in Anaheim, Calif.
"We couldn't use our home court, the MCI Center, because it's the site of the NCAA tournament's first two rounds this week," Esherick said. "It got to the point that since we couldn't have a home game we wanted to be playing closer to home to not miss class. After a while I said 'Look, maybe we're better off not doing it.' "
NIT executive director Jack Powers confirmed travel was the reason for Georgetown not playing in the tournament.
"They just could not work out travel arrangements," he said Sunday night.
According to the NIT, the only other team to ever turn down a bid was Louisville in 1987, when the Cardinals were 18-14 a year after winning the national championship.
The Atlantic 10, which had only Xavier selected for the NCAA tournament, had five teams picked for the NIT field.
Richmond, Saint Joseph's, St. Bonaventure, Temple and Dayton were selected for the NIT, which gets under way Tuesday night with five games. Through the first four rounds, all games are played at campus sites.
The semifinals and championship game are at New York's Madison Square Garden on March 26 and 28.
"If you make it there, Madison Square Garden is probably the most exciting place to play in college basketball," said first-year Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who coached the NBA's New York Knicks in that building and whose team hosts Princeton on Tuesday. "It would be quite an experience for us if we could get there."
Conference USA was next with four teams — South Florida, Louisville, Memphis and Houston — while the Big East, Mountain West and Southeastern Conference each had three.
The Ivy League had two teams selected, Princeton and Yale.
The addition of eight teams to the field means eight opening-round games, with the winners moving into the first round.