🏀 Free Printable 2026 NIT Bracket: Download Your National Invitational Tournament PDF

The 2026 Men's National Invitational Tournament will begin Tuesday, and you can get prepared with our free printable NIT bracket PDF.

Esten McLaren

Last Updated: March 15, 2026 10:01 PM EDT • 4 minute read

Pictured: Auburn Tigers Aubie the tiger during the time out as we look at our free printable NIT bracket PDF. Photo by Steve Roberts-Imagn Images.

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The 2026 NIT field is set - all 32 teams have been selected, and the bracket is ready to fill out. While the NCAA Tournament gets the headlines, the NIT is college basketball's oldest postseason tournament and features plenty of talented squads with something to prove.

Download our FREE printable NIT bracket

Whether you're rooting for a bubble team that got snubbed on Selection Sunday or a mid-major making its postseason debut, there's no shortage of storylines. Download our free printable 2026 NIT bracket now, distribute it to your pool, and compete against friends, family, co-workers, and enemies while showing off your college basketball knowledge.

🖨️ Download & print your 2026 NIT bracket

Click here to download our free printable NIT bracket. Distribute it among your pool competitors, have everyone fill in their best predictions from the first round through the championship on April 5, and watch the madness unfold.

Download our FREE printable NIT bracket

Click the download button above to open the PDF
Open in Adobe Acrobate or any PDF viewer
Print on standard 8.5" x 11" paper (landscape recommended)
Fill in your bracket picks for each round, starting with the First Four

🗓️ 2026 NIT - key dates & schedule

Here is the full schedule for the 2026 NIT, beginning Tuesday, March 17:

Round	Dates	Location(s)
Field Announcement	March 15, 9:30 p.m. ET	NIT social media channels
First Round	March 17–18	Campus sites, ESPN2/ESPNU
Second Round	March 21–22	Campus sites, ESPN2/ESPNU
Quarterfinals	March 24–25	Campus sites, ESPN2
Semifinals	April 2	Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.
Championship	April 5	Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.

🆚 2026 NIT format explained

The NIT is a 32-team single-elimination tournament.

Early rounds are played on campus at higher seeds' home courts, with the semifinals and championship moving to neutral sites in Indianapolis. There are 16 "exempt" teams - the top two from the ACC and SEC that did not make the NCAA Tournament, plus the top team from each of the top 12 conferences as ranked by KenPom.

All exempt teams are guaranteed to host their first-round games. Lose once and your season is over.

4️⃣ 2026 NIT semifinal & championship venues

The 2026 NIT marks the 88th edition of college basketball's oldest postseason event, and for the first time in its history, the NIT will be played alongside the NCAA Division I Men's Final Four during the sport's biggest weekend.

The semifinals tip off April 2 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET at Hinkle Fieldhouse, with the championship following on April 5 at approximately 8 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse - both in Indianapolis.

Semifinals air on ESPN; the championship on ESPN2.

🎟️ First teams in the 2026 NIT

The first six teams to lock up their bids ahead of the field announcement were Belmont, Liberty, UNC Wilmington, Navy, South Alabama, and Stephen F. Austin.

The rest of the 32-team field was announced via the NIT's social channels at 9:30 p.m. ET on March 15.

💰 2026 NIT betting - odds & bracket tips

The NIT offers great betting value, with campus-site early rounds creating meaningful home-court advantages and plenty of mid-major programs capable of outperforming their seeds.

Our best sports betting sites will offer moneylines, spreads, and totals for NIT games throughout the tournament. Think you know which bubble team has the most to prove? Test your skills via our bracket contest for a shot at prizes from our best sports betting apps.

❓ Frequently asked questions - 2026 NIT bracket

How many teams are in the 2026 NIT?

There are 32 teams in the 2026 NIT field, selected through a combination of exempt bids, automatic conference bids, and at-large selections announced on the night of March 15.

When does the 2026 NIT start?

The first round tips off Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18, at campus sites across the country.

Where is the 2026 NIT Final Four?

The four quarterfinal winners advance to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the semifinals on April 2, with the championship held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 5.

Where can I download a free printable 2026 NIT bracket?

SBR's free printable NIT bracket is available here or at the top of the page. Click the download button and print on standard letter-size paper.

All schedule info confirmed against NCAA.com as of March 15, 2026.

Written by:
Esten McLaren

Esten is the Content Manager for SportsbookReview.com. He has been in the sports betting industry since the legalization of mobile sports betting in New Jersey, and he has worked with Sportsbook Review before the launch of sports betting in Ontario. In writing and personal betting, Esten focuses on golf and the NFL, while dabbling in futures bets across all major North American sports, looking for edges with long shots. His favorite markets to research and bet include golf outrights and NFL touchdown scorers, where he looks for edges in pricing differences, and player skill sets against the opponent (or golf course). He prefers DraftKings as it is often first-to-market with golf odds each week and next year's futures odds. Esten's previous stops include time with GolfWeek. He previously worked in the fantasy sports industry with FNTSY Sports Network, theScore, and USA TODAY, where he started to build his NFL and golf betting experience. Esten graduated from the College of Sports Media with a diploma in Radio and Television Sports Broadcasting. He has appeared on FNTSY Sports Network, VSiN, and VSiN's Long Shots podcast, where he correctly called Will Zalatoris as the winner of the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. Esten looks at sports betting much like golf and advises beginner bettors to compete against themselves rather than being concerned with what others may or may not be doing based on social media claims.