National Catholic Invitational Tournament

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The National Catholic Invitational Tournament (NCIT) was a postseason men’s college basketball event in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Along with the NCAA and NIT, it was one of the era’s major post-season tournaments, but it was open only to Catholic schools and mainly gave teams without conference affiliations a chance to compete.

1949–1950: how it started and who won
In 1949, sixteen Catholic schools were invited, but the field was cut to eight for 1950. Regis College won the first NCIT in Denver, beating St. Francis 51–47. Regis was one of four seeded teams, along with Gonzaga, St. Thomas (MN), and Siena. Regis then faced St. Francis of Brooklyn in the final. St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tommy Gallagher was named the tournament’s outstanding player, and Regis had three players on the all-tournament team.

The plan and the move to Albany
The tournament was initially set for Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, with sixteen teams. But due to segregation and a protest by St. Francis College over unequal treatment of Black players, the event moved to Albany, New York, and used eight teams. Creighton was favored despite a 13–13 record. The games were played at the Albany Armory from March 13–17. St. Francis of Brooklyn reached the title game for the third straight year, and won the championship banner, led by Ray Rudzinski (26 points), Vernon Stokes (22), and Roy Reardon (21).

1951: expansion, bids, and Marquette’s win
In January 1951, the NCIT announced a 12-team field with automatic bids from two conferences: the Eastern Catholic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (ECIAC) and the Midlands Conference. Seton Hall won the ECIAC but declined the automatic bid because they were invited to the NIT. Five ECIAC teams played in the NCIT, and Loras won the Midlands title and accepted the automatic bid. The 1951 tournament was held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Field House in Troy, New York, from March 15–22. Marquette, coached by rookie Tex Winter, won their first national tournament by defeating St. Francis (PA). Marquette was the second seed and also beat Iona and St. Francis of Brooklyn to claim the title. Tex Winter was the youngest college basketball coach at the time. In 2002, Marquette celebrated the 50th anniversary of this championship.