Postseason WNIT | 1/24/2018 9:04:52 PM

With the depth and talent level of women’s basketball teams commanding both headlines and airtime, tournament officials with the Postseason WNIT continue to put pieces in place for the upcoming 64-team event that will pull thousands of fans into the excitement of a chase for the championship.
 
The bracket for the 2018 Postseason WNIT will be announced on the evening of March 12. The first round will kick off Wednesday, March 14, with the event culminating Saturday, March 31 with the championship.
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Selection – Monday, March 12
Round 1 – March 14-16
Round 2 – March 17-20
Round 3 – March 21-23
Round 4 – March 24-26
Semifinals – March 28-29
Championship – Saturday, March 31, 3 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network) 
 
The WNIT offers teams an opportunity to get more practices, to experience playoff-atmosphere games, to play in front of passionate fans and to use WNIT competition as a springboard to the next season.
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The WNIT understands many schools interested in hosting cannot hold their facilities for the entirety of the tournament, but if teams choose to hold one or two dates open in each round, along with the championship date, that helps those schools to be considered as host sites. Please note: A school’s ability and/or desire to host games in the Postseason WNIT has absolutely no bearing on being selected for the tournament. 

Selecting Teams
The 2018 Postseason WNIT field will consist of 32 automatic berths – one from each conference – and 32 at-large teams. The intention of the WNIT Selection Committee is to select the 32 best available at-large teams in the nation. 

Automatic Berths
A team offered an automatic berth by the WNIT shall be the team that is a.) the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings, and b.) is not selected for the NCAA Tournament. A team that fulfills these qualities will earn the WNIT automatic berth for its respective conference, regardless of overall record. 

At-large Berths
The remaining 32 berths in the Postseason WNIT will be filled by the best teams available. All Division I teams are eligible for consideration. Any team considered for an at-large berth must have an overall record of .500 or better. Overall record includes conference tournament games. 

Contacting Teams
The WNIT will contact potential teams over the next few months. Prospective schools will submit paperwork in anticipation of being invited to the tournament. 

Selection Night
The Postseason WNIT field will be announced before midnight Eastern Time on Monday, March 12. All information will be disseminated via the WNIT website that night, shortly after the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced.