Southwestern Athletic Conference

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Tournament officials announced today the 16-team field that will compete in the 2015 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The event, formatted to guarantee three games for each team, will be held in November, with matchups and game times to be released on June 16.

The WNIT field consists of: Alabama State (SWAC); Baylor (Big 12); Chattanooga (Southern); Dartmouth (Ivy); DePaul (Big East); Drexel (Colonial); Indiana (Big Ten); Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun); McNeese State (Southland); Siena (Metro Atlantic); South Florida (American); Southern Illinois (MVC); Southern Miss (Conference USA); St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10); Tennessee State (Ohio Valley); and UT Arlington (Sun Belt).

Ten of the 16 teams advanced to postseason play in 2015; this is the Preseason WNIT debut for Alabama State, Jacksonville, Southern Miss, St. Bonaventure, Tennessee State and UT Arlington.

ASU reached the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 17-15 record after dropping its final contest to Florida State. Jasmine Peeples, a 6-foot-2 center, closed her junior year averaging 11.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game; Britney Wright had a stellar sophomore year, closing with 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Lady Hornets won the SWAC tournament to claim the program’s second berth to the NCAA Tournament and welcome five freshmen and two JUCO transfers to the roster for 2015-16.

Teams making their first return to the event are Dartmouth (2006), DePaul (2010), Siena (2002), South Florida (2004) and Southern Illinois (1997). Others with multiple appearances are Drexel (2011, 2005), Indiana (2008, 1998), McNeese State (2011, 2004), Baylor (2011, 2006, 1998) and Chattanooga (2011, 2005, 2000).  The No.-1 ranked Baylor Lady Bears won the 2011 Preseason championship after defeating No. 2 Notre Dame 94-81 in front of a sold-out home crowd. Baylor went on that season to capture the NCAA Tournament Championship and finish with a 40-0 record. 

The tournament opens Nov. 13 with Round One. Round Two will be played Nov. 15-17; semifinals will be Nov. 19; and the championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 22.  The championship game will be nationally televised live on CBS Sports Network. 

Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on Nov. 20-21. All games are hosted by participating schools.  The official tournament bracket with first-round opponents, game dates, and times will be announced in June.

On one side of the bracket, in order, the Nov. 13 games are:

UT Arlington at Baylor, 6 p.m. CT
Alabama State at Southern Miss,  11 a.m. CT
Jacksonville at South Florida, 6 p.m. ET
Dartmouth at Drexel, 7 p.m. ET

The other half of the bracket, in order, has these matchups for Nov. 13:

Southern Illinois at DePaul, 7 p.m. CT
Siena at St. Bonaventure,  5:30 p.m. ET
Tennessee State at Indiana, Noon ET
McNeese State at Chattanooga, 6:30 p.m. ET

The Preseason WNIT began in its modern form in 1994.  Since its inception, over 200 teams representing all 32 conferences have competed in the tournament.  The UConn Huskies have won the championship a record three times.  It is organized and produced by Triple Crown Sports, a national sports event company based in Fort Collins, Colo.  For more information on the WNIT visit: www.womensnit.com.