THE BIG DANCE, EVIDENTLY NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR THE GIRLS?

After the weekend's bloodbath of favored teams in the Mid-American conference women's basketball tournament, with Kent State surviving and advancing to play in South Bend, usually there's a flurry of participation trophies Women's NIT bids handed out to the Mid-American failed-to-qualify teams.

Not this year.

Penn State, James Madison, Villanova and Washington State will play in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational [c.q.] Tournament as the No. 1 seeds after just missing the NCAAs.

The NCAA is sponsoring this tournament, an equivalent to the men's NIT. In the past, the secondary women's tournament was the WNIT and teams had to pay to host games in it. The NCAA is footing the bill for teams in the new tournament.

"What a great opportunity for women's college basketball with (an) additional 32 NCAA teams having the ability extend their season with a new NCAA postseason tournament," said WBIT committee chair Barbara Burke, a former AD at Iowa. "This inaugural selection process was a great experience for our committee and as a group we want to commend and thank the NCAA for this new endeavor for women's sports."

It's tournament inflation for the NCAA; without a proper value proposition it will be a few more home games for also-ran power conference teams and a few playing opportunities for stronger teams in the Tournament Winner Only conferences.  But it's the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament, we'll get to the "Invitational" anon.  Among the Last Sixteen Out of the Not Big Enough Dance were Toledo and Ball State, both of which will host home games.

That gets us to the pay-to-play teams.  The Women's NIT used to solicit entries from the team that lost in the finals to the Tournament Winner Only conferences, that's also where a slew of Mid-American and Missouri Valley teams used to show up.  Apparently the selection committee for this new tournament paid attention to regular season records, which left tournament runner-up Buffalo available for a bid, and with the NCAA hoovering up more middling teams for its new venture, Bowling Green was also accepted.  Buffalo will play a home game to open the tournament, while Bowling Green will play at Butler.  (Yes, the Hinkle Field House will also be home for the final rounds of the Not-So-Big Dance, toward the beginning of April.  Got that?)  A few Big Ten also-rans are in this tournament as well, including Purdue (yes, a perennial power on hard times), Minnesota, and Wisconsin, despite a losing record in conference.  Those Big Ten teams all got a first round bye.  Go figure.

Why, though, my carping about "invitation" as opposed to "invitational?"  That's required, as the Women's Basketball Invitational will have its eight team, three round, winners paired up and losers paired down, tournament this upcoming weekend at Daytona Beach.  "The Women’s Basketball Invitational provides a choice for postseason worthy Division I Women’s teams who wish to continue their season but who do not qualify for the NCAA tournament."

A year ago, that was the Northern Illinois participation trophy, in a three round format with eight teams, somebody has to finish 0-3.  The games might be in Florida.  Tournament management operate out of Milwaukee.  The field has not yet been announced.