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record, 46-33, in the championship game. While the NCAA tournament struggled for acceptance in 1939, the NIT's second edition featured a showdown between three of the nation's best teams: LIU with a 23-0 record, Loyola of Chicago at 21-1 and Bradley at 19-3. Keep in mind, this was 10 years before the start of the AP basketball poll. Coach Clair Bee's LIU squad beat Bradley in the semifinals and then defeated Loyola, 44-32, for the title. The nationwide publicity that emanated from New York reduced the new NCAA tournament to a second-rate event. With its head start, the NIT had the prestige and status that took the NCAA 15 years to surpass. Even the Metropolitan Basketball Writ- ers Association got off the hook, transfer- ring administration of the NIT in 1940 to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basket- ball Committee, comprised of New York colleges: Fordham, Manhattan, NYU, St. John's and Wagner. That season, Colorado and Duquesne played in both tournaments, starting a trend that continued until the early 1950s when the NCAA banned NIT partici- pants. During the late years of World War II, the two champions played each other in a charity game benefiting the Red Cross, and the NCAA team won all three games. Eastern rivals excel As the NCAA tournament flourished in the 1960s and '70s, the NIT floundered. In 1977, the early NIT rounds were moved to home sites, with only the Final Four at Madison Square Garden. A preseason NIT was added in the 1980s with both tournaments run by the Metropolitan In- tercollegiate Basketball Association. In 2005, the NCAA purchased the NIT to settle an antitrust lawsuit, and the MIBA went out of business. For years, the NIT has been a consolation prize for the teams that don't get selected to the NCAA tournament. Four of Penn State's longtime tradi- tional rivals have had their own experi- ences with the two postseason events, and it's enlightening to compare their NCAA records with Penn State before 1993. The oldest rival is Pitt, which played Penn State 138 times from 1906 through 1982, when the series ended in the after- math of a bitter controversy that also in- volved Syracuse. Pitt's first NCAA tournament appearance was in 1942, when the Panthers reached the Final Four before losing to Wisconsin. Pitt made it to the Sweet 16 in 1957 and the Elite Eight in 1974, with first-round losses in '58 and '63. From 1981-91, the Panthers made the tournament seven times. Penn State also began playing West Vir- ginia in 1906, and the two border rivals met 119 times before the series ended in 1991. The Mountaineers didn't get to the tournament until 1955, losing first-round games every year from '55 through '58 and then losing the championship game in 1959 to California, 71-70. West Virginia made five more appearances in the 1960s and seven more before 1993. Temple and Penn State played 81 games between 1928 and 1992, and the Owls' first tournament appearance was in 1944. They reached the Final Four in 1956 and '58, winning the third-place games both years. Temple made the tournament 11 more times from 1964-90 and in 1991 reached the Elite Eight. Then there is Syracuse and the contro- versy that included Pitt. Penn State's se- ries with the Orange started in 1917 and ended in 1982 after 105 games when Penn State canceled it following then- athletic director Joe Paterno's failed at- tempt to form an Eastern all-sports conference. Why and how that occurred is still being argued, with conflicting ex- planations ever since by the people in- volved in the discussions. Syracuse's NCAA debut was in 1957, and the Orange didn't make it back until 1966, but both times they were in the Elite Eight. Syra- cuse returned in 1973 and then 17 more times before 1993. This writer wonders what the reaction will be if Penn State's first NCAA tourna- ment team in 10 years winds up playing a traditional rival in any round. Please, Lord, don't let it be Temple. ■ Read More About the Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Football Team Historian Lou Prato's day-by-day, game-by-game diary of an unforgettable season ! Autographed copy available via louprato@comcast.net through Lou Prato and Associates at 814-954-5171 Price: $19.95 plus shipping, handling and tax if applicable Also available, with autograph, Lou's book ! Price: $16.95 plus shipping, handling and tax if applicable

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