Why Virginia Tech Declining the NIT is a Mistake

Virginia Tech's season ended with a hard-fought overtime loss to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Normally, a team in the Hokies' position waits to see if there's still more basketball to be played.

Instead, the Hokies chose to end their season.

Virginia Tech announced Friday that it would decline a potential invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, citing injuries and the long-term health of players. The decision effectively closes the book on a season that had a lot of preseason anticipation.

The program released the following statement explaining its reasoning.

"Given the current health status of members of our roster and the need for a number of our student-athletes to focus on recovery and preparation for their professional careers, we believe it is in the best interest of our players and the long-term direction of our program to conclude our season at this time."

The statement also reiterated the program's expectations.

"While we respect the tradition and competitiveness of the NIT, the standard for our program remains clear. Our expectations is to compete in the NCAA Tournament."

An update from our program ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/toajanzBj2
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 13, 2026

Those explanations make sense on the surface. Virginia Tech has dealt with injuries throughout the season. Tobi Lawal, Tyler Johnson, Antonio Dorn, and most recently, Amani Hansberry have missed time due to injury. Extending the year with more games can add strain to an already long schedule.

But declining the NIT still feels like the wrong call.

For teams outside the NCAA Tournament, the NIT offers something valuable: more basketball. Extra practices and postseason games allow younger players to gain experience, bench players to take on larger roles, and coaches to evaluate their roster heading into the offseason.

Those opportunities matter for a program trying to regain consistent NCAA Tournament status. The Hokies have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2022, where they lost in the first round to Texas.

Longtime Virginia Tech sports journalist David Teel shared a video on social media of head coach Mike Young speaking about the NIT two years ago, when his stance on postseason opportunities sounded very different.

"Absolutely," Young said when asked if he would welcome an NIT bid. "To play in the postseason, sign me up."

Young continued, emphasizing how much he values the chance to keep coaching his team.

"We all want to play in the big one, but to coach these guys again and make a run at that thing, you doggone right," Young said. "I'm never going to be too big for my pants that won't be in the opportunity to play in the postseason."

Two years ago today at the ACC Tournament, #Hokies coach Mike Young said he’d never be “too big for my pants” as to decline an NIT bid.

Either he and/or his players feel differently this season. pic.twitter.com/imwfhHfsrO
— David Teel (@ByDavidTeel) March 13, 2026

That context makes Virginia Tech's decision this year even more surprising.

The Hokies' 2025-26 season wasn't perfect, but it was competitive. They won 19 games, battled through a deep ACC schedule and pushed Wake Forest to overtime in their final outing. For a team that spent much of the year fighting to stay relevant in the postseason conversation, it seemed fitting that the season might continue a little longer.