<P> Compounding this , to cut costs the NIT moved its early rounds out of Madison Square Garden in 1977 , playing games at home sites until the later rounds . This further harmed the NIT 's prestige , both regionalizing interest in it and marginalizing it by reducing its association with Madison Square Garden . By the mid-1980s , its transition to a secondary tournament for lesser teams was complete . </P>
when did the ncaa tournament became more important than the nit
By the mid-1980s