Below is the full championship history of the NIT:
| YEAR | SCHOOL | SCORE | RUNNER UP | Most outstanding player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Temple | 60-36 | Colorado | Don Shields, Temple |
| 1939 | Long Island | 44-32 | Loyola | Bill Lloyd, St. John's |
| 1940 | Colorado | 51-40 | Duquesne | Bob Doll, Colorado |
| 1941 | Long Island | 56-42 | Ohio | Frankie Baumholtz, Ohio |
| 1942 | West Virginia | 47-45 | Western Kentucky State | Rudy Baric, West Virginia |
| 1943 | St. John's | 48-27 | Toledo | Harry Boykoff, St. John's |
| 1944 | St. John's | 47-39 | DePaul | Bill Kotsores, St. John's |
| 1945 | DePaul | 71-54 | Bowling Green | George Mikan, DePaul |
| 1946 | Kentucky | 46-45 | Rhode Island | Ernie Calverley, Rhode Island |
| 1947 | Utah | 49-45 | Kentucky | Vern Gardner, Utah |
| 1948 | Saint Louis | 65-52 | NYU | Ed Macauley, Saint Louis |
| 1949 | San Francisco | 48-47 | Loyola Chicago | Don Lofgran, San Francisco |
| 1950 | CCNY | 69-61 | Bradley | Ed Warner, CCNY |
| 1951 | BYU | 62-43 | Dayton | Roland Minson, BYU |
| 1952 | La Salle | 75-64 | Dayton | Tom Gola and Norm Grekin, La Salle |
| 1953 | Seton Hall | 58-46 | St. John's | Walter Dukes, Seton Hall |
| 1954 | Holy Cross | 71-62 | Duquesne | Togo Palazzi, Holy Cross |
| 1955 | Duquesne | 70-58 | Dayton | Maurice Stokes, St. Francis (PA) |
| 1956 | Louisville | 93-80 | Dayton | Charlie Tyra, Louisville |
| 1957 | Bradley | 84-83 | Memphis State | Win Wilfong, Memphis State |
| 1958 | Xavier | 78-74 | Dayton | Hank Stein, Xavier |
| 1959 | St. John's | 76-71 | Bradley | Tony Jackson, St. John's |
| 1960 | Bradley | 88-72 | Providence | Lenny Wilkens, Providence |
| 1961 | Providence | 62-59 | Saint Louis | Vin Ernst, Providence |
| 1962 | Dayton | 73-67 | St. John's | Bill Chmielewski, Dayton |
| 1963 | Providence | 81-66 | Canisius | Raymond Flynn, Providence |
| 1964 | Bradley | 86-54 | New Mexico | Levern Tart, Bradley |
| 1965 | St. John's | 55-51 | Villanova | Ken McIntyre, St. John's |
| 1966 | BYU | 97-84 | NYU | Bill Melchionni, Villanova |
| 1967 | Southern Illinois | 71-56 | Marquette | Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois |
| 1968 | Dayton | 61-48 | Kansas | Don May, Dayton |
| 1969 | Temple | 89-76 | Boston College | Terry Driscoll, Boston College |
| 1970 | Marquette | 65-53 | St. John's | Dean Meminger, Marquette |
| 1971 | North Carolina | 84-66 | Georgia Tech | Bill Chamberlain, North Carolina |
| 1972 | Maryland | 100-69 | Niagara | Tom McMillen, Maryland |
| 1973 | Virginia Tech | 92-91 | Notre Dame | John Schumate, Notre Dame |
| 1974 | Purdue | 87-81 | Utah | Mike Sojourner, Utah |
| 1975 | Princeton | 80-69 | Providence | Ron Lee, Oregon |
| 1976 | Kentucky | 71-67 | Charlotte | Cedric Maxwell, Charlotte |
| 1977 | St. Bonaventure | 94-91 | Houston | Greg Sanders, St. Bonaventure |
| 1978 | Texas | 101-93 | NC State | Jim Krivacs and Ron Baxter, Texas |
| 1979 | Indiana | 53-52 | Purdue | Butch Carter and Ray Tolbert, Indiana |
| 1980 | Virginia | 58-55 | Minnesota | Ralph Sampson, Virginia |
| 1981 | Tulsa | 86-84 | Syracuse | Greg Stewart, Tulsa |
| 1982 | Bradley | 67-58 | Purdue | J.J. Anderson, Bradley |
| 1983 | Fresno State | 69-60 | DePaul | Ron Anderson, Fresno State |
| 1984 | Michigan | 83-63 | Notre Dame | Tim McCormick, Michigan |
| 1985 | UCLA | 65-62 | Indiana | Reggie Miller, UCLA |
| 1986 | Ohio State | 73-63 | Wyoming | Brad Sellers, Ohio State |
| 1987 | Southern Miss | 84-80 | La Salle | Randolph Keys, Southern Miss |
| 1988 | Connecticut | 72-67 | Ohio State | Phil Gamble, Connecticut |
| 1989 | St. John's | 73-65 | Saint Louis | Jayson Williams, St. John's |
| 1990 | Vanderbilt | 74-72 | Saint Louis | Scott Draud, Vanderbilt |
| 1991 | Stanford | 78-72 | Oklahoma | Adam Keefe, Stanford |
| 1992 | Virginia | 81-76 (OT) | Notre Dame | Bryant Stith, Virginia |
| 1993 | Minnesota | 62-61 | Georgetown | Voshon Lenard, Minnesota |
| 1994 | Villanova | 80-73 | Vanderbilt | Doremus Bennerman, Siena |
| 1995 | Virginia Tech | 65-64 | Marquette | Shawn Smith, Virginia Tech |
| 1996 | Nebraska | 60-56 | Saint Joseph's | Erick Strickland, Nebraska |
| 1997 | Michigan* | 82-73 | Florida State | Robert Traylor, Michigan |
| 1998 | Minnesota* | 79-72 | Penn State | Kevin Clark, Minnesota |
| 1999 | California | 61-60 | Clemson | Sean Lampley, California |
| 2000 | Wake Forest | 71-61 | Notre Dame | Robert O'Kelley, Wake Forest |
| 2001 | Tulsa | 79-66 | Alabama | Marcus Hill, Tulsa |
| 2002 | Memphis | 72-62 | South Carolina | Dejuan Wagner, Memphis |
| 2003 | St. John's* | 70-67 | Georgetown | Marcus Hatten, St. John's |
| 2004 | Michigan | 62-55 | Rutgers | Daniel Horton, Michigan |
| 2005 | South Carolina | 60-57 | Saint Joseph's | Carlos Powell, South Carolina |
| 2006 | South Carolina | 76-64 | Michigan | Renaldo Balkman, South Carolina |
| 2007 | West Virginia | 78-73 | Clemson | Frank Young, West Virginia |
| 2008 | Ohio State | 92-85 | Massachusetts | Kosta Koufos, Ohio State |
| 2009 | Penn State | 69-63 | Baylor | Jamelle Cornley, Penn State |
| 2010 | Dayton | 79-68 | North Carolina | Chris Johnson, Dayton |
| 2011 | Wichita State | 66-57 | Alabama | Graham Hatch, Wichita State |
| 2012 | Stanford | 75-51 | Minnesota | Aaron Bright, Stanford |
| 2013 | Baylor | 74-54 | Iowa | Pierre Jackson, Baylor |
| 2014 | Minnesota | 65-63 | SMU | Austin Hollins, Minnesota |
| 2015 | Stanford | 66-64 (OT) | Miami | Chasson Randle, Stanford |
| 2016 | George Washington | 76-60 | Valparaiso | Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington |
| 2017 | TCU | 88-56 | Georgia Tech | Kenrich Williams, TCU |
| 2018 | Penn State | 82-66 | Utah | Lamar Stevens, Penn State |
| 2019 | Texas | 81-66 | Lipscomb | Kerwin Roach, Texas |
| 2020 | Canceled | |||
| 2021 | Memphis | 77-64 | Mississippi State | Landers Nolley II, Memphis |
| 2022 | Xavier | 73-72 | Texas A&M | Colby Jones, Xavier |
| 2023 | North Texas | 68-61 | UAB | Tylor Perry, North Texas |
*-Vacated
