The 2003 National Invitation Tournament was the 2003 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. This was the last NIT to include a third-place game until 2021.

During the following season, St. John's center Abe Keita revealed that a member of the team's staff had paid him nearly $300 a month for the past four seasons. As a result, St. John's took various actions, including vacating 43 wins in which Keita participated, among which were the team's victories and eventual championship in the 2003 NIT. St. John's became the third team in the history of the NIT to be forced to vacate its standing in the tournament. Marcus Hatten's tournament Most Valuable Player award also was vacated.

Selected teams Below is a list of the 40 teams selected for the tournament.Tournament Results (2000's) at nit.org, URL accessed November 5, 2009. Archived 11/5/09

SchoolConferenceRecordAppearanceLast bid Big East18–1116th1993America East20–103rd1986Ivy17–111stNeverSouthern24–73rd1996C-USA16–1214th1999DrexelColonial19–112nd1997Big Sky18–121stNeverMAAC19–115th1996GeorgetownBig East15–149th2000Georgia TechACC14–147th1999HawaiiWAC18–117th1998IowaBig Ten15–134th2002Iowa StateBig 1216–132nd1984MAC22–85th2000Sun Belt20–95th2002Big Ten16–1210th2002WAC18–133rd1997North CarolinaACC17–155th1974Ohio StateBig Ten17–147th1993Big East16–1316th1999Atlantic 1019–1010th1996Atlantic 1016–127th2002Big East16–1327th1995C-USA16–1317th1996Mountain West16–132nd1982Big East17–1215th2001MAAC19–105th2000TempleAtlantic 1016–1513th2002SEC17–1110th1996Texas TechBig 1218–123rd1995C-USA17–118th1998Big West18–134th1993Horizon21–81stNeverMountain West21–107th2002Mid-Continent20–101stNeverBig East15–1515th2002VirginiaACC15–1510th2002MAC19–102nd1992Missouri Valley18–118th1989Mountain West20–108th2001

Bracket Below are the four first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.

Semifinals & finals

NOTE: St. John's later vacated its tournament wins and title championship due to an ineligible player.

See also 2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2003 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 2003 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 2003 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 2003 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament

References