| Type: | NIT |
| Year: | 1979 |
| Teams: | 24 |
| Finalfourarena: | Madison Square Garden |
| Finalfourcity: | New York City |
| Champions: | Indiana Hoosiers |
| Titlecount: | 1st |
| Runnerup: | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Gamecount: | 2nd |
| Semifinal1: | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| Semifinalcount: | 3rd |
| Semifinal2: | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| Semifinalcount2: | 1st |
| Coach: | Bob Knight |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mop: | Butch Carter & Ray Tolbert |
| Mopteam: | Indiana |
The 1979 National Invitation Tournament was the 1979 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Indiana University defeated their rival Purdue University 53–52 in the championship game. Purdue appeared in the 1980 NCAA Men's Final Four while Indiana won the national championship at the 1981 NCAA Men's Final Four.
Below is a list of the 24 teams selected for the tournament.[1]
Below are the three first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.