Having the regular season count as an automatic berth wouldn't work
if you play a tourney. The Ivy League still doesn't have a Tourney &
they do just fine, mainly because of the Penn - Princeton rivalry. If
you want to include Conference Champs as automatics, they can be
exempt from the Post Season Tourney.

The NIT allows another team to feel good about themselves at the end
of the year. It could be cut back to 16 to allow for some expansion
of the NCAA. However, 64 was a good number. 65 just doesn't ring true.